DES MOINES— Coach Ryun Ferrell and the Central College men's tennis team opened the season by playing matches in two different places, falling in both despite promising play.

In Des Moines, Central fall to Grand View University 7-2 while further north the Dutch were downed by Bethel University 9-0 in Rochester, Minnesota.
The only player to be making their Central debut Saturday was the only singles player to pick up a win as David Boschma (freshman, Olathe, Kansas, Northwest HS) downed Derek Fenton 7-5, 6-1 to win at No. 6 singles in the Grand View match. Boschma spent the fall as a kicker with the Dutch football squad.

"David's got some skill," coach Ryun Ferrell said. "We're glad to see him get on the board with some success early."

The doubles pairing of Danny Anderson (sophomore, Boone) and Josh Phillips (sophomore, Morton, Ill.) had an 8-6 win at No. 3 doubles for Central against the Vikings.

Even though the Dutch were swept by the Royals, Ferrell was pleased with the showing.

"Bethel is a really good team," he said. "When you play against team with that style on a fast court like we did tonight, it's a tough game. Once we settled down, we looked really good. I can't complain with how we played.

"No one likes to start off with a loss, but I like to play good teams from the start because it shows us where we can get better. When our guys left the court, they weren't hanging their heads. They were talking about how they can improve and that's what I like to see."

The next chance to show how they've improved in a competitive is just a week away the Dutch will split the team and head in different directions again next Saturday. One group will head to Moline, Illinois to face St. Ambrose University. A second team is headed south to Elsah, Illinois to face Principia College and Lewis & Clark Community College in an exhibition match.

"There's a lot of tennis to be played next weekend, too," Ferrell said. "We're excited about it."