Doubles Jan. 30, 2009

Central falls to Wis.-La Crosse 8-1

DECORAH—Steve Tyler’s debut as Central College men’s tennis coach was a bumpy one as the Dutch were stymied by Wis.-La Crosse 8-1 in the season opener for both squads Friday night.

The match was played at Luther College, where play continues Saturday.

Central’s lone win came at No. 3 doubles where Jacob Veldhuizen (sophomore, Wausau, Wis., East HS) and Chris Lensing (freshman, Spencer) teamed for an 8-6 win.

The Dutch have just two starters back from last year’s 13-13 squad. Wis.-La Crosse is coming off an 11-7 campaign.

Tyler was encouraged by Central’s effort.

“I was quite pleased with the energy the players showed,” Tyler said. “I thought we competed quite well. The attitudes were great and I didn’t see anybody hanging their heads.”

After practicing for two weeks on Central’s new Mondo SX surface in H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse, Luther’s indoor courts forced a bit of an adjustment.

“It was a tremendous transition for us,” Tyler said. “It’s a very fast surface.”

Central takes on defending league champion Luther at 9 a.m. Saturday before meeting Macalester College (Minn.) at 1 p.m.

Wis.-La Crosse 8, Central 1
           Singles—Joey Van Lieshout (W) def. Luke Boyd, 6-4, 6-4; Nick Piotrowski (W) def. Dan Bowser, 6-1, 6-4; Nathan Fekete (W) def. Jacob Dreyer, 6-0, 6-2; Steven Quiring (W) def. Seth Harris, 6-0, 6-2; Doug Marmar (W) def. Chris Lensing, 6-0, 6-0; Jon Mahvi (W) def. Jacob Veldhuizen, 6-0, 6-2.
            Doubles—Van Lieshout-Piotrowski (W) def. Boyd-Bowser, 9-7; Fekete-Quiring (W) def. Dreyer-Harris, 8-2; Veldhuizen-Lensing def. John Hildebrandt-Sam Talarczyk, 8-6.