Justin Scherff April 12, 2008

Central tripped by Grinnell

PELLA—The Central College men’s tennis continued its stiff schedule Saturday, falling 8-1 to Grinnell College, the 13th-ranked team in the ITA Central Region.  

 

Senior Justin Scherff (Denison, Denison-Schleswig HS) netted a win for the Dutch (9-11) at No. 6 singles, 7-6 (4-0), 6-3 to improve his record to 4-7.

“I think Justin is playing some of the best tennis of life right now,” said coach Bryan Mours. “He has great tempo and speed and is serving amazingly well. He has improved tremendously since day one and is extremely coachable.”

Grinnell (15-5), fresh off a 7-2 win over Coe Wednesday, was the third team ranked in the top 13 of the Central Region the Dutch have faced in their last four matches. Difficult opposition was what Mours wanted, and he is seeing positive results from his squad’s play.

“We played really well today,” he said. “Early on in the season we would have been intimidated by a team like Grinnell. Now that is not the case.”

Mours was encouraged by a pair of close doubles matches. The No. 2 doubles tandem of Chris Bliss (Senior, Ottumwa) and Scherff fell 9-8 while the No. 3 doubles team of Dan Bowser (freshman, Fort Dodge) and Nick Rohner (senior, Wichita, Kan., Kapaun Mount Carmel HS) came up short at 9-7.

“The guys performed the way they were supposed to in doubles,” said Mours.

Due to inclement weather, the match was played indoors but Mours did not feel it had a major impact on the outcome.

“Both teams were in the same situation,” he said. “We are used to our indoor surface and other teams have to adjust to it.”

The Dutch return Monday when they travel to Ames to take on Morningside College (1-0) at 3 p.m.