Central Men’s Tennis Squad Swept At Grinnell

Central College

The Dutch (2-2) lost the opening match of the day to Division II Augustana (S.D.) 9-0 and fell to regionally-ranked Grinnell 8-1 in the nightcap. Despite the losses, Coach Ryun Ferrell was happy with his team’s performance Saturday.

“We looked better than we did last weekend,” Ferrell said. “We looked the best we have this season. I’m excited about what we’re doing and where we are going. There’s a lot of heart and pride in these athletes.”

The lone victory on the day for the Dutch came at No. 1 doubles against Grinnell. West Adelman (junior, Geneva, Ill.) and Tim Kahl (senior, Grinnell) knocked off the Pioneer duo of Rob Storrick and Bryson Cale 9-8. A back-and-forth match went into a tie-breaking set which Kahl and Adelman came out on top after breaking Grinnell’s serve.

“It was one of those matches where, honestly, I didn’t have to say two words to the guys,” Ferrell said. “They did an outstanding job, I was very pleased to see that. Neither one of those guys played in the fall. To have them back and playing at No. 1 and playing at a nice level is exciting because I think their best tennis is in front of them.”

Freshmen Garrett Taylor (Creston) and Tom Palmer (Pella) played well at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, each pushing their opponent to a third set in the Augustana (S.D.) match. Ferrell sees the need for his young players to steadily improve in the coming weeks.

“It’s exciting to see,” Ferrell said. “Those guys need to grow up real fast because if we’re going to be competitive in the league we can’t just rely on the seniors and West to lead the way. The freshmen are starting to figure it out and I like that.”

The Dutch return home next Saturday for a match against Roosevelt (Ill.) starting at 1 p.m. in H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse.