The Marshalltown girls’ tennis team came within one match of finishing with a perfect regular-season record, falling 6-5 to Ankeny during Friday’s Ankeny Invite at the Prairie Ridge Sports Complex.
The Bobcats finished the regular season 13-1 overall, going 2-1 on the day with wins over Dallas Center-Grimes (8-3) and Southeast Polk (10-1) along with a narrow defeat to the host Hawks.
The loss to Ankeny was driven by the Hawks’s success in singles play. Ankeny took the top four singles bouts before Marshalltown retaliated with a 3-2 advantage in doubles play.
Lily Zahnd and Halie Hohnstein captured singles wins for the Bobcats at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, and the same duo teamed up for the most lopsided of three doubles wins.
Zahnd and Hohnstein scored an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles over Mallory DeHaan and Samara Feldhacker; Ellie Hughes and Rachel Jones held on for a 9-7 triumph at No. 4 over Ella Dietrich and Miranda Geest; and Kate Hauser and Callie Swanson scored an 8-6 victory at No. 5 over Lily Garcia and Kenna Skinner.
The Bobcats were dominant in their two wins. MHS went 5-1 in singles against Southeast Polk before sweeping the doubles matches.
Marshalltown captured a 4-2 advantage on Dallas Center-Grimes through singles play before putting the Fillies away with a 4-1 edge in doubles.
Zahnd was 6-0 on the day with three singles and three doubles wins.
The Bobcats host individual regionals Monday at 9 a.m. at the Marshalltown Court Complex, and team regionals begins with a match against Des Moines East on May 10 at home.
Ankeny 6, Marshalltown 5
SINGLES
Sophie Schmitz (A) def. Rebekah Downs, 8-5
Lillith Francel (A) def. Kennedy Feldman, 8-3
Olivia North (A) def. Ava Lucas, 8-4
Paige Ford (A) def. Claire Bohan, 8-4
Lily Zahnd (MHS) def. KJ Quirk, 8-0
Haile Hohnstein (MHS) def. Susan Hanley, 8-4
DOUBLES
Francel and North (A) def. Downs and Feldman, 8-6
Schmitz and Quirk (A) def. Lucas and Bohan, 8-1
Zahnd and Hohnstein (MHS) def. Mallory DeHaan and Samara Feldhacker, 8-3
Ellie Hughes and Rachel Jones (MHS) def. Ella Dietrich and Miranda Geest, 9-7
Kate Hauser and Callie Swanson (MHS) def. Lily Garcia and Kenna Skinner, 8-6
Marshalltown 8, Dallas Center-Grimes 3
SINGLES
Gwen Farley (DCG) def. Downs, 8-2
Feldman (MHS) def. Jenna Kalk, 8-1
Lucas (MHS) def. Ellie Laskey, 8-3
Bohan (MHS) def. Paige Cottrell, 8-5
Zahnd (MHS) def. Mesa Worley, 8-3
Helena Boerre (DCG) def. Hohnstein, 8-6
DOUBLES
Downs and Feldman (MHS) def. Kalk and Laskey, 8-1
Farley and Worley (DCG) def. Lucas and Bohan, 9-8 (7-2)
Zahnd and Hohnstein (MHS) def. Boerre and Cottrell, 8-0
Hughes and Jones (MHS) def. Ella Swanson and Vanessa Donaghy, 8-3
Hauser and Swanson (MHS) def. Kayli Reggio and Callie Weible, 8-0
Marshalltown 10, Southeast Polk 1
SINGLES
Downs (MHS) def. Bre Dao, 8-5
Feldman (MHS) def. Kylie Ciesielski, 8-4
Lucas (MHS) def. Karah Kenney, 8-3
Addison Bartels (SEP) def. Bohan, 8-3
Zahnd (MHS) def. Lauren Berkey, 8-4
Hohnstein (MHS) def. Stevie Bouchard, 8-2
DOUBLES
Downs and Feldman (MHS) def. Dao and Ciesielski, 8-6
Lucas and Bohan (MHS) def. Bartels and Payton Shields, 9-8 (7-4)
Zahnd and Hohnstein (MHS) def. Bouchard and Berkey, 8-2
Hughes and Jones (MHS) def. Zolee Christensen and Kennedy Wetmore, 8-4
Hauser and Swanson (MHS) def. Hailie Cech and Arielle Bowers, 8-1