SIOUX FALLS – Aberdeen Central found the going tough against a pair of state tennis powers on Monday.

The Golden Eagles were blanked by eight-time defending state champion Sioux Falls Lincoln before falling to Watertown 8-1.

“It was a difficult day for us,” said Central coach Trent Kurtz. “Lincoln is unbelievable. They’re as good as they’ve been in their 8-year championship stretch.”

Central managed to win just four games total in the combined nine singles and doubles matches against the Patriots.

“I don’t see anybody touching them this year again. The sad part is they’re going to be even better next year,” Kurtz said. “They are something else. They’re a class of their own. I honestly don’t see anybody in South Dakota this year challenging them.”

The Eagles then refocused their energy for a dual against Eastern South Dakota Conference rival Watertown.

“You go into the match just wanting to see how well they compete against Lincoln,” Kurtz said. “Then really, the Watertown match is the one you’re looking at, kind of really a test of where we are.”

Central was in a lot more of the matches against Watertown, but managed to grab just one of them.

“I’m disappointed with the score there. A lot of close matches,” Kurtz said. “Obviously the final score could have looked a lot better, but they’re better than I thought though, too. They’re pretty good right now. They return their top four guys from last year, so they’re really good 1 through 4. Their middle flights, they’re 3-4 and two doubles are probably going to be as strong as most ESD teams.”

Kurtz said the Arrows traditionally serve as a measuring stick for the Eagles since they feature a lot of similarities in their program.

“They’re the team most similar to us,” Kurtz said. “Our middle schools play about three times a year, our JV plays a couple of times a year, so they’re kind of the ones we match up well against.”

Many of the matches were tight again this year with a couple going to tiebreakers. Central secured one of those when Mitchell Hofer grabbed a victory at top flight singles.

“I thought we played really well in singles,” Kurtz said, “Mitch obviously the highlight of the day, getting a nice win there.”

The eighth-grader battled back from two different service breaks and an early deficit in the breaker.

“He got down 2-0 early in the tiebreak, and next thing you now he was up 6-3,” Kurtz said, “so he played really well in the tiebreak and then put it away.”

Hofer and AJ Prehn dropped their top flight doubles match in a tiebreaker after owning a big lead early on. The tandem was one point away from a 6-1 advantage, and then had one rough game down the stretch before coming up short in the breaker.

“Watertown picked up their game and we played one bad game,” Kurtz said. “That’s all it really was.”

Central had solid efforts in other singles matches as well.

Prehn dropped his first three games and was never able to fully recover at flight two.

“He just got down 3-0 and then played really well against a kid who played number one last year for them,” Kurtz said.

It was much the same at third flight singles where Sekou Gogue fell 10-5.

“Same thing for Sekou,” Kurtz said. “Got down 4-0, next thing you know played right with him the rest of the match. It was just a bad start.”

Kurtz also pointed out the play of Hunter Miller at sixth flight singles, who battled before dropping a 10-7 decision.

“That was good to see him play well. He’s just kind of getting his feet wet with varsity experience,” Kurtz said. “That was a good match for him. He really played well.”

Central was scheduled to have four matches this week, but weather wiped out two more duals set for today.

The Eagles, 2-4 on the young season, will return to action next week.

Sioux Falls Lincoln 9, Aberdeen Central 0

Singles

Rocky McKenzie, SFL, def. Mitchell Hofer, 5-0, 5-0.

Drew Gohl, SFL, def. AJ Prehn, 5-0, 5-0.

River McKenzie, SFL, def. Sekou Gogue, 5-0, 5-1.

Arthur Tao, SFL, def. Jack Riggs, 5-2, 5-0.

Chris Tao, SFL, def. Preston Kreber, 5-0, 5-2.

Jacob Husser, SFL, def. Hunter Miller, 5-1, 5-0.

Doubles

Gohl-Rocky McKenzie, SFL, def. Hofer-Prehn, 5-0, 5-1

A. Tao-River McKenzie, SFL, def. Gogue-Riggs, 5-0, 5-0.

C. Tao-Husser, SFL, def. Kreber-Gannon Pederson, 5-1, 5-0.

Watertown 8, Aberdeen Central 1

Singles

Mitchell Hofer, AC, def. Curtis Sneden, 10-9 (7-4).

Mark Mahowald, W, def. AJ Prehn, 10-5.

Evan Meester, W, def. Sekou Gogue, 10-5.

Justin Remmers, W, def. Jack Riggs, 10-2.

Tyler Dingsor, W, def. Preston Kreber, 10-5.

Joey Meester, W, def. Hunter Miller, 10-7.

Doubles

Sneden-Mahowald, W, def. Hofer-Prehn, 10-9 (7-4).

Meester-Remmers, W, def. Gogue-Riggs, 10-1.

Dingsor-Sam Karst, W, def. Kreber-Gannon Pederson, 10-3.