The Ankeny boys’ tennis squad earned a fourth-place finish in the Dennis Hoefle Invitational on Friday at the Prairie Ridge courts, while Ankeny Centennial tied for sixth in the eight-team field.
Johnston won the tournament with 48 points, taking first in two of the four flights. Mason City placed second with 37 points, followed by Ames with 36.
Ankeny finished with 30 points, one more than Norwalk.
“It was a tale of two draws,” said Ankeny coach Ron Miller. “In singles we had favorable draws and played in the finals of both flights. Doubles was exactly the opposite.”
Centennial and Dallas Center-Grimes each scored 23 points.
“We had a great time at the Hoefle Invite, and it is always one of my favorite events each season,” said Centennial coach Grant Menadue. “We had some wins and some losses, but the day is bigger than just team success. The event is a reminder of the type of coach Dennis was and the impact he had on the Iowa tennis community. He was a perfect example of a coach, teacher and friend all in one, and is something I think all of us coaches strive to be.”
Garrett Weichers cruised past his first two opponents at No. 1 singles before dropping a 6-0, 4-6, 1-0 (9) decision to Vihaan Koganti of Des Moines Roosevelt in the title match.
“Garrett played smart all day, doing what he had to do to get to the finals against a very strong Roosevelt player,” Miller said. “Then, after losing the first set, he made a strong comeback to win the second set and then had three match points but just couldn’t get over the line.”
Grady Schlosser matched Weichers by scoring 12 points for the Hawks at No. 2 singles. He rallied for a three-set victory over Jackson Squier of Mason City to reach the final before falling to Owen Huneke of Johnston, 6-1, 6-1.
“Grady was nursing a very sore foot so he wasn’t able to play his best but finished anyway,” Miller said.
The Ankeny duo of Michael Black and Treyton Riesberg placed seventh at No. 1 doubles. They lost in the opening round to eventual champs Srihari Kumaresan and Aadil Patel of Johnston, who lost only six games in three matches on the day.
“Michael and Treyton drew one of the best teams in the state,” Miller said.
At No. 2 doubles, Ankeny’s Perez Perez and Carter Garcia lost their first match to Grant Phillips and Quin O’Bryan of Ames, who went on to reach the final before losing to Norwalk’s Lane Juergens and Eli Mills. Perez and Garcia eventually won a three-set match to place seventh.
Centennial was led by Aaron Braun, who placed fourth at No. 2 singles. He scored eight of the Jaguars’ points.
Braun dropped a 6-2, 6-2 decision to Huneke in the semifinals. He then lost a close match for third place to Squier, 6-4, 6-4.
Centennial got a fifth-place finish from the No. 1 doubles team of Reese Dickinson and Nathan Goff. They posted a 7-6 (4), 6-2 win over Black and Riesberg in a consolation semifinal, then followed with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Logan Halverson and Kai Enderlin of Dallas Center-Grimes in the fifth-place match.
Tate Brooks and Crew Brazeau placed sixth at No. 2 doubles for the Jaguars. Owen George took seventh at No. 1 singles.
Centennial was coming off back-to-back losses to Dowling Catholic and Valley earlier in the week.
“Our team had some tough opponents throughout the week, but I am proud of the way they fought and the belief they have had in themselves,” Menadue said. “A lot of these teams have players who play year-round and put in a lot of extra time to their craft. We put up a good fight and had a lot of deuce games, but their extra reps and match experience really showed up in those pressure situations.
“These types of meets are won in the off-season, and the extra work that gets put in outside of our season,” he added.
Ankeny will host a non-conference meet against Ottumwa (4-3) on Monday, while Centennial will travel to Waukee Northwest for a CIML Conference meet against the undefeated Wolves (7-0).