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ELDORA -- The season-opening meet for the Marshalltown girls' tennis team got canceled, another dual got moved, and a new opener was added.
The new-look Bobcats rolled with all the changes and won anyway.
Marshalltown kicked off the second season of fall tennis in Iowa with a 6-3 victory over host South Hardin on Tuesday in Eldora, taking down the Tigers in a back-and-forth battle.
"We were grateful for South Hardin to host us for a meet today," said MHS head coach James Christensen. "We've had three or four meets get postponed or canceled or combined, and we just needed to play against somebody else. The girls were kind of sick of playing against each other, so it was great just being able to get out here on a beautiful day, get some competition and give us some focus on some things that we can work on during practice."
The Bobcats captured a 4-2 lead through singles play and put the dual away with a win at No. 1 doubles. Kate Sandvick and Kaelyn Coleman scored an 8-4 triumph over Adeline Cook and Hartlynn Myslak to send Marshalltown to the deciding fifth point in the team contest.
Sandvick also swept aside Cook at No. 1 singles, scoring an 8-0 triumph, while Coleman fell to Myslak in a marathon match at No. 2. Coleman couldn't finish off an early lead in the tiebreaker and was defeated 9-8 (11-9).
Karolina Cross and Melanie Sardina-Hernandez made their singles debuts at Nos. 3 and 4 for the Bobcats, and both prevailed. Cross shut out Addi Rieks, 8-0, while Sardina-Hernandez was an 8-6 victor over Charlee Rosonke.
Hanna Osgood, one of only a few MHS players with returning varsity experience, picked up a 9-8 (7-5) triumph over Arabella Myslak at No. 5 to help the Bobcats take the lead through singles.
Sophia Boone was bested at No. 6 by Maddie Duncan, 8-6, but was a part of her first varsity tennis win in the last match on the courts. Boone and Cross combined for an 8-6 victory at No. 3 doubles, putting away Tiger counterparts Arabella Myslak and Duncan.
South Hardin's lone doubles win came at No. 2, as Hartlynn Myslak and Rosonke topped Sardina-Hernandez and Amairra Johnson 8-4.
"I think everybody just needed to get some nerves out," Christensen said. "A lot of our new girls, those first couple games were a shock to the system, but after that they kind of settled in. Karolina Cross and Melanie Sardina-Herandez both had their first-ever varsity victories and played well.
"Karolina has never played tennis before so this was awesome to get her some confidence, and now she knows that she can do it."
Sandvick, Coleman and Osgood all returned with varsity singles experience, but the rest of Marshalltown's lineup was new to the proceedings. Tuesday's impromptu season opener was a perfect place to start.
"The roster's been in a huge amount of flux," Christensen said, "and it's been a tough, tough time to determine who deserves to be in different spots. Overall I think we pretty much nailed a decent starting lineup for us today, but I'm sure we'll have a couple changes by the time Ames comes around."
The Bobcats return to action on Monday, Aug. 17, with a trip to Ames to take on the reigning Iowa Alliance Conference North Division champion. Marshalltown's home opener is a double dual against Ottumwa and Mason City on Tuesday, Aug. 18, starting at 10 a.m. at the Marshalltown Court Complex.