Aberdeen Central got off to a slow start Monday, but made up for it with a strong finish at the Holgate Tennis Courts.

The Golden Eagles regrouped in time to shutout Milbank 9-0 in a tennis dual.

“They came out ready to go. They got off to a better start than us. All the doubles matches were really tight for the first half of those matches. Our kids did a good job of settling down,” said Central coach Trent Kurtz. “Once they kind of got that lead, up a break, up 2-3 games in the doubles matches, then they settled down and didn’t feel as much pressure, but a lot of that was due to Milbank. They put a lot of pressure on us in doubles. They served really well. When you serve well in doubles, it’s tough to break.”

Central rebounded and then played solid in singles to close out the dual.

Milbank coach Abbey Trapp was pleased with the way her boys played.

“We started off strong. We have some solid doubles teams, but Central has a very good record, good players,” Trapp said, “so I wasn’t surprised at the end that they came out on top.”

It promises to be a busy two days for Central senior Mason Ligon, who is very active in tennis and music.

“I personally like staying busy and being distracted,” Ligon said. “I like basically keeping myself with activities, because I feel like use the time while I have it.”

He has a passion for music and will be attended Morningside next year to pursue a Bachelor of Music Education degree.

“I really enjoy doing music so it doesn’t seem like a chore ever,” Ligon said.

Today will be a busy one as Ligon will rehearse for Central’s spring music concert tonight, then head over to play in back-to-back tennis matches, before returning to the school to perform in the concert.

Ligon, who won both his singles and doubles match with partner Dawson Pederson, said he prefers playing doubles more.

“I used to like singles better, but playing with Dawson this year, I really enjoy doubles,” Ligon said. “It’s a whole new game than it used to be.”

Mika Dannen also won a singles and doubles match, but played with a new parter for the first time this season. His regular partner Aric Tennant was gone taking a test, so Brock Anderson filled in.

“Right away me and Brock started pretty slow, but once we picked up traction we started to get the hang of each other,” Dannen said. “This is our first game together.”

Dannen said he enjoys both singles and doubles, before the senior noted it’s tough to top doubles.

“I do have have to say doubles is where I have the most fun,” Dannen said, “moving around and you can always hit harder because you have more court to hit in, so I’m moving around a bit more.”

While the Bulldogs did not win a match, Trapp was proud of her team and said the dual will help build confidence for the upcoming state tournament.

“When we play A schools, we’re losing 4-5 almost every match, so we’re right there,” Trapp said. “We just need a little bit more when we play the AA schools.”

Central will host Pierre at 1 this afternoon on Senior Day, and then play Aberdeen Roncalli around 3:30 p.m., both at Holgate.

Kurtz said both duals are important, because Pierre is an Eastern South Dakota Conference foe and valuable seed points are at stake for the upcoming ESD tourney, and Roncalli is a cross-town foe.

Kurtz grew up with a vested interest in the Central-Roncalli rivalry, because his past coaches were the late Burt Elliott of Central, and the late Judy Rezatto of Roncalli, who used to give him lessons.

“My tennis teachers growing up were Burt and Judy,” Kurtz said. “They always had a special fondness for the Roncalli-Central matchup.”

Aberdeen Central 9, Milbank 0

SINGLES

AJ Prehn, AC, def. Charles Whitesitt, 10-2.

Mason Ligon, AC, def. Gregory Grabow, 10-2.

Dawson Pederson, AC, def. Will Muellenbach, 10-2.

Gustavo Carrara, AC, def. Alex Baugh, 10-1.

Gannon Pederson, AC, def. Devon Mueller, 10-1.

Mika Dannen, AC, def. James Nelson, 10-5.

DOUBLES

Prehn-Carrara, AC, def. Whitesitt-Muellenbach, 10-5.

D. Pederson-Ligon, AC, def. Grabow-Baugh, 10-6.

Brock Anderson-Dannen, AC, def. Mueller-Landen Appl, 10-5.