MHS boys fight uphill battle vs. No. 1 Wolves, No. 3 Spartans
It’s a rare day that the Marshalltown boys’ tennis team gets humbled the way it did on Saturday, but head coach James Christensen hopes it serves his squad well down the road.
The Bobcats were defeated twice during Saturday’s home-court tournament, falling 11-0 to both top-ranked Waukee Northwest and No. 3 Pleasant Valley during a windy and warm day at the Marshalltown Court Complex.
Marshalltown (4-4) managed to escape with three set victories over the course of 22 matches, but that the opportunity existed for more is the most encouraging part for Christensen.
“Super pleased with our performance against two of the top three teams in the state,” he said. “Our guys never stopped competing and definitely had opportunities to bring home some wins and just came up a bit short.”
Waukee Northwest greeted the Bobcats with six straight-set singles setbacks, and the doubles competition was well on its way to the same sort of outcome. Marshalltown’s No. 5 doubles pairing of Will Swartz and Kyle Smith captured their second set in a tiebreaker, but the third-set super-tiebreaker got away from them in a 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), (10-5) loss to Caleb Briggs and Clay Elfers.
“Our Nos. 4 and 5 doubles can hang with everyone in the state,” Christensen said. “They are definitely a strength of our team.”
Jacob Thiessen put up some serious resistance in a 6-4, 6-4 loss at No. 2 singles to the Wolves’ Sean Sonoiki, while Jacob Christen also went down swinging 6-3, 6-3, against Gavin Leuck at No. 5 singles.
Against Pleasant Valley, the Bobcats managed to claim one set during singles play as Carson Snyder rallied back from an early deficit to force a deciding third set. Joshua Phanwar D’Cruz held off Snyder’s challenge, however, for the 6-0, 4-6, (10-3) triumph.
“Carson Snyder was a warrior out there today, battling back from 0-6,” Christensen said. “He really showed his grit and competitiveness.”
Dale Greene played well in a 6-3, 6-4 defeat at No. 3 singles, and Adam Boone battled to a 6-3, 6-3 loss at No. 6.
“Dale battles every point and is getting better every day,” Christensen said.
Marshalltown’s top doubles pairing of Isaac Benscoter and Thiessen took their two-set loss to the edge of a potential third, falling 6-2, 7-5, while Isaac Sebeger and Tayven Dutton scored the Bobcats’ only doubles set against Pleasant Valley in a 3-6, 6-1, (10-6) loss to Achinteya Jayaram and Riley Rashka at No. 4.
Swartz and Smith fell 7-5, 6-2 to Jack and Grant Cabay at No. 5 doubles as well.
“Isaac and JT (Thiessen) faced off against state champs and runners-up today and showed that they could hang,” Christensen said. “That will serve them well come district time.
“Adam Boone and Jacob Christen continued to battle, but just came up a couple shots short in each set.”
In the other matches of the day, No. 7 Mason City fell 7-4 to Pleasant Valley and 8-3 to Waukee Northwest.
Marshalltown won’t have long to wait to apply any lessons learned from Saturday’s defeats, as the Bobcats play host to Des Moines Lincoln and Ottumwa for a triangular on Tuesday starting at noon.
Waukee Northwest 11, Marshalltown 0
SINGLES
Vivek Kothari (WNW) def. Isaac Benscoter, 6-2, 6-1
Sean Sonoiki (WNW) def. Jacob Thiessen, 6-4, 6-4
Drew Fenton (WNW) def. Dale Greene, 6-1, 6-1
Miles Steffensmeier (WNW) def. Carson Snyder, 6-1, 6-1
Gavin Leuck (WNW) def. Jacob Christen, 6-3, 6-3
Thomas Wang (WNW) def. Adam Boone, 6-4, 6-0
DOUBLES
Jake Nelson and Kellen Croatt (WNW) def. Benscoter and Thiessen, 6-0, 6-2
Sonoiki and Leuck (WNW) def. Greene and Snyder, 6-2, 6-0
Steffensmeier and Wang (WNW) def. Christen and Boone, 6-1, 6-1
Noah Tingley and Noah Thomas (WNW) def. Isaac Seberger and Tayven Dutton, 6-1, 6-4
Caleb Briggs and Clay Elfers (WNW) def. Will Swartz and Kyle Smith, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), (10-5)
Pleasant Valley 11, Marshalltown 0
SINGLES
Folu Adekunle (PV) def. Benscoter, 6-2, 6-2
Jatin Kodavatiganti (PV) def. Thiessen, 6-1, 6-1
Karthik Ganesh (PV) def. Greene, 6-3, 6-4
Joshua Phanwar D’Cruz (PV) def. Snyder, 6-0, 4-6, (10-3)
Armaan Bhagwat (PV) def. Christen, 6-0, 6-2
Achinteya Jayaram (PV) def. Boone, 6-3, 6-3
DOUBLES
Adekunle and Kodavatiganti (PV) def. Benscoter and Thiessen, 6-2, 7-5
Ganesh and Bhagwat (PV) def. Greene and Snyder, 6-1, 6-0
D’Cruz and Max Muszalski (PV) def. Christen and Boone, 6-2, 6-3
Jayaram and Riley Rashka (PV) def. Seberger and Dutton, 3-6, 6-1, (10-6)
Jack Cabay and Grant Cabay (PV) def. Swartz and Smith, 7-5, 6-2