Central’s quiet leader

PELLA — Garret Taylor of Creston said it was a surreal feeling as he stood with five fellow senior members of the Central College tennis team Saturday afternoon on the Dutch home courts.

They were being recognized on senior day as the foundation for coach Ryun Ferrell, who took over the program when they were freshmen. At the ceremony, Garret was joined by parents Craig and Linda Taylor of Creston, along with siblings Evan and Aubrey.

“It’s tough to comprehend,” said Taylor, who will graduate May 19 with a degree in physics and interest in mechanical engineering. “It seems like yesterday that I was graduating from high school. I wasn’t ready to give up competing. Now, here I am graduating in a couple of weeks and still not really ready to give it up.”

The Central men’s tennis team wrapped up the regular season Saturday in a 9-0 loss to Luther College. Finishing with a regular season record of 14-11, 6-2 in the Iowa Conference, the Dutch earned a third-place finish in the league. Luther ended with a 19-4 overall mark and 7-1 in conference, second behind perennial power Coe College.

As the No. 3 seed in this weekend’s conference tournament hosted by Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Central will face University of Dubuque in the quarterfinals at 4 p.m. Friday.

In Taylor’s four seasons with at Central, the Dutch have finished third, fourth, third and third in the conference as he rose the ranks of the varsity lineup.

“We lost to (nationally eighth-ranked) Coe 8-1 and Luther 9-0, but then we beat (fourth-place) Loras 6-3,” Taylor said. “You look at that gap, it’s like the top two, then us, then the rest of them.”

When Central lost to Grand View University in a non-conference match this spring, 7-2, a former Panther teammate was in the opposing lineup. Sophomore Ryan Kucera transferred from Luther to Grand View and won his No. 4 singles match, 7-5, 6-3, and also won in doubles. Taylor lost to Grand View’s outstanding No. 1 player, Andree Stevensson and also came up short in doubles with William Isiminger, 8-3.

The tables were turned when those two teams met in the fall, when Central won 6-3. In that one, Taylor was out with mononucleosis and Kucera was defeated in a close match at No. 4 singles.

“I missed a lot of the fall season and it was kind of rough in the singles and doubles conference tournament,” Taylor said. “It was my first match after getting cleared and it didn’t go well.”

Taylor has made remarkable progress in his four years on the team. As a freshman he played No. 5 singles and did not play doubles at all. As a sophomore he moved up to No. 2 singles and No. 3 doubles. Last year he earned the No. 1 singles position and played No. 2 doubles.

This year Taylor has retained his No. 1 singles spot in the lineup while teaming with the freshman Isiminger at No. 1 doubles.

His first season he lost in the quarterfinals of the B flight singles. As a sophomore he lost in the second round of the B flight singles and lost in the championship of the B flight doubles.

Last year Taylor lost in the first round of the A flight singles and won the B flight doubles championship. Coming off the illness, last fall he lost in the first round of A flight singles and the second round of B flight doubles.

Memorable match

It’s actually doubles that has provided Taylor with his greatest tennis memory at Central. He and Isiminger knocked off Coe’s nationally-ranked doubles team of Brady Anderson and Nate Ackert, 8-4. It was Central’s only win of the meet.

“That’s probably my biggest win of my college tennis career,” Taylor said. “That was a great win.”

Ferrell said that match was an example of how far Taylor came as a doubles player in college. Taylor placed fifth in the state in singles as a senior at Creston, the highest ever for a Panther, but did not concentrate on playing doubles at a high level.

“As a freshman he started off at No. 5 singles and really had no idea how to play doubles,” Ferrell said. “He learned how to close at the net and how to volley. Playing with our freshman, Isiminger, they are tough as nails. William is a pint-sized version of Garrett. That Coe match, they were just awesome. They’re both really smart players and they can go all day.”

Work ethic

Known for spending a lot of time alone at the SWCC courts hitting against a ball machine as a high school player, honing that steady baseline stroke and his serve, Taylor’s work ethic also became legendary as a collegian.

“Garret found the weight room, became really fit and started hitting a lot with our assistant coach (Peter Greteman), who played Division I tennis at UNO. The guy hits every single day, he’s working out all of the time, and his attitude is, I’m just going to out work everybody and hopefully that is enough. For 80 percent of the time, that works. But sometimes playing at No. 1, you just run into guys with more talent. I’m sure he could go undefeated at No. 3 singles, but he took to the No. 1 role for us and gave it his best every time out. He’s not a real vocal kid, but he’s been a great leader by example and respected captain for us.”

Taylor had four conference losses at No. 1 singles, while he and Isiminger had only two conference losses in doubles. Ferrell foresees postseason honors for his No. 1 player.

“I really think Garret has a shot at making all-conference,” Ferrell said. “He’s had a solid year at No. 1 singles and those guys have only two losses at No. 1 doubles. They really did some good things.”

One match in particular serves as an example Taylor set for determination and competitive fire on the court during his upperclass years as a leader on the team.

“Last year in the (team) quarterfinals, my entire team was not showing up in doubles and Loras had us down 3-0 going into singles,” Ferrell said. “Your chances of winning at that point are nil. I pulled all of the guys together and had a pretty stern talk about what I’d just seen in doubles. Garret went out and had this mindset that ‘I am not going to lose to this kid.’ He wouldn’t quit. It’s one of the neatest things I’ve ever seen. He fought for every point. One set took 2 1/2 hours. That’s just insane. We took five of the six singles matches and won the dual. The way he was playing was inspiring to everybody else to get going.”

Taylor nearly didn’t have a collegiate tennis career. He originally planned to study engineering at Iowa State University. After his success at the state tournament, he began hearing from college coaches.

“I decided to keep my options open,” Taylor said. “In the end, I couldn’t give up the competition. It was a great decision. I’ve made so many memories here. I have great friendships on this team. Tennis has been a blessing. It gives me something to look forward to every day.”