PELLA — The Central College men's tennis team wrapped up the regular season Saturday morning in disappointing fashion, dropping a 9-0 match against Luther College.
           
Finishing with a regular season record of 14-11, 6-2 Iowa Conference, the Dutch earned a third-place finish in the league. Luther ended with a 19-4 overall mark and 7-1 in conference.
           
"Luther is talented and they were better than we were today," coach Ryun Ferrell said. "We'll be on the same side of the conference tournament next weekend so we'll possibly have the chance to take them on again. We're looking forward to that challenge."
           
The closest singles match in terms of scoring was the No. 3 match between Central's Tom Palmer (senior, Pella) and Luther's Anders Jensen. While Jensen ultimately topped Palmer 7-5, 6-1, Ferrell is pleased with the senior's development.
           
"Tom has been hitting extra with Coach Greteman every day at 10 a.m.," Ferrell said. "He's really improved a lot and it's nice to see him embrace his role as a senior. He's gone after this season with all that he has and done some really nice things."
           
As the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, Central will face either the University of Dubuque or Nebraska Wesleyan University in the quarterfinals, pending the result of a match between those two teams on Saturday.
           
"Whoever it is, we need to be ready," Ferrell said. "We just can't take anybody lightly. On any given day, anybody can play tough. We need to be ready and take care of business."
           
"I'm excited to see this team after somebody."
           
The match will start at 4 p.m. in Cedar Rapids on the campus of No. 1 seed Coe College.