SIOUX FALLS – Aberdeen Central continued its run through the state’s elite tennis teams on Thursday, falling to perennial power Sioux Falls Lincoln 9-0 and then dropping a 7-2 decision to Watertown.

“They’re really good,” said Central coach Trent Kurtz of the Patriots after his team faced Class AA state champion Harrisburg and Class A state champion Sioux Falls Christian on Tuesday. “We’re seeing a lot of the powerhouses right now and they’re right there.”

The Golden Eagles were unable to win more than two games in any of the matches against Lincoln.

“They really have big games and they kind of overpowered us,” Kurtz said.

Central then struggled against Watertown, a team that the Golden Eagles traditionally use as a bit of a measuring stick.

“They’ve got a lot of returning experience. They’ve got four guys back from last year,” Kurtz said. “I thought we left some stuff out there. I didn’t think we played our best tennis.”

The Golden Eagles, playing in their ninth match of the season, got off to a slow start against the Arrows, who were playing in their season-opening match.

“We started with doubles and we just got off to a really poor start,,” Kurtz said, “which is really disappointing with us being the team that had already played.”

Kurtz noted that Central’s second and third flight doubles teams fell behind 0-5, and 1-5, before finishing strong.

“I’m disappointed with how we started, just way too many errors,” he said. “Obviously, played a lot better to get those matches back to 7-10, 8-10. We played way better the second half of the matches, but in a 10-game pro-set you just can’t get off to a start like that.”

Central received wins from Dawson Pederson at first flight singles and Grayson Rehder at sixth flight singles.

“Dawson played really well. A good win there. He kind of controlled it from the get go,” Kurtz said. “Grayson is playing well right now. … He struggled a little bit with his serve early today and then he kind of figured it out towards the end of the day.”

Kurtz said the Golden Eagles have two specific areas that need some work.

“Serving and volleying are two things we really have to improve on,” he said. “We just need some outdoor practice time.”

Central will have its home opener on Monday hosting Brandon Valley and O’Gorman at the Holgate Courts.

“It will be good to play at home,” Kurtz said.

Sioux Falls Lincoln 9, Aberdeen Central 0

Singles

River McKenzie, SFL, def. Dawson Pederson, 5-0, 5-2.

Conner Husser, SFL, def. Aric Tennant, 5-0, 5-2.

Simeon Senuyange, SFL, def. Gannon Pederson, 5-0, 5-0.

Amrit Thury, SFL, def. Wyatt Kiesz, 5-0, 5-0.

Glyun Seo, SFL, def. Alex Tarver, 5-0, 5-1.

Myles Schellpfeiffer, SFL, def. Grayson Rehder, 5-1, 5-0.

Doubles

McKenzie-Husser, SFL, def. D. Pederson-G. Pederson, 5-0, 5-1.

Senuyange-Thury, SFL, def. Tennant-Kiesz, 5-2, 5-0.

Thury-Schellpfeiffer, SFL, def. Tarver-Rehder, 5-1, 5-0.

Watertown 7, Aberdeen Central 2

Singles

Dawson Pederson, AC, def. Joey Meester, 10-6.

Xane Fligge, W, def. Aric Tennant, 10-4.

Matthew Bertsch, W, def. Gannon Pederson, 10-3.

Dawson Hartman, W, def. Wyatt Kiesz, 10-2.

Tyson Lawrence, W, def. Alex Tarver, 10-2.

Grayson Rehder, AC, def. Paul Feist, 10-2.

Doubles

Fligge-Hartman, W, def. D. Pederson-G. Pederson, 10-7.

Meester-Bertsch, W, def. Tennant-Kiesz, 10-7.

Lawrence-Taren Veflin, W, def. Tarver-Rehder, 10-8.