Despite a couple of close matches, the Ankeny Centennial boys’ tennis team dropped an 11-0 decision at Johnston on Tuesday.
The victory was the seventh in a row for the Dragons, whose only loss came at Waukee Northwest on April 16. They finished 7-1 in the CIML Conference and improved to 8-1 overall, while Centennial’s records fell to 1-6 and 3-7.
“We may not have taken a match against Johnston, but the 0-11 score doesn’t tell the full story,” said Centennial coach Grant Menadue. “Two matches went to tiebreakers, there were countless deuce games, and our guys had a lot of fight from start to finish that is not reflected in that score.”
The Jaguars got a strong effort at No. 6 singles from Caden Kolars. He forced a decisive third set before dropping a 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (9) decision to Ben Keeling.
Centennial’s No. 4 doubles team of Tate Brooks and Brennan Dickinson also lost in three sets. They fell by similar scores of 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (7) to Luke Gragg and Trevor Finken.
“(Johnston coach) Dennis (Schuessler) is a great guy and leads an exceptional team,” Menadue said. “We always enjoy crossing paths with them and wish them nothing but good luck for the rest of their season!”
The Jaguars will travel to Southeast Polk on Thursday for their final conference meet. The Rams are 0-7 in the league and 0-10 overall after losing to Dowling Catholic, 11-0, on Tuesday.
“Now the focus shifts to our meet at Southeast Polk,” Menadue said. “We’re right on the cusp of qualifying for substate and need a win to strengthen our position. I believe in this group and their ability to get it done on Thursday.”
Here are the match-by-match results from Tuesday’s meet:
Johnston 11, Ankeny Centennial 0
Singles: Kumaresan beat Braun, 6-0, 6-0; Patel beat George, 6-1, 6-0; J. Mills beat R. Dickinson, 6-4, 6-2; Huneke beat Goff, 6-2, 6-1; Zou beat Brazeau, 6-1, 6-1; Keeling beat Kolars, 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (9).
Doubles: Kumaresan-Patel beat Braun-George, 6-1, 6-0; Huneke-Zou beat R. Dickinson-Goff, 6-1, 7-5; J. Mills-W. Mills beat Brazeau-Kolars, 6-1, 6-4; Gragg-Finken beat Brooks-B. Dickinson, 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (7); Driscoll-Zhang beat May-Law, 6-3, 6-3.