Central tennis team secures No. 2 seed in district

~ The Tigers will have a rematch with Farmington next week

In a battle to nail down the second seed in next week's Class 2 District 1 tournament, the Central tennis team not only had to fight a talented Farmington squad Wednesday afternoon, but a strong, steady wind as well.

Give the host Tigers credit for taming both.

Central used a big win from Jalen McDowell at No. 4 singles and a sweep of the doubles matches to upend Farmington 7-2 and will enter postseason play as the No. 2 seed in the district behind top-seeded Oakville.

"We pulled out a close match at No. 4 singles, and it gave us a little bit more of an edge going into doubles," said Central coach Seth Benton, whose team improved to 9-6 in dual play. "I think the guys kind of relaxed a little bit when we were at 4-2 instead of 3-3 after singles."

McDowell, a senior, rallied from an early deficit to defeat Zachary Scruggs 9-7, and the Tigers claimed four of the six singles matches.

"I was getting kind of scared because I didn't think I was going to pull it through," McDowell said. "Then it kind of flip-flopped, and I brought it back and started getting ahead."

Central's No. 1 singles player, sophomore Alex Mailes, had a surprisingly easy time dispatching Farmington's Ian Powers 8-1.

Other Central singles winners were senior Jonah Roop, who blanked Alexander England 8-0 at No. 3, and senior Caleb Strickland, who defeated Ryan Schwartzkopf 8-1 at No. 6.

Mailes teamed with McDowell at No. 1 doubles to defeat Powers and John Augustine 8-4 to clinch Central's win. The Tiger duo was up 7-2, then dropped consecutive games before Mailes was able to close out the match on serve.

"I wanted to finish it at 7-2," McDowell said. "I wanted it to be done. Giving them a couple games isn't that big of a deal when you've got a five-game lead and a partner like Mailes. I like playing with Alex. He's a lot of fun."

Mailes, a transfer student from the Joplin, Mo., area, is in his first year at Central. He said he's adjusted quickly to his new teammates.

"They're a good team," Mailes said of the Tigers. "They're pretty good. (The transition) wasn't that bad at all. It was pretty easy."

Deciphering Wednesday's wind, though, was another matter. A strong, steady southern breeze wreaked havoc with players from both squads, and they had to alternate playing either into the wind or with it blowing at their backs.

"It was pretty tough," Mailes said. "On the side where the wind's at my back I just had to take a lot of pace off the ball and more spin. And then on the side where the wind's blowing in my face, I just had to hit it harder."

McDowell didn't mind the windy conditions, which knocked down several lob shots before they even reached the net and blew others well past the baseline.

"I sort of like playing in the wind because I have a lot of slice and it will slow the ball down and let it spin a little more and cut when it hits the ground," McDowell. "But adjusting from side to side was much more difficult."

Before the match began, Farmington coach Andrew Canter said he was hoping to steal a few singles wins in the lower matches, but that never came to fruition.

"It's always tough when you lose four of your singles to come back," he said as his squad fell to 10-5. "That's definitely a hole, and you can't give good teams like Central the edge anywhere. ... They're tough to beat when you spot them two."

Farmington locked down the No. 3 seed in the five-team district and will face the Tigers again next week in Cape Girardeau in district play.

"Hopefully we'll take care of them next week when it matters," he laughed. "We're looking forward to it., We're up for the fight. We've got to get better."

Singles

Nol 1 -- Alex Mailes (C) def. Ian Powers 8-1

No. 2 -- John Augustine (F) def. Derek Nunnery 8-5

No. 3 -- Jonah Roop (C) def. Alexander England 8-0

No. 4 -- Jalen McDowell (C) def. Zachary Scruggs 9-7

No. 5 -- Seth Currington (F) def. Vikas Rudrappa 8-5

No. 6 -- Caleb Strickland (C) def. Ryan Schwartzkopf 8-1.

Doubles

No. 1 -- Mailes/McDowell C def. Powers/Augustine 8-4

No. 2 -- Nunnery/Strickland C def. England/Scruggs 9-7

No. 3 -- Roop/Rudrappa C def. Currington/Carter Southern 8-6.