PELLA — The Central College men's tennis team cruised to an 8-1 victory over a short-handed Baker University (Kan.) squad Saturday 8-1.
The Dutch (5-4) were handed three points via forfeit against the Wildcats (0-6). Aside from the loss in No. 1 singles, Central won five of the six matches actually contested.
"We took care of business like we should have," Ferrell said. "There No. 1 is a very talented player.
Tanner Finken (senior, Carroll) started to figure out some things by the second set and started executing some things better."
Trey Melvin (junior, Lawrence, Kan., Free State HS) won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles,
Brad DiLeo (senior, Iowa City, West HS) won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 singles and
Ayden Fletcher (freshman, Waukee) won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles.
Nick Scott (sophomore, Fort Benton, Mont., Great Falls Central Catholic HS) and
Caleb Hamerlinck (junior, Huxley, Ballard HS) won by forfeit at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, respectively.
In doubles, Fiken and Scott won 8-5 at No. 1 and Melvin and Fletcher won 8-0 at No. 2. DiLeo and Hamerlinck won by forfeit at No. 3
Central played a rare women's-men's doubleheader against the Wildcats. The Dutch women won 5-4 in a match that took over hours.
"It was a long day," Ferrell said. "It was neat to play after the women, even though it went five hours."
Central returns to action March 26 at William Jewell University (Mo.) in Liberty, Missouri for a 2 p.m. match
"We get a little break to take a rest," Ferrell said. "We're talented and tough, but we can still play smarter. The biggest we need to work on is using our emotions in a positive way. Using them to fuel ourselves instead of doing things that don't help us."
