Steve Smith

Ankeny girls' tennis coach Steve Smith knew it would be difficult for any of his players to qualify for the Class 2A state tournament. But that didn't make it any easier for him to watch it unfold. "Your heart always goes out to your seniors when they don’t qualify in their last chance to make state," said Smith. "That being said, overall it was a … [Read more...] about ‘It was a solid performance’: Schmitz places 4th in singles at regional tourney

It was a memorable Senior Day for the Ankeny girls' tennis team on Friday. The Hawkettes defeated two of their three opponents in the Ankeny Invitational, highlighted by a 6-5 win over previously unbeaten Marshalltown. The Bobcats are now 13-1 on the season. "We had some amazing performances," said Ankeny coach Steve Smith, whose team also posted a 9-2 … [Read more...] about ‘We had some amazing performances’: Hawkettes win twice on Senior Day

The Ankeny girls' tennis team ran into another tough opponent on Tuesday. The Hawkettes traveled to Waukee Northwest for a CIML Conference meet and dropped a 10-1 decision to the No. 7 Wolves, who won nine of the 11 matches in straight sets. "Consistent with the theme of this season, we played another great team in extremely windy conditions," said … [Read more...] about Hawkettes fall to Waukee Northwest, will face rival Centennial on Thursday

The Ankeny girls' tennis team earned its first win of the season by defeating visiting Southeast Polk, 7-4, on Friday. The Hawkettes won four of the six singles matches and three of the five doubles contests. "Our top four players didn’t drop a set in singles or doubles," said Ankeny coach Steve Smith. "(The No. 5 doubles team of) Paige Ford and … [Read more...] about ‘It was good for our team to win their first meet’: Ankeny girls defeat S.E. Polk, 7-4

The Ankeny girls' tennis team earned a moral victory on Thursday. The Hawkettes saw some positive signs during an 11-0 loss to visiting Dowling Catholic at the Prairie Ridge courts. The Maroons are ranked No. 1 in Class 2A. "It sounds weird given the meet score, but I thought we played well tonight, especially in doubles," said Ankeny coach Steve … [Read more...] about ‘I thought we played well’: Ankeny girls see progress in loss to No. 1 Maroons

It was a meet that could have gone either way. In the end, the Ankeny girls' tennis team dropped a 5-4 decision at North Polk in a non-conference battle on Thursday. The meet was played under cold and blustery conditions. "It would be easy to try to blame the circumstances as it was one of the worst nights condition-wise I’ve ever seen," said Ankeny … [Read more...] about ‘It’s not really that big of a surprise’: Ankeny girls suffer 5-4 loss at North Polk

A depleted Ankeny girls' tennis team dropped an 11-0 decision to visiting Johnston on Tuesday. The Dragons won all 11 matches in straight sets. They improved to 2-0 in the CIML Conference and 2-0 overall. The Hawkettes' records fell to 0-2 and 0-2. "We were down five of our top 15 players, including two of our normal singles players," said Ankeny … [Read more...] about Without 5 of top 15 players, Ankeny girls tumble to potent Johnston squad

The Ankeny girls' tennis team opened its season on Thursday with an 8-3 loss at Waukee in a CIML Conference meet. Ankeny coach Steve Smith said he felt better about this loss than last year's 6-5 defeat to the Warriors in the season opener. "A year ago, we lost to Waukee despite being the better team because they outcompeted us," said Smith. "I … [Read more...] about ‘We had a lot of positives’: Ankeny girls hope to build on 8-3 loss at Waukee

When the Ankeny girls' tennis team opens its season on April 4 at Waukee, the Hawkettes' lineup will feature a new No. 1 player. Kira Smith, a two-time state qualifier and the daughter of coach Steve Smith, is not on the team's roster. "Kira is training in Florida, and I’m preparing for the season as if she won’t be playing," said coach Smith. It … [Read more...] about ‘Our focus will be improving each day’: Hawkettes return 5 varsity regulars

Ankeny sophomore Kira Smith has been battling an inflamed rotator cuff in her right shoulder for much of the girls' high school tennis season. The injury didn't prevent her from earning a second consecutive trip to the Class 2A state tournament. Smith placed second in singles in a Class 2A regional tournament on Wednesday at Valley. She advanced to the … [Read more...] about Smith earns another trip to state with runner-up finish at regional tourney

For the fourth time this season, the Ankeny girls' tennis team suffered a 6-5 loss on Monday--this time to Des Moines Roosevelt in a non-conference meet at the Waveland courts. The Roughriders won four of the six singles matches, then added two more victories in doubles to raise their record to 8-4. Tenth-ranked Ankeny dropped to 4-7. "We rested quite … [Read more...] about Another narrow loss drops Ankeny girls’ tennis team to 4-7 on season

On a day when the Ankeny girls' tennis team was planning to honor its seniors, Mother Nature refused to cooperate. The Hawkettes defeated a pair of opponents on Friday in the Ankeny Quadrangular, but their final match against unbeaten Norwalk was cancelled due to rain. "The weather also forced us to move our senior recognition ceremony indoors at the … [Read more...] about Hawkettes post wins over Marshalltown, S.E. Polk at Ankeny Quadrangular

The Ankeny girls' tennis team closed out its CIML Conference schedule with a 9-2 loss to fourth-ranked Valley on Thursday at the Prairie Ridge courts. The Tigers improved to 6-2 in the conference and 9-3 overall. Ankeny finished 2-6 in the league. "I was happy with how the team competed against one of the top teams in the state," said Ankeny coach … [Read more...] about Hawkettes drop 9-2 decision to No. 4 Valley, finish 2-6 in CIML Conference

An injury to Lauren Osburn proved costly on Wednesday for the Ankeny girls' tennis team. Osburn tweaked her back after winning the first set of her No. 3 singles match against visiting Urbandale. The senior went on to lose the match in three sets to Addy Danenhauer, who helped the J-Hawks to a 6-5 victory at the Prairie Ridge courts. "Unfortunately, … [Read more...] about Urbandale girls edge Hawkettes, 6-5, after Osburn exits with back injury

A slow start could have been costly for the Ankeny girls' tennis team on Tuesday. The ninth-ranked Hawkettes recovered, however, and went on to beat visiting Waukee Northwest, 8-3, in a CIML Conference meet. "The good news is that we won our third-set tiebreakers," said Ankeny coach Steve Smith. "The bad news is we came out flat and put ourselves in a … [Read more...] about Ankeny girls overcome slow start for 8-3 victory, will face Jaguars on Thursday