
A non-conference meet proved to be just what the Ankeny Centennial girls’ tennis team needed to get back on the winning track.
The Jaguars ended a four-meet losing streak–all of them against CIML Conference opponents–with a 10-1 victory over visiting North Polk on Thursday. They raised their overall record to 4-6, while the Comets dropped to 2-5 on the season.
“It was a great win!” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson. “We had spent the week focusing on volleys, and it was exciting to see that work show up in matches. Across the lineup, the girls were poaching and finishing points at the net. I’m proud of how they continue to learn, grow and develop their game.”
Senior Natalie Carr enjoyed a perfect day for the Jaguars. She posted a 6-0, 6-0 win over Brooke Sprague in the No. 5 singles match, then teamed up with Ella Sutherland for another “double bagel” at No. 3 doubles.

Two of the five doubles matches were decided by a third-set super tiebreaker. North Polk got its only win at the No. 1 spot, while Centennial’s No. 5 duo of Laura Schulz and Avery Bohnenkamp rallied from a one-set deficit to prevail.
“Laura and Avery had a standout match where they came back to win in a super tiebreaker,” Gustafson said. “They used strategy to communicate on what to do each point to clinch the match.”
The Jaguars will have a week off before hosting another non-conference meet against Ottumwa (1-0) on Sept. 5.
Here are the match-by-match scores from Thursday’s meet:
Ankeny Centennial 10, North Polk 1
Singles: Peterson beat Cakinberk, 6-3, 6-1; Baca beat Dillinger, 6-0, 6-0; Bhat beat Mangae, 6-2, 6-0; Sutherland beat Hill, 6-3, 6-2; Carr beat Sprague, 6-0, 6-0; Hanson beat Jepsen, 6-1, 6-0.
Doubles: Cakinberk-Sprague (NP) beat Baca-Bhat, 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (1); Peterson-Hanson beat Dillinger-Mangae, 6-2, 6-3; Sutherland-Carr beat Hill-Jepsen, 6-0, 6-0; Swanson-Weesner beat Crabb-Wiseman, 6-0, 6-1; Schulz-Bohnenkamp beat North Polk (names unavailable), 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (3).