ROCK ISLAND, ILL. — The Central College women's tennis team faced a stiff challenge Friday afternoon, dropping its contest against Augustana College (Ill.) 9-0.

The Vikings (16-2) are ranked No. 13 in the region and have just one loss against Division III competition. Central is 11-9 on the season.

"We battled well against a talented Augustana team," assistant coach Peter Greteman said. "We took some steps forward to start preparing us for the conference tournament."

At No. 6, Maddie Hartley (freshman, Clarinda) was the only Central player to win a set in singles action. She rebounded from a 6-4 loss in the first set to win 6-4 in the second set.

Central remains a young team with three freshmen in the singles lineup as Sarah Schirm (Cedar Rapids, Xavier HS) and Alyssa Lewton (Ankeny, Centennial HS) played at No. 4 and No. 5 respectively

Lewton played No. 1 doubles with Jenna Stewart (senior, Burlington, Notre Dame HS) while Hartley partnered with Bronwyn Metcalf (freshman, Pella) and Schirm played with Katie Larson (freshman, Fort Madison).

"It's been enjoyable to watch the strides forward our freshmen have taken since the fall season," Greteman said. "We're excited to see what they can continue to do throughout the remainder of the year."

The Dutch are back in action next Friday at Grinnell College for a 4:30 p.m. dual.