“Play one point at a time, play together, play positively,” said Christensen, the Bobcat head coach.

In the end, Marshalltown’s Class 2A Substate 4 final with Dowling Catholic came down to one head-on-head doubles match for the state qualifier banner, and Christensen felt Jason Strand and Jacob Thiessen exemplified all three facets.

Trailing 5-3 in the third and deciding set, the Bobcat duo fought their way back into the match and then roared ahead for a dramatic 7-5 victory in set three, clinching a 5-4 Marshalltown victory and the Bobcats’ third-consecutive berth in the state tournament.

The 2A state tournament will be held May 31-June 1 at Waukee Northwest High School. Marshalltown is one of eight qualifiers that will be seeded prior to the tournament.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - Marshalltown’s No. 2 doubles team of Jacob Thiessen, left, and Jason Strand rallied to win in three sets, clinching the Bobcats’ third straight trip to team state.

“There were wild swings up and down today,” Christensen added. “They took each one in stride with a smile on their face, kept positive, and it really paid off for us.”

Strand and Thiessen won 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 at No. 2 doubles, the last match on the court after Dowling had won the other two doubles matches in straight sets to tie the match at 4-all.

Strand, a senior, and Thiessen, a junior, didn’t flinch when they were on the edge of elimination.

“We made the decision that we were going to make every single shot count, and just play aggressively at the net,” Strand said. “And ultimately our net play at the end is what got us the win.”

The duo is in the same youth group at church together, and that bond of faith carries over onto the court.

“It’s really special to get to play with a close friend,” Strand said, “and just watch each other grow throughout the season.”

Thiessen is enjoying being paired up with Strand, too, and it doesn’t hurt that the Bobcat’s No. 1 singles player remained undefeated today with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Brady Frye, and carried that high level of play into the doubles match.

“Jason is one of those partners you can rely on no matter what,” Thiessen said. “No matter how I’m playing, I know that Jason’s on the other side of the court. His positivity and his play got me through this match. It really helped me build that confidence and keep going.”

Marshalltown soared into doubles with a 4-2 record in singles, following clutch victories by Thiessen and Isaac Benscoter in second-set tiebreakers to end the matches before Dowling could push them to a third set.

“I put myself in the right positions,” Thiessen said. “In both matches, I had to decide if I was going to play good tennis, or mad, angry, bad tennis, and in both matches, I made the right decisions.”

Dowling’s top doubles team of Frye and Jimmy Wanek were a hair too much for Gavin Jablonski and Nile Christensen, 7-5, 6-3 winners in a battle of 2A state doubles tournament qualifiers; and Benscoter and Drew Loney, also state doubles qualifiers, fell to Ted Townsend and Anthony Cataldo, also by a 7-5, 6-3 score.

This year, unlike previous years where the Bobcats have earned their way to state, they’ll have a chance to celebrate it instead of jumping right into a first-round state tournament match – the IHSAA now sends the top eight to the formal state tournament instead of having the final four duke it out.

More time to soak in the victory is just fine for James Christensen, who can’t help but feel that this particular group is a little more special with his son, a senior, on the roster.

“Growing up with all his friends on this team, and the seniors, it’s just a special crew,” James said. “But I told the guys, this is what we do now, our seniors don’t know anything else other than going to state tennis. And I challenged the juniors and sophomores that are here today that it’ll be up to them to keep this tradition going.”

The Bobcats have made first-round exits in each of the last two berths in the state tournament, but Strand said Marshalltown has higher aspirations than just getting to the semifinals.

“We want top four, we want top two,” Strand said. “We just felt like we could today. Even when things went rough, everybody was supportive, everybody was energetic, everybody was playing. We can do that again. And that’s what we’re gonna do.”

Marshalltown 5, Dowling Catholic 4

SINGLES

Jason Strand (MHS) def. Brady Frye, 6-1, 6-1

Gavin Jablonski (MHS) def. Andrew Scott, 6-4, 6-1

Jimmy Wanek (DC) def. Nile Christensen, 6-3, 6-1

Jacob Thiessen (MHS) def. Jack Seda, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)

Isaac Benscoter (MHS) def. Lucas Clark, 7-5, 7-6 (7-2)

Ted Townsend (DC) def. Drew Loney 6-3, 6-2

DOUBLES

Frye and Wanek (DC) def. Christensen and Jablonski, 7-5, 6-3

Strand and Thiessen (MHS) def. Scott and Clark, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5

Townsend and Anthony Cataldo (DC) def. Benscoter and Loney, 7-5, 6-3