PELLA— After an extended delay in the middle of the singles matches, the Central College women's tennis team lost its match to Northwestern College 5-2.
           
Unlike other competitions, the teams played singles matches first. Midway through the opening matches, rain caused a delay and moved the match inside.
           
"Northwestern played great, but we didn't play our best tennis," coach Ryun Ferrell said. "It was the first match of the season for some of our team, and we need to find a way to get everyone on the same page. That will fix itself with practice and playing in matches. We can learn from todays match and be ready for the conference tournament at the end of April."
           
The Dutch (9-9) got singles match wins from Lauren Gano (sophomore, Johnston) 7-5, 6-4 at No. 4 and a 6-0, 6-1 win from Emily Blom (freshman, Pella) at No. 6.
           
"Gano played smart. She was able to settle down and play simple tennis," Ferrell said. "Blom kept the ball in play and wore out her opponent, which is her style of tennis. We had some success, but we weren't firing on all cylinders."
           
It was the first match of the spring season for Becca Vala (senior, Omaha, Neb., Elkhorn HS) and she was able to force a tiebreak after losing the first set 6-3. She would comeback with a dominant 6-1 win in the second set, before falling 11-9 in the third-set tiebreak.
           
Northwestern (6-6) secured the win by claiming the doubles point, but Madi Whalen (junior, Kansas City, Park Hill HS) and Keleigh Hall (senior, Keokuk) won 6-3 at No. 3 doubles.
           
The Dutch will have another home match on March 28 when they host Webster University at 1 p.m.