Central women’s tennis team stymied by Coe

Central College

PELLA — Last year’s Iowa Conference champions were in peak form as the Central women’s tennis team was swept by Coe, 9-0.

The Kohawks enter the season having won three consecutive conference team titles and played like a championship caliber team.

“They played great today, they played smart,” first-year coach Ryun Ferrell said.

Despite not winning a set on the night (2-1), the Dutch had some solid performances. Katie Todd (junior, Cedar Falls), who last year provided a win at number six singles over Coe’s Diannah Watson, played very well against Watson once again at No. 4 this year, but lost 6-4, 7-6.

“Katie Todd played great, I was very pleased,” Ferrell said. “That was her first match, too.”

Central’s top two players Angie Allgood (junior, Muscatine) and Megan Davis (junior, Littleton, Colo., Valor Christian HS) also had good outings in singles before succumbing to their opponents. They paired up at number one doubles, suffering a 8-5 defeat.

“Angie Allgood always gives a good effort,” Ferrell said. “Megan Davis is very smart; she played smart today.”

The Dutch have an opportunity to return to their winning ways Saturday morning when they host Morningside College at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex courts at 9 a.m. Morningside qualified for the NAIA National Tournament last year, but Central was still able to beat the Mustangs last year 8-1. While a bit uncertain, Ferrell is optimistic.

“The nice thing about this sport is that tomorrow we’re going to play Morningside,” he said. “We’ve got a whole new bag of chips to throw out on the table and see if we can get some more wins and do some more things. I’m pretty excited about it.”