The potential matchup between Ankeny senior Kira Smith and Ankeny Centennial junior Samara Peterson never materialized on Friday in the Class 2A singles bracket, but both players advanced to the second day of the girls’ state tournament at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex in Iowa City.
The top-seeded Smith cruised into the semifinals with a pair of lopsided victories. She rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Victoria Bakros of Dowling Catholic in the quarterfinals.
“I had never played her before,” said Smith. “I just knew I had to trust my game.”
Bakros had earlier defeated Peterson, 6-1, 6-3, in the opening round. That prevented an all-Ankeny matchup in the quarterfinals, but Peterson then rebounded to win two consolation matches.
Peterson closed out the day with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Sophie Tannenbaum of Valley, which assured her of becoming a placewinner.
“Samara was in control of the match, targeting Tannenbaum’s weaknesses and then using her own strengths to stay consistent and dominant!” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson. “She played her game and was able to adjust as needed.”
Smith opened the tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Addison King of Cedar Falls. The match only lasted about 30 minutes.
“I think that was pretty solid,” Smith said. “I guess it was good to get off the court quickly, but I think the main thing for me was to get rid of some of the nerves that I had.”
This is Smith’s third trip to the state tournament. She placed fourth in singles as a freshman in 2022 and then qualified again the following year.
“It’s good to be back,” said Smith, who spent her junior year at the Gomez Tennis Academy in Naples, Fla.
In the quarterfinals, Smith won the first five games of the opening set before Bakros broke her serve to get on the board. Smith then answered with a break of her own to close out the set.
Trailing 5-1 in the second set, Bakros had a chance for another service break. Smith trailed 15-40, but then won the next four points to close out the match.
“It’s always good to get to the second day without any losses,” said Ankeny coach Steve Smith, Kira’s father. “She had to battle in that second match a fair amount. Vicky is a really good tennis player, so being able to pull through some of those tense moments and still be 1 and 1 was good.”
The top four seeds all advanced to the semifinals with little trouble. The quartet combined to lose just 12 games along the way.
“Honestly, when Kira gets her penetrating balls in deep past the blue line, there’s not really anybody that can do anything with it,” coach Smith said. “It’s just a matter of if she trusts it and can do it over and over again.”
Peterson is making her second appearance in the tournament. She qualified in doubles while playing with Megan Yuan as a freshman in 2023.
Like Smith, Peterson battled some nerves in her opening match. She struggled mightily with her serve against Bakros, committing three straight double faults at one point.
“I’ve never experienced double faulting like that,” Peterson said. “I think it was just the nerves. It’s state and you want to do well and play your best, and unfortunately that didn’t happen. I was kind of startled. I didn’t know how to deal with that.”
Still, Peterson made Bakros work to close out the second set. She fought off multiple match points before Bakros hit a backhand winner to end it.
“She’s an incredible player,” Peterson said. “I’m happy that I was able to fight back. I fixed the trouble with my serve the second set, but unfortunately that wasn’t enough.”
Bakros is one of five Maroons competing in the tournament. Both of Dowling’s doubles teams advanced to the semifinals.
“Bakros deserved to win. She played well,” Gustafson said. “Samara competed the second set for sure, but just couldn’t come out on top.”
Peterson then bounced back with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Reagan Boies of Linn-Mar (Marion) in a first-round consolation match.
“I was so proud of how she let the first match go and came out with a fresh start,” Gustafson said. “She played her game.”
Peterson appeared to be more relaxed on the court.
“It felt really good,” she said of the win. “I felt really nervous for the first one, but I believed in myself in the second and I’m really happy.”
As she waited to play Tannenbaum, Peterson said her goal was just to continue playing her game.
“Don’t focus on the opponent and just maybe win,” she said.
Peterson has been battling a back injury throughout much of the season. Gustafson said she’s not 100 percent healthy.
“As the day goes on it gets more sore and more tight, but we’re just hoping she’ll come out for this next match and her back will hold up for the rest of the day,” Gustafson said.
With the win over Tannenbaum, Peterson will now face Riley Hilton of Waukee Northwest in a consolation semifinal on Saturday morning. Bakros will play Brianna Launderville of Johnston in the other semifinal, which means Peterson could get a rematch against Bakros for either fifth or seventh place.
Smith, meanwhile, will meet fourth-seeded Lily Holland of Cedar Rapids Jefferson in the semifinals. Holland dropped only one game on Friday.
“I played her a lot three years ago, but I haven’t played her since,” Smith said. “She’s a backboard. She gets everything back. I’ll just not have to rush it.”
No. 2 seed Sescie Haan of Clinton will face No. 3 Madelyn Jepsen of North Scott in the other semifinal.
“I don’t know anything about either of them,” Smith said.
Coach Smith tried to catch a glimpse of his daughter’s potential opponents on Friday.
“We watched them a little bit,” he said. “But frankly, they’re all really good. It’s going to be two tough matches no matter what (Saturday).”
Smith will try to become the city of Ankeny’s first-ever state tennis champion. Her dad said the player who performs the best will emerge with the trophy.
“That’s kind of how the final four is, right?” he asked.