Submitted photo: Fort Dodge senior Manuela Rodriguez holds her girls state tennis tournament ticket on Wednesday in Cedar Falls.

CEDAR FALLS — Manuela Rodriguez made the most of her final chance to qualify for the Class 2A state tennis tournament here Wednesday.

Rodriguez, a senior at Fort Dodge, earned one of 16 spots in the upcoming state singles draw by finishing as the runner-up at a regional meet. The Dodger advances to Waterloo and Byrnes Park on Oct. 1-2 for state.

“I am just so incredibly proud and happy for Manuela,” FDSH head coach Julie Astor said. “I know she was feeling a lot of pressure going into the day, but she came out and got that first win. From there, you could see she was ready to play with confidence.”

Rain caused the event to be moved inside. Rodriguez earned a first round win over Clara Fulton of Ames, 6-0, 6-0. In the semifinals, she knocked off fellow senior Addison King of Cedar Falls in a nearly three-hour match, 6-3, 6-4.

“When Manuela walked off the court after the semis, she had the biggest smile I think I’ve ever seen on her face,” Astor said. “She knew she had made it to state regardless of what happened in the finals. This really means a lot to her.”

Rodriguez, the No. 3 seed in the draw, fell to Mackenzie Sagers of Cedar Falls in the finals, 6-0, 6-0.

“I thought that (match in the semis) was the smartest Manuela has played this year,” Astor said. “She really used her shot selection well and was able to keep King running around the court. But being indoors and with the length of the match, it took a lot out of her.”

Also in singles, Madge Hensley fell in the opening round to Avery Fiser of Mason City, winning the second set before dropping the tiebreaker, 11-9. The doubles pair of Mia Carpenter and Grace Rivera earned a first-round win before losing to a duo from Ankeny Centennial.

The other Dodger doubles team of Teagan Loots and Brooklyn Kaloupek received a bye before falling to a duo from Centennial.

“I thought everybody really played well,” Astor said. “Teagan and Brooklyn only started tennis a year ago, but they came off the court talking about what they improved on during their match and how well they thought they played.”

Fort Dodge will now head to Ames for team regionals, where they will face Ames at 10 a.m. on Saturday.