The Marshalltown girls’ tennis team didn’t get to celebrate Senior Night with a win as Ames spoiled the festivities with a 10-1 triumph over the Bobcats on Thursday night at the Marshalltown Court Complex.

The visiting Little Cyclones (6-3, 5-1) took a strong step toward victory with a 5-1 singles advantage, denied the outright victory by Marshalltown junior No. 1 singles player Kate Sandvick. Sandvick defeated Laura Chen in a three-set showdown, 5-7, 6-3, (10-7), to account for the Bobcats’ only win on the night.

Ames swept all five doubles matches to put the dual away.

“Ames was a very deep, experienced team,” said MHS head coach James Christensen. “We played some of our best tennis of the year. They just had one more shot than we did tonight.

“Kate was fantastic at No. 1 today, beating a very good player. Kate has so much fight in her, it’s great to see her be able to channel that into some good tennis.”

Sandvick improved to 8-2 in singles play this season, scoring the team’s only win in a dual for the second time this fall.

MHS senior Jorja Janssen was the only other Bobcat singles player to make it to a deciding third set. She dropped a decisive first set 6-1 to Adeline Oetker, but came back for the 6-4 victory in the second set. Oetker held on for the 10-6 win in the third-set super-tiebreaker.

A back-and-forth battle at No. 5 doubles led to another three-set thriller, as Marshalltown’s Ellison Wittkop and Trista Bratland went the distance against Kiersten Kvach and Amelia Todd. In the end, the Little Cyclones came out on top of the roller coaster contest, winning 6-1, 0-6, (10-6). Wittkop and Bratland are 6-5 as a doubles tandem this season.

“I have to shout-out our No. 5 doubles team,” Christensen said. “They are constantly working on their game, extremely coachable, and we keep telling them that these close losses are going to start turning into wins soon.”

The Bobcats (7-6, 4-3) close out the regular season on the road, going to Des Moines Lincoln on Tuesday before visiting Waverly-Shell Rock on Thursday, Sept. 11.

Ames 10, Marshalltown 1

SINGLES

Kate Sandvick (MHS) def. Laura Chen, 5-7, 6-3, (10-7)

Lila Goodenow (A) def. Ellie Downs, 6-0, 6-0

Adeline Oetker (A) def. Jorja Janssen, 6-1, 4-6, (10-6)

Chloe Lee (A) def. Lilyia Christen, 6-1, 6-1

Clara Fulton (A) def. Kaelyn Coleman, 6-2, 6-2

Callie Hales (A) def. Grace Diggins, 6-4, 7-6

DOUBLES

Chen and Oetker (A) def. Sandvick and Downs, 6-4, 6-3

Goodenow and Lee (A) def. Janssen and Christen, 6-4, 6-4

Fulton and Cora Hatfield (A) def. Coleman and Hanna Osgood, 6-1, 7-5

Hales and Erin Cho (A) def. Diggins and Taylor Bear, 6-2, 6-2

Kiersten Kvach and Amelia Todd (A) def. Ellison Wittkop and Trista Bratland, 6-1, 0-6, (10-6)