Jaguars, Hawkettes both fall in regional finals

The Ankeny Centennial girls’ tennis team dropped a 5-1 decision at Urbandale in the final of a Class 2A regional team tournament on May 22. The Jaguars finished with a 9-4 record.

It was the J-Hawks’ second victory over Centennial this season. They also defeated the Jaguars, 9-2, on April 4.

“We had an outstanding season as a team. I couldn’t have asked more from the ladies,” said Centennial coach Emily Phommachack. “They played very hard at Urbandale and left everything they had on the court. Urbandale is a tough team, but our improvement really showed in our scores and the way we battled with them in singles compared to our first meet with them this season.”

Alyssa Lewton provided Centennial’s lone victory at No. 3 singles. She scored the final three points of a third-set super tiebreaker to defeat Brooke Dannenfeldt, 3-6, 6-2, 10-8.

The Jaguars advanced to the final after posting a 5-1 victory at Valley in the semifinal round on May 20.

Here are the match-by-match results from both meets:

Singles--Reis beat Nitschke, 6-3, 6-2; Staub beat Smith, 6-4, 6-2; Lewton (AC) beat Dannenfeldt, 3-6, 6-2, 10-8; Kaiser beat Harris, 6-1, 6-2; Cole beat Gustafson, 6-3, 6-4; Havran beat Volk, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6.

Singles--Nitschke beat Torgerson, 6-4, 6-1; Smith beat Morrow, 6-3, 6-4; Ordinteva (V) beat Lewton, 5-7, 6-3, 10-5; Harris beat Stewart, 2-6, 6-4, 10-3; Gustafson beat Oakley, 6-1, 6-1; Volk beat Auer, 6-0, 6-0.

Ankeny’s season ends

Ankeny, meanwhile, saw its season come to an end in another regional final at Johnston, where the Hawkettes suffered a 5-0 loss to the host Dragons. They finished with a 6-7 record.

Ankeny earlier rolled to a 5-0 victory over Marshalltown in the semifinal round. The Hawkettes benefited from two forfeits against the Bobcats, who were unable to field a full squad.

Here are the match-by-match results from both meets:

Singles--Naanep beat Weber, 6-0, 6-0; Heiser beat Winker, 6-2, 6-2; Heil beat Legg, 6-1, 6-1; Monson beat Voss, 6-3, 6-4; Hartle beat Varineau, 6-3, 6-0; Johnson beat Blatt, 6-4, 6-4.

Singles--Weber beat Miller, 6-0, 6-1; Winker beat Martin, 6-1, 6-3; Legg beat Grimm, 6-3, 6-4; Varineau won by forfeit.

Doubles--Legg/Varineau won by forfeit.

Preview of State Tournament

Two Centennial doubles teams will now compete in the Class 2A state tournament on Thursday and Friday at Ankeny. Lewton and Maddie Volk won the regional title on May 18 with a three-set victory over teammates Michelle Nitschke and Abby Smith.

“The girls are working hard in practice and preparing for the big day,” Phommachack said. “We’re hoping for good weather and a fantastic day of tennis!”

Lewton and Volk will meet Erin Connolly and Laura Ludescher of Dubuque Hempstead in the opening round. Nitschke and Smith will face third-seeded Kelly King and Hannah Sherman of Cedar Rapids Washington.

King and Sherman are the top returnees from last year’s tournament. They teamed up for a fourth-place finish in 2016.

Other teams that could contend for the title are Iowa City West and Pleasant Valley. Iowa City West’s Emma Koch, who placed sixth in singles a year ago, qualified along with teammate Abby Jans--they are seeded fourth.

Pleasant Valley’s Hannah Humes placed eighth in singles last year. She qualified along with teammate Emily Nutt, who was part of last year’s eighth-place doubles team.

Dowling Catholic and Urbandale also qualified two doubles teams along with Centennial. Anna Rose Corell of Dowling, who was part of last year’s sixth-place doubles team, combined with Anna Wanek to win a regional title--they are seeded second.

Urbandale’s Abby Reis and Jackie Kaiser earned the No. 1 seed. They could meet Lewton and Volk in the quarterfinals.