DUBUQUE – With 17 points out of 18, the Central College men’s tennis team beat the University of Dubuque 9-0 and Loras College 8-1 on Sunday afternoon.

The victories cemented Central (6-2, 6-2 American Rivers Conference) as third-placed team in the conference ranking and number 3 for the conference tournament.

“This was probably the most complete tennis I’ve seen on this team,” said coach Ryun Ferrell said. “We’re getting better with every game and we’re taking our step at the right time.”

Central won all three doubles matches against both teams. The No. 1 pairing of William Isiminger (Senior, North Aurora, Illinois, West Aurora HS) and Brad DiLeo (Junior, Iowa City, West HS) won 8-4 (Dubuque) and 8-6 (Loras). David Boschma (Senior, Olathe, Kan., Northwest HS) and Trey Melvin (Senior, Lawrence, Can., HS Free State) registered 8-1 (Dubuque) and 8-3 (Loras) wins. Tanner finches (Junior, Carroll) and Ethan St. John (Senior, Crystal Lake, Illinois, Central HS) had 8-1 (Dubuque) and 8-5 (Loras) wins.

“Doing that against Loras is not easy,” said Ferrell. “They have some good doubles teams so we had to play well to get that. All of our doubles pairings have really reinforced it and followed them up.”

Against Dubuque, Caleb Hamerlinck (sophomore Huxley, Ballard HS) made his first appearance on the varsity line-up, recording a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6 Singles.

“He went in immediately and took care of business,” Ferrell said. “It was a great day for him.”

The Dutch won all single games in straight sets. Isiminger was 2-0 in the No. 1 singles, followed by Boschma (No. 2), Finken (No. 3) and DiLeo (No. 4), all of whom went 2-0. Melvin was a 6-0, 6-0 winner in 5th place against Dubuque and a 6-3, 7-6 winner in 6th place against Loras. St. John won 7-6, 5-3 in 5th place against Loras.

Central will host the first round of the conference tournament on Tuesday, May 4th.

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