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The final home meet of the Marshalltown girls tennis season passed in the blink of an eye.
After a 30-minute delay to dry the wet courts, MHS only needed an hour to dispatch Des Moines East, 5-0, in a Class 2A, Region 3 first-round match at the Marshalltown Court Complex on Friday morning. -fair.
The Bobcats advance to face Dubuque Hempstead in the regional semifinals next Tuesday at Iowa City Liberty High School. The winner will face Iowa City Liberty or Cedar Rapids Washington later in the day to determine the regional champion.
Marshalltown’s Nos. 2-6 singles defeated their East opponents in straight sets to end the meet early.
“It wasn’t windy for the first time, so that bothered us a little,” joked MHS coach John Fiscus. “But we just competed and went out there and got some wins right away for our side.”
Friday was the final home meet for the four varsity seniors – Rebekah Downs, Claire Bohan, Halie Hohnstein and Ava Lucas. Bohan, Hohnstein and Lucas all won their matches with just one game lost between the three and Downs was on the comeback trail against East No. 1 Tabitha Hochmuth after losing the first set before the meet was called.
“We’re continuing the momentum from the regular season and bringing it into the postseason,” Lucas said. “We went in and did it.”
There is more tennis to be played elsewhere, but veterans will have fond memories of the local court.
“I don’t think it’s set in stone yet, maybe later tonight,” Lucas said. “But the team has always been the best part. Even when I was younger, the team had a very good spirit and that always made me want to play, improve and always be here. I will miss that team factor, for sure.”
Fiscus expects a much closer showdown with Hempstead.
“From what I’ve been reading, we’re favorites to win, so hopefully we can respond to that,” Fiscus said. “We just want to take it one round at a time. It will be a good battle, a good confrontation for us.”