The encouraging part was its fight to the bitter end.

The disappointing part was the way the challenge was greeted.

The Marshalltown boys’ tennis team sampled a new taste on Friday at the Marshalltown Court Complex, suffering double defeat during a quadrangular meet at home.

The Bobcats fell 8-3 to Cedar Rapids Jefferson and 7-4 to West Des Moines Valley, sustaining their first losses of the spring after a run of eight-straight dual meet wins to start the season.

Marshalltown (8-2) didn’t rise up to meet Jefferson’s energy to start the day, but refused to let Valley walk away with a lopsided triumph to end it.

“Jefferson played excellent this morning and we just didn’t have the response,” said MHS head coach James Christensen. “Against Valley we bounced back from some close losses at 1 and 3 doubles and had the meet on our rackets in singles.”

Cedar Rapids Jefferson (5-4) opened the day by taking three of five doubles bouts from the Bobcats before scoring five of the six singles contests to close out the victory. Two doubles matches went into third-set super-tiebreakers, and both teams claimed one of them.

The rest were straight-set battles that left the Bobcats on the short side of the scorecard for the first time this spring.

Elliot Kodis at No. 2 scored Marshalltown’s lone singles win, defeating Harada Takafumi 6-4, 6-2. Kodis would eventually become the only Bobcat to win twice in singles play, taking down Valley’s Rohan Singaram 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, in a back-and-forth battle.

Caleb Rasmussen and Kyle Smith toppled Jefferson’s Parker Holland and Takafumi in the No. 1 doubles bout, recovering from a first-set defeat to win 4-6, 6-4, (11-9). Aaron Hunter and Jacob Hayes got the Bobcats’ first win of the day, dominating Colin Miller and Hudson Hamilton 6-3, 6-3, at No. 4 doubles.

Valley (6-4) started fast in the second round of the day’s action, taking four of five doubles bouts from the Bobcats. The Tigers claimed a nailbiter at No. 1 doubles as Rasmussen and Smith fought back only to fall 6-3, 4-6, (10-3) to Michael Duffy and Singaram.

Kodis and Evan Roush rallied the troops with a resounding 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles over Valley’s Frank Scott and Callen Touney, but the Tigers took the last three doubles matches in straight sets. Jacob Seberger and Parker Christen contested their defeat at No. 3, nearly forcing a third set in their 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 loss to Vivaan Desai and Adrian Campbell.

Marshalltown made the most of its last chance during singles competition, but the Bobcats couldn’t complete the comeback.

Singles wins from Kodis, Smith and Seberger buoyed the Bobcats’ hopes for a moment, but they weren’t enough to cover the doubles deficit. Roush recovered from a rough start at No. 4 singles and fought to within 6-1, 5-7, (10-8) in the three-set loss to Desai.

“Elliot, Kyle, Evan and Jacob played extraordinarily smart tennis and really executed well,” Christensen said. “Evan had a great tiebreaker — he battled through some tough calls and nearly pulled out the big comeback.”

Class 2A No. 9 Mason City (8-0) swept the non-conference opponents, beating Valley 9-2 and Jefferson 8-3 to remain unbeaten.

The Bobcats are back on the court Monday, making the road trip to Pella to face the host Little Dutch at 9 a.m. and North Polk at noon in a triangular at Caldwell Park.

“Our guys are extremely ready to get back on the courts on Monday,” Christensen said.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson 8, Marshalltown 3

SINGLES

Parker Holland (CRJ) def. Caleb Rasmussen, 6-2, 6-1

Elliot Kodis (MHS) def. Harada Takafumi, 6-4, 6-2

Nate Booth (CRJ) def. Kyle Smith, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3

Owen Preston (CRJ) def. Evan Roush, 6-1, 6-1

Maddux Armstrong (CRJ) def. Jacob Seberger, 6-1, 6-2

Ryan Panoch (CRJ) def. Parker Christen, 6-2, 6-1

DOUBLES

Rasmussen and Smith (MHS) def. Holland and Takafumi, 4-6, 6-4, (11-9)

Booth and Armstrong (CRJ) def. Kodis and Roush, 6-2, 6-4

Preston and Panoch (CRJ) def. Seberger and Christen, 6-2, 5-7, (10-6)

Aaron Hunter and Jacob Hayes (MHS) def. Colin Miller and Hudson Hamilton, 6-3, 6-3

Levi Erger and Trey Terrill (CRJ) def. Ronan Ham and Micah Goodwin, 6-3, 6-2

West Des Moines Valley 7, Marshalltown 4

SINGLES

Michael Duffy (VAL) def. Rasmussen, 6-3, 6-2

Kodis (MHS) def. Rohan Singaram, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4

Smith (MHS) def. Frank Scott, 6-3, 6-2

Vivaan Desai (VAL) def. Roush, 6-1, 5-7, (10-8)

Seberger (MHS) def. Adrian Campbell, 6-4, 6-2

Max Weis (VAL) def. Christen, 6-1, 6-0

DOUBLES

Duffy and Singaram (VAL) def. Rasmussen and Smith, 6-3, 4-6, (10-3)

Kodis and Roush (MHS) def. Scott and Callen Touney, 6-4, 6-2

Desai and Campbell (VAL) def. Seberger and Christen, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4

Isaac Larson and Weis (VAL) def. Hunter and Hayes, 6-3, 6-2

Mitchell Baughhman and Kipton Coy (VAL) def. Zachary Rasmussen and Ben Wirin, 6-3, 6-1