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Central men's tennis team eyes strong spring with veteran leadership

The Dutch were picked third in the preseason poll

by Peter Leithauser

Pella, IA (01/23/2025) — The Central College men's tennis team graduated no seniors in 2024 and is back and ready to start in 2025.

The team was picked to finish third in the American Rivers Conference behind defending conference champion Luther College as well as Coe College.

The team has 21 players and includes three seniors, four juniors, nine sophomores and seven freshmen.

"This is the deepest team I have ever had, and we have a lot of guys who can help us out," said coach Ryun Ferrell. "With seniors AJ Wilkins and Ayden Fletcher leading the way we have some real opportunities to have success this season."

Ayden Fletcher is a returning all-conference player in singles matches last season after having a 6-2 record at No. 1 singles in conference matches. He had an 8-8 overall record in singles and 11-6 record in doubles last season. AJ Wilkins was also tabbed as an all-conference player in doubles having a 5-3 record in conferences matches. Overall, he was 9-8 in doubles matches and 7-8 in singles matches.

Returning nearly every player from last season, the team is well bonded, and it shows on the court.

"The strength of this team is that they get along extremely well." Ferrell said. "An example from the fall season is one of our freshmen was in a long, tight match and there were four teammates at his court helping him out and giving advice. That is what this team is about, and I look forward to practice every day because of this group."

The squad also returns Travis Subbert, Alex Slaymaker and Ernest Alvarez Chedzoy from the lineup last season. It also welcomes in freshman Jack Briggs who had 9-3 singles record in the fall.

The Dutch had a short fall season with tournaments including the American Rivers Conference championships and the ITA Midwest Regional. The team starts its spring season on February 1 when it has a split squad with matches against Carleton College and Bethel University in Minnesota. It starts American Rivers matches when it hosts Simpson on April 2.

"We use the fall season to see what we have and prepare for the spring," said Ferrell. "Our spring schedule is packed. With 21 athletes we have the flexibility to have multiple matches in a day. We have an assistant coach in Jackson Lewton that allows us to travel multiple different places and get in as many matches as possible."

After a fall season of practices at Pella High School while new courts were getting ready, the Dutch are excited to return to campus to practice and play matches.

"It was great to play at Pella High School in the fall and they were great partners in making that happen," Ferrell said. "Our new courts have exceeded my expectations. They look beautiful and it gives us flexibility to host things we have never had before."

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