It was a storybook ending for Ankeny tennis standout Kira Smith.
The top-seeded senior posted a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 2 Sescie Haan of Clinton to capture the Class 2A singles title at the girls’ state tournament on Saturday in Iowa City. She missed her high school graduation to become the city of Ankeny’s first-ever state tennis champion.
“I can’t even put it into words,” said Smith. “I’ve worked so hard for it and to finally achieve it is indescribable. I just feel so blessed to have won this and to have had such a huge crowd of people supporting me.”
It was also a fairytale finish for Ankeny coach Steve Smith. Kira’s father had already announced his resignation, due largely so that he can have more time to follow his daughter’s upcoming tennis career at Iowa State.
“It’s been a great experience to coach my alma mater,” said Steve, who placed fifth in the boys’ Class 2A doubles tournament while playing with Matt Lazear in 1993. “So, for me as a coach, it was special to end my career coaching a player to win a state title without dropping a set all year and without losing more than three games in a set in the state tournament.
“As a father, I’ve witnessed firsthand how much Kira has sacrificed to get to this point. I’ve seen how brave she had to be to completely disrupt her life, leave her friends and train down in Florida (at the Gomez Tennis Academy). So, I will always cherish the blessing this season has been and especially how Kira has learned that she’s more than capable of overcoming any kind of adversity.
“It was the perfect way to end our Ankeny High School tennis careers,” he added.
Smith’s biggest test came earlier on Saturday in the semifinals. She survived a hard-fought battle against No. 4 Lily Holland of Cedar Rapids Jefferson, advancing to the final with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph.
“Trusting my game was extremely important in both matches,” Kira said. “There was adversity faced against both Lily and Sescie, and without my belief in myself and my game and trusting that God’s got me, it would have been very difficult to overcome.”
Coach Smith called it Kira’s toughest match from a mental strategy perspective.
“Lily is a true competitor,” he said. “She has a very high tennis IQ, always hits the best shot given the situation, and gets everything back. So, most opponents will get frustrated and try to hit winners instead of working the point to move her side-to-side until it’s the right time to attack. For most of the match, Kira kept herself calm and confident enough to execute her strategy. When she did, she won most of those games.”
In the final, Smith faced an opponent in Haan who had dropped only eight games in her previous three matches–the same number as Smith. Haan reached the title match with an identical 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 3 Madelyn Jepsen of North Scott.
“Sescie is a really good player,” coach Smith said. “She plays more of a college style of tennis. She likes to attack, has a good transition and net game, and a strong serve and return games. So, she forced Kira to play her best tennis, and Kira did exactly that. Both of them were crushing balls, working each other side-to-side and finishing with winners or forced errors.”
While Smith had played Holland multiple times about three years ago, she had never faced Haan. The lack of experience against her opponent didn’t matter.
“Kira just was better,” Steve said. “She did a great job of dominating the points where she had the advantage, but she was even more impressive neutralizing Sescie’s attacking game until Kira found an opportunity to turn defense into offense. It was a really fun match to watch.”
Smith was the fourth player from Ankeny to play for a singles crown in the last five seasons. Abbie Peterson of Ankeny Centennial placed second in 2023, while her brother Caleb was the runner-up that same year in the boys’ Class 2A division. Caleb’s former teammate, Will Blevins, placed second in 2021.
After winning the title, Smith celebrated with a Pomegranate Plunge from Tropical Smoothie.
“Honestly, I just wanted a smoothie,” she said. “I am also leaving for Paris (on Monday with my family), which is amazing.”