MOLINE, ILL. — After an 0-3 start to the spring season, the Central College men's tennis team got off the snide by winning on the road Saturday at St. Ambrose University 5-4.
"It wasn't pretty tennis," coach
Ryun Ferrell said. "You can watch Roger Federer play and it's really pretty. We did not look like that today. But we did play really tough and kept getting the ball back. We beat a nice team today."
Once again sending rosters in two directions, Central (2-3) dropped a 7-2 match against Principia College (Ill.) in Elsah, Illinois earlier in the day. They also beat Lewis & Clark Community College 8-1 in an exhibition match in Elsah.
Three of Central's five wins against the Bees were courtesy of seniors
Jacob Logan (Bettendorf) and
C.J. Cliff (Decorah). They partnered up to win No. 1 doubles 8-4 and had singles victories at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively.
"The seniors know what they have and what they can do," Ferrell said. "It's great to see them step up and do what they are supposed to do."
Kris Weeden (sophomore, Des Moines, Iowa, Dowling Catholic HS) swept the first set 6-0 at No. 4 singles before his opponent retired.
Jacob Keller (freshman, Olathe, Kan., South HS) and Weeden got the win at No. 3 doubles 8-6.
"Kris has had an amazing year," Ferrell said. "He tore his opponent apart in that first set. It was exciting to see him do that today."
The half of the team that played against Principia faced a stiff test, as the Panthers are the defending champions of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
"They are a very good team who is accustomed to winning," Ferrell said. "We had chances to get a few more wins but came up a little short."
Jackson Lewton (junior, Ankeny, Centennial HS) had the lone singles win at No. 6 with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph.
Scott Wilson (senior, Urbandale) and
Jimmy Cunningham (senior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) tallied an 8-5 win at No. 3 doubles.
Next Saturday, Central will head back to Des Moines to host NCAA Division II Truman State University (Mo.) in a neutral-site match starting at 5 p.m.
