‘It was great to recognize them’: Jaguars honor seniors before falling to Johnston

Ankeny Centennial’s Kalyani Bhat returns a serve during her No. 1 singles match against Johnston’s Brianna Launderville on Monday at the Prairie Ridge courts. Bhat was among the seniors who were honored for the Jaguars, who went on to drop a 10-1 decision in the CIML Conference matchup. (Photo by Dan Holm)

The seniors on the Ankeny Centennial girls’ tennis team were honored at Monday’s meet against visiting Johnston.

“We had the chance to celebrate our seniors and honor the incredible impact they’ve had on our program,” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson. “Their leadership and positivity have been key in helping build the culture of our team, and it was great to recognize them for all they’ve given.”

Unfortunately, the Jaguars were not at full strength for the meet. Their top player, Samara Peterson, was unable to play.

Junior Talia Baca, the team’s No. 2 player, only competed in doubles.

“We faced Johnston, who is a very strong opponent,” Gustafson said after her team’s 10-1 loss. “Samara and Talia were both out again in singles due to injury and sickness, and we are hopeful to have everyone healthy for Thursday’s meet (against Southeast Polk). Although the final scores don’t fully reflect it, our girls stepped up and battled hard.”

Ankeny Centennial’s Kaley Swanson serves the ball during her No. 4 singles match against Johnston’s Harper Cope. Swanson dropped a 6-2, 6-2 decision, but then teamed up with Imrie Hanson for a three-set victory at No. 3 doubles. (Photo by Dan Holm)

Centennial’s lone victory came at No. 3 doubles, where the duo of Kaley Swanson and Imrie Hanson posted a 4-6, 6-0, 1-0 (5) win over Lucy Kiekhaefer and Shravasti Ingle. The Jaguars also took the No. 4 doubles match to a third-set super tiebreaker.

“There was some great tennis played across the board, especially in doubles, where our team leaned into strategy, controlling groundstrokes and looking for poaches at the net,” Gustafson said. “Imrie and Kaley had a fantastic win, staying composed with grit and determination to not only dominate the second set but also carry that momentum into an exciting win in the super tiebreaker.”

The Dragons completed their CIML Conference schedule at 6-2 and improved to 8-2 overall. Centennial’s records dropped to 1-6 and 5-7.

**Ankeny Centennial’s Cecilia Weesner hits a shot during her No. 6 singles match against Johnston’s Lucy Kiekhaefer. Weesner dropped a 7-6 (3), 6-3 decision. (Photo by Dan Holm)**

Here are the match-by-match results:

Johnston 10, Ankeny Centennial 1

Singles: Launderville beat Bhat, 6-0, 6-0; Lu beat Sutherland, 6-1, 6-1; Studer beat N. Carr, 6-0, 6-0; Cope beat Swanson, 6-2, 6-2; Behn beat Hanson, 6-0, 6-1; Kiekhaefer beat Weesner, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Doubles: Launderville-Studer beat Bhat-Baca, 6-2, 6-0; Lu-Behn beat Sutherland-N. Carr, 6-3, 6-2; Swanson-Hanson (AC) beat Kiekhaefer-Ingle, 4-6, 6-0, 1-0 (5); Rourke-York beat Weesner-Schulz, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (4); Berkemann-Q. Carr beat Bohnenkamp-Snyder, 7-5, 6-3.