Coach Steve Tyler at practice Jan. 29, 2009

Tyler, Dutch make spring debut

It’s been a short preseason for new Central men’s tennis coach Stephen Tyler.

The coaching position opened in December, Tyler was hired in mid-January and conducted his first practice less than a week prior to the team’s opening match Friday in Decorah. The Dutch take on Wis.-La Crosse at 8 p.m., then clash Saturday with defending Iowa Conference champion Luther College at 9 a.m. and Macalester College (Minn.) at 1 p.m.

“We’ll go up there and get a reading on these players,” Tyler said. “We’re looking for effort and a good time.”

While he’s had little chance for evaluation, Tyler knows he inherits a squad that placed third in the Iowa Conference last season, Central’s 15th straight top-three finish. The Dutch were 13-13 in dual play, including a 7-2 mark against league opponents.

But Central graduated four of its top six singles players, including No. 1 player Jared Feddersen, along with Chris Bliss, Nick Rohner—now a Dutch assistant—and Justin Scherff.

The Dutch were 3-2 in an abbreviated fall season with junior Luke Boyd replacing Feddersen, his former Fort Dodge high school teammate, at No. 1. Another Fort Dodge product, sophomore Dan Bowser, played at No. 2 singles in the fall. Coincidentally, Tyler is also a Fort Dodge native.

Boyd and Bowser are the only two varsity regulars back, playing at Nos. 2 and 3 singles, respectively last year and both posted 13-13 singles records. However senior Joel Druvenga and sophomore Jacob Dreyer saw considerable action as well. Druvenga was 4-1 while Dreyer was 9-7. Sophomores Nick Schnicker and Jacob Veldhuizen also earned varsity letters, but Schnicker is studying in Europe this spring through Central Abroad.

During the fall season the Dutch used Boyd and Bowser at the top of the lineup with freshman Seth Harris of Waverly, Neb. at No. 3, Dreyer at No. 4, Druvenga at No. 5 and freshman Chris Lensing of Spencer at No. 6. Freshman Jesse Wineland of Pella also saw action in both singles and doubles.

That’s not necessarily the way the lineup will shake out in the spring, although Tyler has examined the fall results.

“We’ve got some data from the fall and we’re having challenge matches,” Tyler said prior to the team’s first meet. “I think we’ll have a pretty good idea about our lineup, particularly in singles.

“It appears that after the top spots, the others are pretty interchangeable. The ability level is fairly even throughout the lineup.”

Determining the doubles combinations will take longer.

“Doubles are about chemistry,” Tyler said. “We’ve got to see how people play together. If they’re connecting, we’ll keep them together. If not, we’ll change that up.”

Tyler has lofty ambitions for the program and is already tackling recruiting. But that’s not his immediate concern.

“The overriding goal for me is to solidify our program and focus on the experience for the players who are on board right now,” he said. “I want to make sure they have a positive experience and that they have fun. If we do that, the wins and losses will take care of themselves.”

Tyler’s initial impressions of his players are positive.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the people we have in the program,” he said. “It looks like the attitudes are great. They’re all willing to lay out a good deal of effort and enthusiasm. I don’t know what more I can ask for.”

Coinciding with Tyler’s arrival is a new Mondo SX playing surface which was installed in early January in H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse and is getting rave reviews from the players. Central’s six outdoor courts were resurfaced last summer.

“Central’s facilities can compete with anybody’s across the country,” Tyler said.

The Dutch make their debut on the new indoor courts Feb. 21 with matches against Simpson College and Graceland Univ. The regular-season slate is highlighted by a spring break trip to Dallas, Texas for matches March 15 and 17.