Ankeny Centennial junior Samara Peterson is headed to the girls’ state tennis tournament for the second time.
Peterson, who qualified as a freshman in 2023 while playing doubles with Megan Yuan, won a Class 2A regional singles title on Monday at Ames. She posted a 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 victory over Johnston freshman Brianna Launderville in the final.
“After winning the first set and losing the second, Samara knew she was going to have to battle for the third,” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson. “Launderville is a great player who made Samara work for every point. Going into the third, Samara was experiencing quite a bit of back pain, and despite that and her fatigue, she was able to come out and dominate in the third set. I am so proud of her ability to face the challenge of a third set at the end of a long day of tennis and come out on top!”
Prior to Monday, Peterson had only played one match since April 22 due to her injury.
“I always know what I’m capable of when it comes to tennis, but I had to play amazing players who are also confident and capable of winning,” said Peterson. “I was very nervous going into it; I hadn’t been playing since my injury, and I was a little rusty. The last match was very tough. She was a great player, and we fought until the end. I’m just thankful I got through the pain and won the third set.”
After receiving a bye, the top-seeded Peterson opened the tournament with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Johnston’s Linda Lu. She then followed with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Ames’ Laura Chen in the semifinals before outlasting the third-seeded Launderville for the crown.
“It was a fantastic day of tennis! Samara had a great day!” Gustafson said. “She hit very well from the start, using her power and placement of her ball to take control of her first and second matches of the day. She was scrappy and played confidently.”
The state tournament will be held on May 30-31 at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex in Iowa City.
“Sadly, I don’t feel 100 percent right now, but I’m going to do everything I can to get better,” Peterson said.
Centennial’s Kaley Swanson also competed in singles on Monday. She dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision to Aynura Muftillaeva of Fort Dodge in the opening round.
Imrie Hanson and Ella Sutherland won a first-round doubles match for the Jaguars. They posted a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Addison Dannen and Estella Huesman of Mason City before falling to third-seeded Helen Mao and Adeline Oetker of Ames, 6-1, 6-0, in the quarterfinals.
Centennial’s fourth-seeded duo of Talia Baca and Kalyani Bhat received a first-round bye. They then lost to Liz Greenfield and Amaya Dassanayaka of Ames, 6-1, 6-1, in the quarterfinals.