April 15, 2008

Central notches ninth shutout

PELLA—The Central College men’s tennis team posted its ninth shutout of the season with a 9-0 victory over Loras College Tuesday.

The Dutch improved to 7-1 in matches with Iowa Conference schools and are 11-11 overall as they swept all six singles matches in straight sets over the Duhawks (3-8) despite fierce winds.

“You never know with the wind blowing like that what you’re going to see on the court,” coach Bryan Mours said. “The wind in tennis is a great equalizer. But the kids did what they needed to do and that allowed us to come out on top.”

Central closes the dual-meet season by playing host to Iowa Conference favorite Luther College Friday at 3 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex courts. The Norse, 23-9, are 7-0 against league opponents and are rated seventh in the NCAA Division III Central Region.

“Obviously, as I’ve said throughout the season, the reason we play such a tough schedule is to prepare us for conference meets like this one,” Mours said. “Luther’s a strong team but we have the expectation that we’re going to come out and compete well. We’re primed and ready to go.”

It will be the final home-court meet for five Central seniors. Jared Feddersen (Fort Dodge), Chris Bliss (Ottumwa), Michael Hammond (Boone), Nick Rohner (Wichita, Kan., Kapaun Mt. Carmel HS) and Justin Scherff (Denison, Denison-Schleswig) are each in their final year of competition for the Dutch.