PELLA — For the eighth consecutive season, the Central College women's tennis team advanced to the American Rivers Conference tournament semifinals after a 5-2 win over Loras College Tuesday.
           
The No. 4 seed, Central (6-5, 5-3 conference) knocked off the fifth-seeded Duhawks (7-5, 4-3 conference).
           
"We played tough today," coach Ryun Ferrell said. "You want to survive and advance in the tournament. You don't care how you do it, you just want to get it done."
           
After a 3-0 sweep through doubles, Alex Griggs (sophomore, Knoxville) and Maddie Hartley (junior, Clarinda) got it done in singles for Central to earn the team's final two points for the victory. Griggs won 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6 singles, her first appearance in the singles lineup for the 2020-21 season.
           
"You can count on Alex to be tough," Ferrell said. "You never have to worry about her. She is so physically strong that it doesn't matter how you play. You can pound the ball and she'll get it back."
           
Hartley cinched the match 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 singles as the final point.
           
Karleigh Schilling (senior, Swisher, Cedar Rapids Prairie HS) and Alyssa Lewton (junior, Ankeny, Centennial HS) won 8-6 at No. 1 doubles, the same score Hartley and Bronwyn Metcalf (junior, Pella) won by at No. 2 doubles. Griggs and Sarah Schirm (junior, Cedar Rapids, Xavier HS) were 8-5 winners at No. 3 doubles.                                                                                                               

In its semifinal match Friday, Central matches up with the No. 1 seed and league regular season champions from Luther College. The match starts at 4 p.m. in Decorah
           
"We're looking forward to playing a little better," "All we can do is go pick a fight and see what happens."