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‘It was a fabulous tribute’: Jaguars coach Lewton honored before Pink Out meet

April 26, 2024 by Dan Holm

Ankeny Centennial boys’ tennis coach Tami Lewton speaks to the crowd prior to the Pink Out meet on Thursday between the Jaguars and crosstown rival Ankeny. Lewton, who is battling cancer, was honored in an emotional ceremony. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)

Ankeny Centennial boys’ tennis coach Tami Lewton has been a driving force behind the annual Pink Out meet between Ankeny’s crosstown rivals.

On Thursday, it was time for the tennis community to give something back to Lewton.

Prior to the Pink Out meet at the Prairie Ridge courts, Lewton was honored in an emotional ceremony. She has spent much of the last several weeks in the hospital as she fights a courageous battle against cancer.

“It was a fabulous tribute to a legendary coach,” said Ankeny girls’ coach Steve Smith, who previously coached against Lewton when he coached the boys’ team. “It was special for Tami to be able to attend the meet. She means so much to Ankeny tennis, and she has always spearheaded our annual Pink Out meet.”

Coaches and players from both schools paid tribute to Lewton.

“It was an emotional night celebrating coach Tami,” said Centennial girls’ coach Alli Gustafson. “I am so glad we were able to all come together as one to show our support for Tami, her family, and her fight against cancer. She is an inspiration to us all and has done immense things for the sport of tennis and for the community of Ankeny, so it was great to honor her.”

Ankeny Centennial boys’ tennis coach Tami Lewton looks on as Ankeny boys’ coach Ron Miller speaks to the crowd during a ceremony before Thursday’s Pink Out meet. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)

“It was a great night for Tami!” said Ankeny boys’ coach Ron Miller. “Everyone was very excited when she was able to make a short visit before the match. It was a super competitive match right to the end.”

The players wore matching t-shirts with the phrase “Her fight is our fight” on the front. “Team Lewton” was printed on the back of the shirts, along with the names of various businesses who sponsored the event.

“It was an awesome event, and everyone was so happy coach Lewton could be at the tennis courts for a bit and honored for all the amazing things she has done for Ankeny tennis,” said Dustin Rhoads, who joined the Centennial boys’ staff as an assistant coach this spring. “Unfortunately, we could not win for her tonight.”

In the boys’ meet, Ankeny built a 5-1 lead during singles but had to hold off the Jaguars’ rally for a 6-5 victory. The Hawks defeated Centennial for the first time since 2017.

“We got off to a nice lead, but they came back strong in doubles,” Miller said.

Ankeny’s No. 1 doubles team of Garrett Weichers (left) and Dylan Victor head to the other side of the court during a changeover in their match. They helped the Hawks to a 6-5 victory for their first win over Ankeny Centennial since 2017. The players wore matching t-shirts for the Pink Out meet to honor Centennial boys’ coach Tami Lewton. (Photo by Dan Holm)

Centennial won four of the doubles matches in straight sets to forge a 5-5 tie. The Jaguars also won the opening set at No. 3 doubles before Ankeny’s Grady Schlosser and Treyton Riesberg rallied for a 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (9) victory to seal the verdict.

“That last match went to a third-set supertiebreaker with everyone watching!” Miller said. “We outlasted them 11-9 in near darkness.”

Centennial has played better in doubles all season. That was the case again on Thursday, when the Hawks overcame a one-set deficit in four of their five wins in singles.

“We are all frustrated,” Rhoads said. “The better team did not win the match tonight, but I guess the smarter team won. The guys fought back hard in doubles again, but you can’t lose five third-set supertiebreakers and expect to win overall. We will try to figure things out and move forward.”

It was the first victory of the season for the Hawks. Both teams are now 1-4 in the CIML Conference and 1-5 overall.

Ankeny Centennial’s Megan Yuan (left) celebrates with teammate Samara Peterson after winning a point during their No. 1 doubles match against Ankeny on Thursday. The Jaguars swept the five doubles matches to post an 8-3 victory. (Photo by Dan Holm)

In the girls’ meet, the two teams battled to a 3-3 tie in singles. The sixth-ranked Jaguars then swept the five doubles matches to post an 8-3 triumph.

