DECORAH — Facing off with one of the best teams in the Americans Rivers Conference, the Central College men's tennis team was defeated by Luther 9-0 Saturday.

The Norse (16-5, 4-0 American Rivers Conference) have won three straight conference titles and looked strong against Central (4-9, 1-1 conference).

"I felt like we left a lot on the table," coach Ryun Ferrell said. "With the no-add scoring we're playing, we were able to get the score to deuce a lot but couldn't get over the hump. We've got to get better at that situation."
           
AJ Wilkins (junior, Grinnell) was the only Central player to get his singles match to a third set but could not pull off the match win, taking a 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 10-1 loss.
           
"He came out of the blocks quick and won the first set," Ferrell said. "He got broken twice to lose the second set before ultimately losing the match."
           
Central has two matches next Tuesday, highlighted by a conference match at Simpson College in Indianola at 4 p.m. The Dutch also host Grand View University at 4 p.m.
           
"If we can take care of business at Simpson, that's going to be a big second league win for us," Ferrell said. "We'll get some extra guys a chance to play against Grand View. As big as our roster is, we need to get some opportunities to get matches played."