Friday was an historic day at the Prairie Ridge tennis courts.
The Ankeny Centennial girls’ team hosted the Jaguar Kickoff Quadrangular that also included Dubuque Hempstead, Iowa City West and Valley. It marked the beginning of the first-ever fall season for girls’ tennis, which was previously played in the spring.
“It was a great day to kick off the season and get back on the courts!” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson. “We were thrown right into fall tennis with the new challenge of battling the heat. This added a new element to the game.”
The Jaguars went 1-1 on the day. They posted a 7-4 victory over Hempstead in the morning before dropping a 7-2 decision to Iowa City West.
In the meet against Hempstead, the two teams split the six singles matches. Centennial got a crucial win at No. 6 singles from Kaley Swanson and also won four of the five doubles matches.
“Kaley fought back in her super tiebreaker to clinch the win, using smart placement to take control of the match,” Gustafson said. “Natalie (Carr) and Cece (Weesner) dominated in doubles with strong communication and quick movement. Their aggressive net play and ability to work together kept their opponents on the defensive from start to finish.”
In the afternoon, the Jaguars got a pair of big victories at No. 1 and 2 singles from Talia Baca and Kalyani Bhat.
“Talia played a fantastic match, using the pace and placement of her shots to win the super tiebreaker. It was some of the best tennis we’ve seen from her and was a powerful start to the season,” Gustafson said. “Kalyani also worked hard and dominated in singles, using her consistency to place the ball and keep her opponent on the move and out of position.”
However, those two wins weren’t nearly enough against a strong Trojans squad.
“We played well, but couldn’t outlast our opponents in the heat,” Gustafson said. “Overall, I’m proud of how the girls started the season. We have areas to work on, but I’m excited to see our growth in the weeks ahead.”
The Jaguars will host a non-conference meet against Fort Dodge (0-2) on Monday.
Here are the match-by-match results from Friday’s meet:
Ankeny Centennial 7, Dubuque Hempstead 4
Singles: Hoden (DH) beat Peterson, 6-2, 6-2; Kassas (DH) beat Baca, 7-6 (6), 6-1; Bhat (AC) beat Hefel, 6-4, 6-2; Sutherland (AC) beat Kass, 6-3, 6-2; Carlyle (DH) beat Hanson, 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (8); Swanson (AC) beat Knepper, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 1-0 (1).
Doubles: Hoden-Kassas (DH) beat Peterson-Baca, 8-4; Bhat-Sutherland (AC) beat Hefel-Tharp, 8-4; Hanson-Swanson (AC) beat Bergfeld-Kelzer, 8-5; Carr-Weesner (AC) beat Carlyle-Munson, 8-0; Schulz-Snyder (AC) beat Richman-Koelker, 8-3.
Iowa City West 7, Ankeny Centennial 2
Singles: Baca (AC) beat Vasi, 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10); Bhat (AC) beat Singh, 6-2, 6-3; Wang beat Sutherland, 6-3, 6-0; Gross beat Hanson, 6-1, 6-1; Jahangir beat Swanson, 6-3, 6-3; Liu beat Carr, 6-4, 6-1.
Doubles: Singh-Wang beat Baca-Bhat, 8-5; Vasi-Jahangir beat Sutherland-Hanson, 8-6; Gross-Liu beat Swanson-Carr, 8-1.