Oskaloosa boys tennis falls to strong Pella team

PELLA — The Oskaloosa boys tennis team traveled to Pella on a perfect night for tennis, but ran into a tough matchup, falling 11-0 to one of the top teams in the conference.

Even though the final score was one-sided, the matches were more competitive than it looks on paper. Oskaloosa had several close points and games throughout the night against a very solid Pella lineup.

Mason Muir, playing at No. 2 singles, had a strong first set where he had chances to take control but couldn’t quite finish it. In the second set, a few deuce games went the other way, which made the difference.

At No. 2 doubles, Ethan Stek and Reuban Chilcote also had a close match. They battled through several tight games but lost a couple key deuce points that could have changed the outcome.

Coaches said consistency and placement are areas the team needs to keep working on. With four matches in a row this week, practice time has been limited, which has made it harder to focus on those details.

The team is looking forward to next week, when they will have more time to practice and prepare, with only one meet on the schedule.