The Ankeny girls’ tennis team has been strengthened by the addition of a two-time state qualifier.
She’s also a familiar face to the program.
Senior Kira Smith, the daughter of Ankeny coach Steve Smith, has rejoined the squad after spending last year at a tennis academy in Florida.
“She’s home this semester so she can graduate from Ankeny High School,” said her father.
Smith owns a career record of 32-9 in singles. She went 20-3 and placed fourth in the Class 2A state tournament as a freshman in 2022, equaling the highest finish ever by an Ankeny player.
Smith battled an injury as a sophomore, but still went 12-6 and again qualified for state. The injury forced her to default her consolation match at state.
Now, Smith is healthy again and looking to provide a boost for a team that posted a 4-9 record last season, including a 1-6 mark in the CIML Conference.
“We’ll start practices Monday,” coach Smith said. “We know we’re behind the elite teams in terms of match play, lesson and clinic experience. We’ll try to close that gap as much as we can by raising the bar in practice this season with more focus on patterns and game plans.”
Seniors Lilith Francel and Sophie Schmitz are back from last year’s team. Junior Olivia North is among the other returnees.
Schmitz posted a 2-6 record at the No. 1 singles position. She placed fourth in singles at a Class 2A regional tournament.
Francel went 2-6 at the No. 2 singles spot, while North went 2-5 at No. 4. Those two also reached the quarterfinals of the regional tournament in doubles.
Seniors Satviki Gorrela and Susan Hanley gained some singles experience last season along with sophomore Ella Dietrich. Junior KJ Quirk saw a lot of doubles action.
The Hawkettes will open their season on April 8 by hosting a conference match against Valley. The Tigers defeated Ankeny, 5-0, in the semifinal round of a Class 2A regional team tournament last year.
Smith said his team has not set any specific goals for 2025.
“We are more of a process rather than a results-focused program,” he said.
In August, Ankeny will be back on the courts for its inaugural fall season. The Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union adjusted its sports calendar for 2025-26 to alleviate the crunch of activities in the spring.
“I don’t think the switch to fall next year has really impacted this year’s roster, but I know two of our top returners next year are involved in volleyball and cheerleading,” Smith said. “With the loss of our five seniors this year, it’ll be interesting to see what those players choose to do next year.
“I know we’ll try to make the best of a tough situation,” he added.