Graceland topples Central women’s tennis squad
Central College
LAMONI—Graceland University overwhelmed a young and injured Central College women’s tennis squad 6-3 Thursday in Lamoni.
“Graceland (2-0) is a good team, especially at the top of the order,” coach Steve Tyler said. “We battled today and had some tight matches.”
Freshman Sarah Montgomery (Bettendorf) scored two wins for the Dutch, pairing with Anna Striegel (freshman, Cedar Rapids, Jefferson HS) for an 8-1 victory at No. 3 doubles before taking the No. 6 singles match 6-3, 6-4. Senior Riley Taylor (Tama, South Tama HS) also won at No. 5 singles, 6-1, 6-0.
Four freshmen were in the lineup for Central, who was without No. 3 singles player Chelsea Johnson (junior, Mount Vernon) because of injury. The Dutch also gave up a match at No. 2 singles when Kayla Donner (senior, Metamora, Ill., Metamora Township HS) suffered an injury.
“We hope to get everyone healthy, but we’re pleased with how our younger players have been performing,” Tyler said. “They’re doing everything we ask of them. They’re seeing tougher competition with everyone moving up in the lineup and they’re getting better each day.”
Central returns to Iowa Conference play Saturday with a triangular in Dubuque. The Dutch face the Univ. of Dubuque at 9 a.m. and meet Loras College at 1 p.m. The Dutch handled both teams last season, blanking Dubuque 9-0 and cruising past Loras 8-1.
“We look forward to the weekend and getting back into league play,” Tyler said. “We’ll have to pay attention to come away with two wins. We need to play focused and play hard.”
