Despite some stiff competition at the top spots in the Bobcat lineup, MHS cruised to an 8-3 victory in Iowa Alliance action.

“We have a bunch of depth,” MHS head coach James Christensen said. “Between our number 7 and number 16 guys, it’s pretty tight. It makes for some competitive situations in practice where our 3, 4 and 5 doubles had to win challenge matches yesterday in order to get that right to play today.”

Isaac Benscoter dropped a 6-1, 6-1 match at No. 1 singles against Fort Dodge junior and two-time state medalist Micah Flaherty. At No. 2 singles, Jacob Thiessen went to a second-set tiebreaker with Akramjon Abdurakhimov, a foreign exchange student from Uzbekistan, but fell 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) in the most-contended match of the day. Flaherty and Abdurakhimov added a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles over Benscoter and Thiessen.

“We weren’t really expecting [Abdurakhimov],” Christensen said. “But the level of competition there at one and two singles and one doubles was awesome today, and it’s always a good test to have early in the season to give us a couple of different looks. Micah’s a lefty which we haven’t seen this year and just plays a really smart game.”

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - Marshalltown’s Dale Greene, left, makes a leaping backhand volley during the No. 2 doubles match on Thursday at the Marshalltown Court Complex. Greene and Carson Snyder defeated their Fort Dodge counterparts Aidan Recker and Tate Balkenende in the Bobcats’ 8-3 dual meet victory.

Benscoter is coming off a state-qualifying doubles run with now-graduated Drew Loney while Thiessen was doubles partners with individual state medalist Jason Strand last season.

“They’ve been tested a lot so far this season,” Christensen said. “They’ve had some high-level competition and we’ve been able to take some positives from each of their matches even with some losses.”

Dale Greene and Carson Snyder won their singles matches and No. 2 doubles match in straight sets, as did Jacob Christen and Adam Boone. The duos of Isaac Seberger and Tayven Dutton and Jacob Seberger and Parker Christen also cruised to victory at No. 4 and No. 5 doubles, respectively.

Marshalltown improved to 4-2 on the season with Thursday’s victory.

“It’s a work in progress, for sure,” Christensen said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys playing higher than in the past and there’s something to learn about that level of competition that they need to bring every single set to play at that level. We’ve been working on those high-level situations — the deuce points, tiebreakers, and we’ve lost more than our fair share this year. It’s something we continue to harp on in practice and try to get people to play loose.”

Next up for the Bobcats is a home quad with three squads in the top 10 in 2A : No. 1 Waukee Northwest, No. 3 Pleasant Valley and No. 7 Mason City. Play begins at 9:30 a.m. at the MHS Tennis Courts.

Marshalltown 8, Fort Dodge 3

SINGLES

Micah Flaherty (FD) def. Isaac Benscoter, 6-1, 6-1

Akramjon Abdurakahimov (FD) def. Jacob Thiessen, 7-5, 6-7 (3-7)

Dale Greene (MHS) def. Tate Balkenende, 6-0, 6-1

Carson Snyder (MHS) def. Jaxton Jones, 6-0, 6-0

Jacob Christen (MHS) def. Aidan Recker, 6-3, 6-1

Adam Boone (MHS) def. Jaxon Price, 6-2, 6-0

DOUBLES

Flaherty and Abdurakahimov (FD) def. Benscoter and Thiessen, 6-2, 6-3

Greene and Snyder (MHS) def. Recker and Balkenende, 6-3, 6-4

Christen and Boone (MHS) def. Jones and Price, 6-0, 6-0

Isaac Seberger and Tayven Dutton (MHS) def. Mason Lundberg and Aidan Russell, 6-2, 6-0

Jacob Seberger and Parker Christen (MHS) def. Jenson Litwiller and Drew Essman, 6-1, 6-0