PELLA — The Central College men's tennis team bounced back from a 6-3 loss against Doane University (Neb.) to beat St. Ambrose University 7-2 Saturday afternoon.
The Dutch move to 2-4 on the season with the 1-1 day.
"We knew we could probably do well against St. Ambrose and we took care of business," coach
Ryun Ferrell said.
The only spot in the Central lineup to win both matches was the No. 3 doubles pairing of
Ethan St. John (sophomore, Crystal Lake, Ill., Central HS) and
Josh Phillips (senior, Morton, Ill.), who 8-6 against the Tigers and 8-3 against the Bees.
"They had a nice solid day," Ferrell said.
Against St. Ambrose, Central's No. 1 doubles tandem of
William Isiminger (sophomore, North Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) and
David Boschma (sophomore, Olathe, Kan., Northwest HS) won 8-1. At No. 2 singles, Boschma was the highest-seeded singles player to win, 6-2, 6-2.
With 6-0, 6-0 wins at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, Phillips and
Kris Weeden (junior, Des Moines, Dowling Catholic HS) had blowout wins against St. Ambrose.
"Those two got their wins in very convincing fashion," Ferrell said.
Tanner Finken (freshman, Carroll, Kuemper Catholic HS) got his first varsity win at No. 5 while
Jackson Lewton (senior, Ankeny, Centennial HS) had a thrilling win at No. 6.
"Jackson wasn't playing the best but he found his groove and won in three," Ferrell said.
Brad DiLeo (freshman, Iowa City, West HS) and St. John notched the other two singles wins against Doane.
Central will host another triangular next weekend inside H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse. At 9 a.m., they will play Division II University of Purdue-Northwest (Ind.) and at 3 p.m. they'll face Morningside College, an NAIA school from Sioux City.
"Purdue-Northwest (Ind.) is really talented, the top of that lineup is really good," Ferrell said. "Morningside has a new coach so I'm not sure what they'll bring to the table. I just want to see this team play and compete."
