Tuesday was a rough night for the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial tennis teams.
All four squads suffered losses in CIML Conference play. At the Prairie Ridge courts, the Ankeny boys’ team dropped an 11-0 decision to Johnston while the Centennial girls’ squad was blanked by Dowling Catholic, 11-0.
It was the fourth consecutive shutout loss for the Jaguars, who dropped to 0-5 in the conference and 0-7 overall. Dowling raised its records to 3-0 and 3-1.
“Dowling is always a strong team, and this year is no different,” said Centennial girls’ coach Alli Gustafson. “Playing against high-level opponents like them helps us learn to adapt as we move through the season. With several meets in a row behind us, we’re looking forward to using the next few days of practice to reset and focus on improving specific areas of our game.”
Gustafson was pleased with the effort by Avery Bohnenkamp and Laura Schulz in the No. 4 doubles match.
“Avery and Laura showed great fight in their match, especially in the second set,” she said. “Their angled volleys forced errors and helped shift momentum. We’re excited to build on that and keep working toward more consistency and precision at the net to help turn more close games in our favor.”
The Hawks, meanwhile, were blanked for the first time this season. They fell to 1-3 in the league and 1-4 overall, while Johnston improved its marks to 3-1 and 7-1.
Ankeny’s Michael Black lost a close match at No. 4 singles. He dropped a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 decision to Owen Huneke.
The Ankeny girls’ team traveled to Johnston and fell to the unbeaten Dragons, 9-2. Johnston is now 4-0 in the conference and 9-0 overall, while the Hawkettes’ records dropped to 1-3 and 2-4.
“Johnston is a very good team that just upset the No. 1 team in the state (in Waukee Northwest),” said Ankeny girls’ coach Steve Smith. “They’re really good.”
Ankeny’s Kira Smith rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Sidney Peterson at No. 1 singles. She then teamed up with Olivia North for a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles.
“Kira played great in her first singles match back after her injury,” said her father. “She was still only serving at about 70 percent, but she was able to serve overhead both matches. To play that well against the No. 7 player in the state who had just split sets with the No. 3 player last week is impressive.
“We had chances in several other matches, but Johnston just had the edge tonight,” he added.
The Centennial boys’ squad also lost to an unbeaten opponent, dropping a 10-1 decision at Dowling. The Maroons improved to 3-0 in the league and overall, while the Jaguars fell to 0-5 and 0-7.
Centennial’s lone victory came at No. 5 doubles, where Nathan Goff and Tyler Zhang teamed up for a 7-5, 6-2 win.
Here are the match-by-match results from Tuesday’s meets:
GIRLS
Dowling Catholic 11, Ankeny Centennial 0
Singles: Frye beat Peterson, 6-2, 6-2; Mauro beat Bhat, 6-0, 6-1; Bakros beat Hanson, 6-0, 6-0; Johnson beat Swanson, 6-2, 6-0; Pierron beat Sutherland, 6-2, 6-3; Valverde beat Piper, 6-2, 6-3.
Doubles: Mauro-Bakros beat Bhat-Hanson, 6-0, 6-2; Frye-Johnson beat Swanson-Sutherland, 6-0, 6-0; Pierron-Claypool beat Piper-Carr, 6-0, 6-3; Murphy-Rice beat Bohnenkamp-Schulz, 6-0, 6-3; Larson-Carfrae beat Zhang-Brooks, 6-2, 6-2.
Johnston 9, Ankeny 2
Singles: Smith (A) beat Peterson, 6-1, 6-0; Launderville beat Francel, 6-2, 6-1; Lu beat Schmitz, 6-3, 6-3; Studer beat North, 6-2, 6-0; Holub beat Hanley, 6-2, 6-2; Cope beat Gorrela, 6-0, 6-1.
Doubles: Peterson-Studer beat Francel-Schmitz, 6-3, 6-1; Smith-North (A) beat Launderville-Lu, 6-4, 6-4; Holub-Cope beat Hanley-Gorrela, 6-3, 6-0; Elsberry-Veeder beat Quirk-Dietrich, 6-2, 6-0; York-Behn beat Johnson-Doyle, 6-1, 6-1.
BOYS
Dowling Catholic 10, Ankeny Centennial 1
Singles: Frye beat Malone, 6-3, 6-0; Beecher beat Earp, 6-1, 6-2; Cody beat Braun, 6-2, 6-1; Chapman beat Dickinson, 6-0, 6-0; Dessimoz beat Sinclair, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2; Cownie beat Goff, 6-4, 6-0.
Doubles: Frye-Beecher beat Malone-Braun, 6-1, 6-0; Cody-Chapman beat Dickinson-Sinclair, 6-0, 6-0; Dessimoz-Flynn beat Kolars-Hurd, 6-1, 6-2; Cownie-Kneifl beat Brooks-Brazeau, 6-4, 6-1; Goff-Zhang (AC) beat Driscoll-O’Neill, 7-5, 6-2.
Johnston 11, Ankeny 0
Singles: Kumaresan beat Victor, 6-3, 6-0; Patel beat Weichers, 6-3, 6-0; Austin beat Schlosser; Huneke beat Black, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2; Mills beat Riesberg, 6-2, 6-0; Herrmann beat James, 6-0, 6-2.
Doubles: Kumaresan-Huneke beat Victor-Weichers, 6-2, 6-3; Patel-Austin beat Schlosser-Black, 6-1, 6-1; Mills-Keeling beat Riesberg-James, 6-1, 6-2; Herrmann-Jithendra beat Geest-Johnson, 6-2, 6-0; Gragg-Finken beat Neal-Gray, 6-0, 6-0.
