MITCHELL – Aberdeen Central split its final two Class AA tennis duals of the season on Friday, falling to Mitchell 8-1 and edging Sioux Falls Washington 5-4.

The Golden Eagles got off to a rough start against Mitchell in doubles to start the day.

“They’re really aggresive in doubles. They play doubles the way you should and kind of took it to us right off the bat,” said Central coach Trent Kurtz. “In singles I thought we played a little better.”

Central received a win at top flight singles where Dawson Pederson defeated his foe 10-7.

“Really good win for Dawson. That will really help his ESD seeding,” Kurtz said. “He played really well, just kept his composure the entire time. It was back and forth the entire way, and then he got up a break late and was able to finish it off.”

The Golden Eagles had a tight battle against Washington, coming through in the lower flights.

“Knowing going into that one, they’re really, really good at 1-2 and 1 doubles,” Kurtz said. “They showed that.”

Central won the bottom two doubles flights, which proved to be key in the narrow dual victory. Wyatt Kiesz, Gannon Pederson and Grayson Rehder also pulled off singles wins.

“Our depth was pretty good. We had some really good performances; 2 and 3 doubles played really well,” Kurtz said. “Good wins for Wyatt, Gannon, and Grayson in singles. They all played really well.”

Central now has just two duals left, one at Milbank on Monday, and then a matchup against Roncalli at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Holgate Courts, before the ESD tourney the following week.

“In year’s past we had a lot of matches towards the back end of our season, and now this year we don’t,” Kurtz said.

The coach said his players are reaching their potential at the right time of the season.

“I think we’ve got some guys that are really playing well. Wyatt Kiesz, I thought this week in practice, has been the best he’s played all year and it carried over to the match today,” Kurtz said. “Grayson Rehder is really playing the best he’s played all year. Hopefully we keep it going these last few weeks and play our best tennis at the end.”

Mitchell 8, Aberdeen Central 1

SINGLES

Dawson Pederson, AC, def. Matthew Mauszycki, 10-7.

Asher Dannenbring, M, def. Aric Tennant, 10-5.

Cooper Star, M, def. Gannon Pederson, 10-6.

Dawson Adams, M, def. Wyatt Kiesz, 10-3.

Alex Tarver, M, def. Simon Wiese, 10-0.

Dayton Adams, M, def. Grayson Rehder, 10-5.

DOUBLES

Mauszcyki-Star, M, def. D Pederson-G. Pederson, 10-6.

Dannenbring-Adams, M, def. Tennant-Kiesz, 10-0.

Wiese-Adams, M, def. Tarver-Rehder, 10-1.

Aberdeen Central 5, Sioux Falls Washington 4

SINGLES

Chase Rima, SFW, def. Dawson Pederson, 10-1.

Eli Boyd, SFW, def. Aric Tennant, 10-4.

Gannon Pederson, AC, def. Corey Schneider, 10-3.

Wyatt Kiesz, AC, def. Andy Lewis, 10-0.

Jacob Van Rooyen, SFW, def. Alex Tarver, 10-5.

Grayson Rehder, AC, def, Beckett Ruscitti, 10-1.

DOUBLES

Rima-Boyd, SFW, def. D. Pederson-G. Pederson, 10-3.

Tennant-Kiesz, AC, def. Lewis-Ruscitti, 10-1.

Tarver-Rehder, AC, def. Van Rooyen-Kostboth, 10-1.