The Marshalltown girls’ tennis team spent the day at the Marshalltown Court Complex, enduring both ends of the spectrum for a pair of wins to start the sesaon off right.

The Bobcats blasted Des Moines Hoover, 11-0, and followed it up with a comeback victory over Boone, 6-5.

The day’s events began with Marshalltown’s dual against Hoover at 11 a.m., and the Bobcats’ match with Boone began a bit before its scheduled 3:30 p.m. start. Four singles matches between MHS and Boone went to third-set super-tiebreakers, taking the athletes to task in their season-opening meet.

“It’s great, we love these all-dayers,” said MHS head coach John Fiscus. “It’s good to have two matches in a row because it gets you ready for regionals and everything else at the end of the year. We have a three-match day coming up and our girls always wear out before the last one, so we need to be more prepared. We’ve got to be more in shape.”

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Marshalltown’s Claire Bohan makes a backhand volley at the net during No. 2 doubles play against Boone on Thursday at the Marshalltown Court Complex.

Cool but calm weather welcomed Marshalltown to the courts, and the Bobcats breezed through Des Moines Hoover in Thursday’s opener. MHS surrendered just five games in the matinee, winning all 11 matches in straight sets.

Rebekah Downs, Kennedy Feldman, Ava Lucas, Claire Bohan, Callie Swanson and Kate Hauser collected the singles wins for MHS. In doubles play, Downs and Feldman posted a 6-0, 6-0 sweep at No. 1, while Lucas and Bohan did the same at No. 2.

Swanson and Hauser surrendered the only game the Bobcats gave up in doubles competition, winning 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3. Ellie Hughes and Rachel Jones swept Hoover at No. 4, and the combination of Lily Zahnd and Halie Hohnstein shut out their Hoover counterparts at No. 5.

Boone blasted Hoover by the same 11-0 score before the Toreadors took aim at Marshalltown, and a 4-2 lead through singles play had them on target.

The Bobcats spoiled Boone’s bid with a 4-1 doubles advantage, coming down to the last two contests on the courts.

Marshalltown’s Nos. 4, 5 and 3 doubles teams recorded straight-set sweeps to bring the Bobcats into a 5-4 lead in the match, meaning one more win would seal the dual for the Bobcats. Already in position, Downs and Feldman finished off Boon counterparts Gracie Gustafson and Kaylee Kuehl by a 6-3, 6-4 margin at No. 1 doubles for the clinching win.

“We didn’t know what to expect from Boone,” Fiscus said. “We knew they were a pretty good team in the past and they were again. They’re just like us and obviously it showed because we had a lot of tiebreakers.

“It was a great day. We had to play a lot and the girls were on the court a lot of hours, which is great because we haven’t had a lot of practice. And practice is one thing but game play, match play is more important.”

The Bobcats got a lot of that match-play experience during singles play against Boone, going 2-2 in matches that reached third-set super-tiebreakers. The Nos. 1 and 2 singles players — Downs and Feldman — claimed critical wins for MHS that kept hope of the doubles comeback alive.

Marshalltown is back at home on Tuesday, entertaining Des Moines East in a 4 p.m. dual. The Bobcats visit Ames next Thursday and host Cedar Rapids Jefferson in a 1:30 p.m. clash next Friday.

At Marshalltown

Marshalltown 11, Des Moines Hoover 0

Boone 11, Des Moines Hoover 0

Marshalltown 6, Boone 5

Marshalltown 11, Des Moines Hoover 0

SINGLES

Rebekah Downs (MHS) def. Mar Sar Paw, 6-1, 6-0

Kennedy Feldman (MHS) def. Thoi Te, 6-0, 6-1

Ava Lucas (MHS) def. Jaycie Johnson, 6-0, 6-0

Claire Bohan (MHS) def. Khaine Htet, 6-1, 6-0

Callie Swanson (MHS) def. Genesis Perez-Ambrocio, 6-0, 6-1

Kate Hauser (MHS) def. Sylviah Ho, 6-0, 6-0

DOUBLES

Downs and Feldman (MHS) def. Paw and Perez-Ambrocio, 6-0, 6-0

Lucas and Bohan (MHS) def. Te and Johnson, 6-0, 6-0

Swanson and Hauser (MHS) def. Htet and Ho, 6-1, 6-0

Ellie Hughes and Rachel Jones (MHS) def. Lar Wah and Christina Santhen, 6-0, 6-0

Lily Zahnd and Halie Hohnstein (MHS) def. Hunter Horn and Par Len, 6-0, 6-0

Marshalltown 6, Boone 5

SINGLES

Downs (MHS) def. Gracie Gustafson, 6-2, 3-6, (10-5)

Feldman (MHS) def. Kaylee Kuehl, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), (10-8)

Shannon Jenkins (B) def. Lucas, 7-5, 4-6, (10-6)

Lucy Hansen (B) def. Bohan, 6-1, 6-4

Juliana Lutz (B) def. Zahnd, 6-3, 1-6, (10-5)

Ally Thompson (B) def. Hohnstein, 6-4, 7-5

DOUBLES

Downs and Feldman (MHS) def. Gustafson and Kuehl, 6-3, 6-4

Jenkins and Hansen (B) def. Lucas and Bohan, 4-6, 6-4, (10-7)

Hohnstein and Zahnd (MHS) def. Lutz and Thompson, 6-1, 6-3

Hughes and Jones (MHS) def. Lineea Trudeau and Annika Byrd, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2)

Hauser and Swanson (MHS) def. Baylee Bunning and Madilyn Barrett, 6-1, 6-3

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