PELLA — The Central College men's tennis team throttled rivals Simpson College 9-0 Saturday morning before losing to Luther College by the same margin.
The Dutch (2-10, 1-1 American Rivers Conference) wasted no time against the Storm (3-8, 0-3 conference) by sweeping the doubles. The No. 1 team of
William Isiminger (junior, North Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) and
Brad DiLeo (sophomore, Iowa City, West HS) won 8-5 while
David Boschma (junior, Olathe, Kan., Northwest HS) and
Trey Melvin (freshman, Lawrence, Kan., Free State HS) trumped 8-6 in the No. 2 hole.
The biggest margin of victory in doubles belonged to
Ethan St. John (junior, Crystal Lake, Ill., Central HS) and Tanner Finken (sophomore, Carroll, Kuemper Catholic HS) who were victorious 8-1.
"We took care of business like we should," coach
Ryun Ferrell said.
Five of the six singles matches were won by Central in straight sets, including senior
Kris Weeden (senior, Des Moines, Dowling Catholic HS) 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4
"He played very well today," Ferrell said. "He never stops."
The only Central player to not win in straight sets was
Tanner Finken at No. 3 who overcame a tough start to win 1-6, 6-2, 10-5.
"He hates playing in the wind, but you'd never hear him complain," Ferrell said. "He kept coming and found a way."
Isiminger won 6-0, 6-2 at the top of the lineup whole Boschma was a 6-1, 6-3 winner at No. 2. DiLeo won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5 and St. John won 6-0, 6-3 at No. 6
Though the score was disappointing against Luther, Ferrell believes the score is not necessarily indicative of how his team played.
"I don't like the score, but we battled so well," he said. "There's just a little something we need to have but are missing. We have to find a way to get over the hump against a team like this."
The Central men will play alongside the women's team next Wednesday at 4 p.m. as both programs take on Concordia University (Neb.) at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex.
"It's going to be fun to have both teams playing side-by-side," Ferrell said. "I want the two programs to intermingle as much as I possibly can. It makes it a more fun experience for both sides."
