The Ankeny Centennial girls’ tennis team advanced a pair of doubles teams to the semifinals of a Class 2A regional tournament on Wednesday at Marshalltown.
The duo of Ella Sutherland and Laura Schulz eventually defeated teammates Anna Pedersen and Carly Oliver in the third-place match.
“Both teams played some of their best tennis of the season!” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson.
Dowling Catholic swept the top two places in doubles. Berkley Johnson and Maddie Shell posted a 6-2, 6-1 win over teammates Jessi Johnson and Victoria Valverde in the finals, but both teams will advance to state.
“Ella and Laura were especially impressive throughout the day,” Gustafson said. “They played extremely well in every match and battled hard against a strong Dowling team. Their groundstrokes were incredibly strong all day, and they did a great job playing strategically and working together, making smart decisions, and holding control of points.
“Anna and Carly also had a fantastic day. They knocked off a seeded team to advance to the semifinals and continued to fight hard against Dowling. They played great tennis and competed for every point, but unfortunately came up just short,” she added.
Centennial’s Talia Baca placed fourth in singles. The Jaguars were also represented by Avery Bohnenkamp in singles.
“Talia entered the day as the No. 3 seed and had a great first match, playing confidently and earning a strong win against Ankeny,” Gustafson said. “She battled hard in her second match too, but unfortunately, she couldn’t quite pull out the win. Avery had a tough first-round matchup and competed well, showing some aggressive shot-making throughout the match. Although she came up short, she continued to battle and compete.”
Dowling’s Kenzia Edward was the regional singles champion. She won by injury default over Marshalltown’s Kate Sandvick.
Ankeny got first-round wins in singles from Ella Dietrich and Jaleigh Moen. The doubles team of Mary Johnson and Ruth Owens also won their opening match.
The Hawkettes (3-11) will face Centennial (4-9) in the quarterfinals of a Class 2A regional team tournament on Saturday. The action gets under way at 8:30 a.m. at the Prairie Ridge courts.
“We are excited to get the opportunity to play the Jags,” said Ankeny coach Katie Owens.
The Jaguars defeated Ankeny, 11-0, on Aug. 27. The winner of Saturday’s match will advance to a semifinal at Ottumwa (10-0) on Wednesday.
“I’m incredibly proud of all of the girls for the way they competed today,” Gustafson said. “It was a great opportunity to see our girls put so much of what we’ve worked on all season into action! Unfortunately, we came up short of a trip to the state tournament, but we now have our eyes set on the team regional tournament!”