GRINNELL— The score didn't flatter but coach Ryun Ferrell nonetheless came away encouraged from the Central Collee men's tennis team's 9-0 loss to Grinnell College Saturday.
           
The young Dutch (2-8) dropped all six singles matches in straight sets as Grinnell, ranked No. 36 in the NCAA Division III, improved to 9-2.
           
"Grinnell's good," Ferrell said. "But honestly, in the time I've been here, we've never looked as tough against Grinnell as we did today. We've got great athletes but they've got great tennis players. We still have to develop them. The thing that we've got to do is stay in there long enough to break their games down. We're athletic enough to do that."
           
The experience gap was too vast on Saturday, however.
           
"We've got freshmen playing at (Nos.) 4, 5 and 6, a sophomore at 3 and juniors at 1 and 2," Ferrell said. "So things are stacked up against us but the players handled themselves great. They played hard and that's all I can ask for."
           
Central meets the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) Saturday, March 23 at 10 a.m. In the teams' only previous meeting, Central was a 5-4 winner in 2017.
           
"They've got some new players so that's going to be a battle," Ferrell said.
           
With the Dutch women also in action against Northwestern-St. Paul, teams will use the Pella High School courts.