Ankeny’s Olivia North placed third in singles in a Class 2A regional girls’ tennis tournament on Wednesday at Waukee Northwest, while the Ankeny Centennial duo of Kalyani Bhat and Ella Sutherland earned a fourth-place finish in doubles in another regional tournament at Cedar Falls.
The top two finishers in both singles and doubles at eight regional sites across Iowa qualified for the inaugural fall state tournament. By placing third, North will be an alternate in singles if one of the top two finishers is unable to compete.
The third-seeded North reached the semifinals before dropping a 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-1 decision to No. 2 Nina Sorrel of Waukee Northwest. She then rebounded with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over No. 4 Myla Brown of Norwalk in the third-place match.
The Northwest site was dominated by the host Wolves, who advanced all six of their players to the state tournament. Addison Latta and Sorrel took the top two spots in singles, while Riley Hilton and Mia Deines posted a 6-2, 6-3 win over teammates Ella Steffensmeier and Ruby Weber in the doubles final.
At Cedar Falls, the fourth-seeded Bhat and Sutherland reached the semifinals without dropping a single game. They then fell to eventual champions Indre Jankunas and Ayla Suiter of Cedar Falls, 6-3, 6-1.
In the third-place match, Bhat and Sutherland dropped a 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (2) decision to No. 3 Gretchen Shepard and Esther Tink of Cedar Falls.
“Ella and Kalyani fought hard before falling in a close match,” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson.
The Jaguars played without senior Samara Peterson, a two-time state qualifier who placed eighth in the Class 2A singles tournament last spring. She continues to battle a back injury.
“Today was all about stepping up and giving it everything to reach state, and that’s what the girls did,” Gustafson said. “While the outcome wasn’t what we had hoped for, the team competed with grit against tough opponents. There were chances to advance further in the tournament, but we couldn’t quite capitalize on them. With Samara unable to play, the lineup had to be adjusted, giving Imrie (Hanson) the opportunity to step in! Talia (Baca) and Kaley (Swanson) had a great run in singles! Natalie (Carr) and Imrie teamed up to compete well in doubles.”
Both Ankeny and Centennial will now focus on the regional team competition. The Hawkettes (2-11) will host Des Moines East (1-5) in a regional quarterfinal on Saturday at 10 a.m., while the Jaguars (6-7) will host either Marshalltown (6-5) or Iowa City Liberty (4-9) in a semifinal match on Wednesday at 1 p.m.