DECATUR, ILL. — A busy opening day of the Central College women's tennis season saw the team split up and earn three wins in four tries in a pair of Illinois cities Saturday.

At the Dorothy McClure tournament hosted by Millikin University, Central beat Illinois College 7-2 and the University of Dubuque 6-3 in the final. In Aurora, Central fell to North Central College 9-0 before flipping the script for a 9-0 win over Aurora University.

"For us to dilute our product a little and still go 3-1 is pretty good," coach Ryun Ferrell said. "We've really amped up the level of intensity scheduling-wise compared to what we've done in the year's past and I'm pleased with the result."

At the Dorothy McClure tournament, No. 3 Sarah Schirm (freshman, Cedar Rapids, Xavier HS) and No. 6 Madi Ulrich (sophomore, Shelbybille, Ill., Huntley HS) were the only players to go 2-0 in singles action. It was Schirm's first collegiate matches and the return for Ulrich after not playing in the spring.

"We knew Sarah was talented, but she showed us today that she is tough, too," Ferrell said. "We're glad to have Madi back. She's a great person and we love to have her around."

Ferrell cited Kirsten Jordan (senior, Clear Lake) for her effort in Aurora. A 6-4, 7-5 win over Aurora's Giselle Salazar capped her day.

"She impressed me this weekend," he said. "She played No. 2 singles for the first time and put up a great match against very North Central player. She out-willed another great player from Aurora to get a win."

The two teams will be reunited next weekend when they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska for the American Rivers Conference opener against Nebraska Wesleyan University at 9 a.m. The Dutch also are scheduled to play Concordia University (Neb.) at noon in non-conference action.

"The team likes the idea that everybody gets to play, but they miss each other," Ferrell said. "We've got a lot of data now, so coach Greteman and I will get together so we can figure out what we're going to do for a lineup next weekend