ROCHESTER, MINN.  — Venturing north for the first dual match of the season, the Central College men's tennis team was downed by Bethel University (Minn.) 9-0 Saturday night.
           
The Dutch (0-1) were the first team in the American Rivers Conference to play in 2019.
           
"That's probably the best Bethel team we've faced since I've been here," Ferrell said. "Overall, we did well but we're just a young squad. We've got some underclassmen in our lineup and we looked like a team younger team that needs some work."
           
Central's singles lineup featured three sophomores, two freshmen and one junior. With youth comes inconsistency.
           
"We need to hammer the basics," Ferrell said. "We can't let our opponents have so many free points."
           
The closet match of the night for Central was from Ethan St. John (sophomore, Crystal Lake, Ill., Central HS) at No. 6 singles. After losing the first set, St. John pulled even at 1-1. Though he would be defeated 6-4, 3-6, 10-7, Ferrell is still happy with what he has seen out of the sophomore.
           
"He's looked good in practice at his singles game," Ferrell said. "We're giving him a shot to see what he can do. He had chances to win but his opponent put the foot down. It's nice to see him show us something"
           
A triangular in Grinnell against the hosting Pioneers and the Illinois Institute of Technology await Central next weekend.
           
"Grinnell is always a good team to play and Illinois Tech should be pretty similar to us," Ferrell said. "We're looking forward to it.
           
"We need to play and play as much as we bloody well can. Practice is one thing, but getting out there and competing is another."