Sandvick’s state cut short
Bobcat senior denied girls tennis singles medal
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior Kate Sandvick hits a backhand return during her Class 2A state singles opener against Mackenzie Sagers of Cedar Falls on Wednesday at the Byrnes Park Tennis Center in Waterloo. Sagers, the No. 2 seed, defeated Sandvick 6-1, 6-0.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior Kate Sandvick hits a running backhand return during her Class 2A state singles opener against Mackenzie Sagers of Cedar Falls on Wednesday at the Byrnes Park Tennis Center in Waterloo.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior Kate Sandvick hits a backhand return during her Class 2A state singles opener against Mackenzie Sagers of Cedar Falls on Wednesday at the Byrnes Park Tennis Center in Waterloo. Sagers, the No. 2 seed, defeated Sandvick 6-1, 6-0.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior Kate Sandvick hits a running backhand return during her Class 2A state singles opener against Mackenzie Sagers of Cedar Falls on Wednesday at the Byrnes Park Tennis Center in Waterloo.
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WATERLOO -- Marshalltown senior Kate Sandvick entered the Class 2A state singles tournament with two losses.
On Wednesday, she was dealt two more to end her prep career.
Sandvick suffered a pair of straight-set losses at the Byrnes Park Tennis Center to begin and end her state singles debut.
The first Bobcat tennis player to advance to state in both singles and doubles, Sandvick closed her senior season with a 15-4 record that included a heartbreaking finale.
Sandvick's loss in the first round of consolation play to West Des Moines Valley junior Kaitlyn Nguyen, 7-6, 6-1, came after three-hour wait between matches. Sandvick was ousted from the front side of the bracket by defending state runner-up Mackenzie Sagers of Cedar Falls, who handed the Bobcat senior her most decisive defeat of the few this season, 6-1, 6-0.
"Even though today didn't go exactly how I wanted, I'm really proud of my season and my career as a Marshalltown Bobcat," said Sandvick, an Iowa State softball commit. "Getting to finish my senior season by competing at state is something I'll always be grateful for. Even though I didn't get the results I wanted today, I got to play against some of the best competition in the state, including the No. 2 player, and that's something I'll look back on and appreciate."
Sagers, who missed nearly all of the 2025 campaign recovering from a knee injury only to make it all the way to the state finals, looked fully healthy in a first-round bout that lasted just shy of an hour.
"Kate played great against Sagers, just got beat by a masterful player who should finish top-two," said MHS head coach James Christensen.
A Northern Iowa recruit, Sagers (19-0) later stormed into the semifinals again with a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Johnston eighth-grader Sophia Launderville.
Launderville's 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 comeback triumph over Nguyen backed up play in the singles bracket and forced Sandvick to wait nearly three hours for her consolation match. Once there, Nguyen denied six set points to rally for a 7-6 victory in the opening set and eventually a straight-set win. The first set lasted two hours as Nguyen's defensive style continually kept the ball alive, and she outlasted Sandvick long enough to advance.
"After a long wait, her match with Nguyen was an absolute battle," Christensen said. "Kate played well. Unfortunately I just couldn't find a way through her defense that worked. Kate used everything in her bag of tricks, but the Valley girl just had the answers."
Leading 5-4 in the first set and up 40-0, Sandvick was unable to put away the Tiger junior. Again in front 6-5 with a 40-30 lead, Marshalltown's first state singles qualifier in 16 years was unable to advance.
"It was frustrating for her to see the ball keep coming back over and over," Christensen said. "Many rallies were over 50 shots long.
"I think (winning the first set) would have been a knockout punch, but instead it gave (Nguyen) life."
Nguyen advanced with the win but was eliminated in the "blood round" by Tenley Cewe of Clinton, 6-3, 6-3. The remaining eight singles players will medal (top eight) back at Byrnes Park on Thursday, but Sandvick won't be a part of it.
"I'm really thankful for everything Marshalltown tennis has given me over the years," she said. "I've gotten to make so many memories, compete with some awesome teammates, and learn a lot about myself through this sport. I'm proud of how much I've grown as a player and as a person, and I know I'll look back on these years and be really grateful I got to be a Bobcat tennis player, especially under such a great coaching staff."
Sandvick, who was one win shy of a state doubles medal as a sophomore paired up with then-senior Kennedy Feldman, will be equally missed by the MHS girls' tennis program.
"Kate exemplifies what it means to be a Bobcat," said Christensen. "She joined up in a third sport to be with friends and stay active and turned it into an amazing career. She shows our young players of all sports what happens when you have some talent and combine it with hard work, coachability and a desire to improve."