“Due to an injury in singles, we had to shuffle some players up in doubles,” Gustafson said. “At No. 5 doubles, Anna (Brosnahan) and Kalyani (Bhat) showed incredible grit and determination in their match. They had lost the first set and were down 5-0 in the second set. They worked point by point to come back and win the second set 7-5 and win the super tiebreak! I am so proud of them for not giving up!”

Centennial improved to 3-2 in the league and 5-3 overall while ending a two-match losing streak. The Hawkettes’ records dropped to 1-5 and 1-6.

“When a team that has won one meet all year plays the sixth-ranked team in the state, you expect a pretty quiet meet. But it was anything but quiet,” Smith said. “And it ended even louder than it started. I am so proud of how our team competed tonight.”

The Jaguars won three of the singles matches in straight sets, but Ankeny kept the meet close with a pair of come-from-behind wins in three sets. Susan Hanley also won at the No. 6 spot when Centennial’s Gabby Mixdorf withdrew from the match midway through the first set.

At the No. 3 position, Mallory De Haan rallied for a 1-6, 7-6 (6), 1-0 (10) victory for the Hawkettes.

“Mallory was a different player tonight,” Smith said. “I think she was feeling the emotions of giving a testimonial to Tami before the meet and lost most of the big points in the first set, but she looked determined in between sets. She absolutely brought it in the second set and fought off a match point to then win the third-set supertiebreaker. It was awesome to see our leader come through in the clutch.

Ankeny Centennial players Ara Lofgren (left) and Jenna Benkufsky speak to the crowd during the ceremony before Thursday’s meet. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)

“I also give a ton of credit to first-year assistant coach Luke Parkinson for guiding Mallory through most of her match. He really rocked it tonight,” Smith added.

It was Centennial’s turn to rally in the doubles. The Jaguars battled back from a one-set deficit in three of their five victories.

“Centennial is always a really good doubles team,” Smith said. “Heck, how many teams in the state return two state-qualifying doubles teams? So, we knew it was going to be tough even though it was 3-3 after singles. Still, looking back at the three third-set tiebreaks we lost, we were a handful of points away from a team victory over the No. 6 team in the state.”

Here are the match-by-match results for the boys:

Ankeny 6, Centennial 5

Singles–Victor (A) beat B. Wellendorf, 0-6, 6-2, 1-0 (9); Weichers (A) beat Hiney, 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (5); Bodensteiner (A) beat Smith, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (3); Josten (A) beat Law, 7-5, 6-3; Halverson (AC) beat Hoefle, 6-1, 6-7 (7), 1-0 (2); Schlosser (A) beat Walker, 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (5).

Doubles–B. Wellendorf-Hiney (AC) beat Victor-Weichers, 6-2, 6-2; Smith-Law (AC) beat Josten-Hoefle, 6-0, 6-2; Schlosser-Riesberg (A) beat Halverson-Valerio-Garsow, 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (9); Walker-Earp (AC) beat Bodensteiner-Black, 6-4, 6-4; Malone-Sanders (AC) beat C. Lueck-D. Lueck, 7-5, 6-1.

Ankeny’s Lilith Francel serves the ball during Thursday’s meet. (Photo by Dan Holm)

Here are the match-by-match results for the girls:

Centennial 8, Ankeny 3

Singles–S. Peterson beat Schmitz, 6-0, 6-2; Yuan beat Francel, 6-3, 6-2; De Haan (A) beat Baca, 1-6, 7-6 (6), 1-0 (10); North (A) beat Benkufsky, 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (7); Lofgren beat Feldhacker, 6-4, 6-2; Hanley (A) beat Mixdorf, 3-4 (withdrew).

Doubles–S. Peterson-Yuan beat Schmitz-Francel, 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10); Benkufsky-Lofgren beat De Haan-North, 5-7, 6-0, 1-0 (9); Baca-Rasmus beat Feldhacker-Gorrela, 6-3, 6-3; Faidley-Sterling beat Dietrich-Quirk, 6-1, 6-2; Bhat-Brosnahan beat Ford-Geest, 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (6).

Filed Under: Boys' Tennis, Girls' Tennis, Hawks, Jaguars Tagged With: Alli Gustafson, Dustin Rhoads, Featured, Ron Miller, Steve Smith

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