A sure sign of prestige is the ability to draw a variety of opponents from various distances for a weekend tournament over the holidays.

The Marshalltown boys’ tennis team has that kind of clout, and on Saturday the Bobcats corroborated it with a pair of prestigous victories.

The Class 2A No. 8 Bobcats bested No. 7 Cedar Falls, 8-3, and followed with an 8-1 beatdown of Bettendorf on a blustery day at the Marshalltown Court Complex.

Having played just two duals in the first two weeks of the season, 40-degree temperatures and wins gusting less than 30 miles per hour made for playable conditions compared to the rest of the spring weather they’ve had to endure.

Twenty-four hours after sweeping aside host Newton, Marshalltown bundled up and beat a pair of perennial powers with room to spare.

“We’re at the point of the year where if it’s dry and the furniture out here is staying on the ground, we’re going to play tennis,” MHS head coach James Christensen said from under his stocking cap. “It kind of warmed up a little bit, but we’re just happy to compete and play against people who aren’t wearing our jerseys. You just want to see some variety and play somebody that you aren’t best friends with.”

The Bobcats (4-1) certainly checked that off the list with Saturday’s opening match against Cedar Falls (3-2). A hotly contested dual experienced a handful of refuted calls that resulted in rising volumes and heated exchanges in a sport that mandates its players do the officiating.

Christensen said his players dealt with the altercations well and got the desired result in impressive fashion.

“With the weather today and the interesting circumstances surrounding a couple of our matches, it was definitely a mental test and our guys definitely passed,” he said. “Just being able to go in there in an environment where we’re not used to playing people who act that way and take care of yourself, take care of the scoreboard only and being able to block all that extraneous noise out, it’s tough to do for high school kids — it’s tough to do for anybody. The fact that they were able to get that done, give all the credit in the world to Isaac Benscoter, Colin Schmit and Jacob Thiessen having to deal with that circus all day long and coming out of it with victories.

“It’s a lot to ask of these kids and still go out there and execute tennis plays. I was pretty impressed with them.”

Schmit and Thiessen played the only three-set match in the Bobcats’ 8-3 victory over Cedar Falls, rallying back from a first-set loss to defeat Sai Pranav Kota and Adil Ashar in the No. 3 doubles match, 4-6, 6-3, (10-7). It was part of Marshalltown’s 4-1 advantage in doubles to follow up a 4-2 victory in singles matches against a higher ranked opponent.

Kevin Strand and Jason Strand both won their Nos. 1 and 2 singles matches, respectively, but fell in the No. 1 doubles bout. Schmit and Benscoter won in straight sets at Nos. 5 and 6 singles, giving the Bobcats a 4-2 edge heading into doubles play.

Cedar Falls took the top doubles bout, but Marshalltown’s depth shined through after that. Gavin Jablonski and Nile Christensen, who lost their singles matches, rebounded for a straight-set win at No. 2 doubles, 6-3, 6-4, over Param Sampat and Akshat Mehta. Benscoter and Cael Sandvick worked together for a 6-4, 6-2 triumph at No. 4, while Grant Greazel and Drew Loney banked a 6-1, 6-0 sweep over Ed LIn and Jens Lildholdt at No. 5.

“I would have been very happy with a 6-5 victory, so getting a couple bonus points in there at 8-2 was fantastic,” Christensen said. “Just being able to win the 6-5 format and the state format of 6-3, we win both of those so that was pretty awesome.

“This is just the halfway mark of the year where you test yourself against some guys with a somewhat full lineup and see what you’re made out of and I think we passed that test today.”

MHS junior Jason Strand returned to the lineup on Friday at Newton and pressed on in his recovery from injury with Saturday’s doubleheader. After enduring a three-set loss at No. 2 singles to Bettendorf’s Noah Gehler, Jason earned his respite from playing doubles.

Jason’s brother, Kevin, paired with Schmit instead at No. 1 doubles and the Bobcat duo dropped a 6-1, 6-2 victory on Bettendorf’s Robert Matera and Jack Reilly. Kevin improved to 5-0 at No. 1 singles, all in straight sets.

Jablonski and Christensen earned a straight-set win at No. 2, and Benscoter closed out an unbeaten day on the court as he and Thiessen toppled Mark Brooks and Drew Swanson, 6-3, 6-2.

Schmit, like Benscoter, went 4-0 as well to help the Bobcats bag a pair of presigious wins.

“Cedar Falls and Bettendorf are two perennial powerhouses in tennis,” coach Christensen said. “To come out of here with a couple victories is awesome.”

Marshalltown will attempt to play three more meets this week, weather pending of course. Johnston visits today for a 4 p.m. match that follows the girls’ dual, and the Bobcats travel to Des Moines North on Tuesday. MHS entertains No. 4 Waukee Northwest on Saturday morning.

Round One

Marshalltown 8, Cedar Falls 3

Ankeny Centennial 5, Bettendorf 4

Round Two

Marshalltown 8, Bettendorf 1

Cedar Falls 10, Ankeny Centennial 1

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Singles

Kevin Strand (MHS) def. Neel Shah, 6-4, 6-2

Jason Strand (MHS) def. Param Sampat, 6-2, 6-4

Sai Pranav Kota (CF) def. Gavin Jablonski, 6-3, 6-3

Anurag Anugu (CF) def. Nile Christensen, 6-3, 6-2

Colin Schmit (MHS) def. Akshat Mehta, 6-1, 6-4

Isaac Benscoter (MHS) def. Adil Ashar, 6-1, 6-2

Doubles

Shah and Anugu (CF) def. Strand and Strand, 6-2, 7-6 (5)

Jablonski and Christensen (MHS) def. Sampat and Mehta, 6-3, 6-4

Schmit and Jacob Thiessen (MHS) def. Kota and Ashar, 4-6, 6-4, (10-7)

Benscoter and Cael Sandvick (MHS) def. Shawn Wegmann and Grant Redfern, 6-4, 6-2

Grant Greazel and Drew Loney (MHS) def. Ed Lin and Jens Lildholdt, 6-1, 6-0

Marshalltown 8, Bettendorf 1

Singles

K. Strand (MHS) def. Robert Matera, 6-0, 6-3

Noah Gehler (BET) def. J. Strand, 6-4, 4-6, (10-7)

Jablonski (MHS) def. Jack Reilly, 6-3, 6-3

Christensen (MHS) def. Mark Brooks, 6-2, 6-2

Schmit (MHS) def. Grant Carkner, 6-4, 6-2

Benscoter (MHS) def. Declan Hancock, 6-1, 6-3

Doubles

K. Strand and Schmit (MHS) def. Matera and Reilly, 6-1, 6-2

Jablonski and Christensen (MHS) def. Gehler and Carkener, 7-6 (4), 6-3

Benscoter and Thiessen (MHS) def. Brooks and Andrew Swanson, 6-3, 6-2