By: Eric Pratt
Messenger Sports Editor
The Iowa Central men's tennis squad is working its way up the national ladder as effectively and efficiently as possible.
The Tritons recently placed sixth at the NJCAA national tournament thanks to the hard work of the players, the coaches and the tight-knit Fort Dodge tennis community.
"As an upstart program on a tight budget, we have to improvise at every turn and, as a result, I have relied on several local tennis legends to help coach our players, including Eric Bligard, Manny Flores, Vicky Flores, and Stu Cochrane," said second-year head coach Ev Cochrane. "We did not lose a single dual match (in 2023) and, in most cases, we did not lose (any) singles matches."
Iowa Central tennis is truly an international experience. The current Triton roster features six players from Africa: two from Zimbabwe, two from Benin, two from Ivory Coast, and one from Togo. Eight other athletes represent the United States, France, Argentina and Venezuela.
"In addition to being phenomenal tennis players, our guys also excel in the classroom, with four of our top seven making the All-Region Academic team," said Cochrane, a former Iowa State University assistant.
Alex Lago, Isak Padio, Prince Gandonou, Andrew Kunaka, Zamani Moyo and Souli Ouattara comprised the starting lineup for Iowa Central this spring. All six were nationally ranked. Gandonou, Kunaka, Moyo and Emmanuel Oudensi were academic all-region honorees.
The Tritons defeated a slew of in-state Div. II and III opponents, including Grinnell, Luther, Morningside, Coe and Northwestern. The squad then captured the Region XI championship to reach the field at nationals.
Iowa Central finished behind only Cowley, Tyler, Eastern Florida, ABAC and host Collin — of McKinney, Tex. — in the final NJCAA Tournament standings.
The future looks promising for the program as well. Cochrane also landed a top recruit for the upcoming season in Ankeny Centennial state runner-up Caleb Peterson.
"We finished eighth last season, sixth (this year), and hope to challenge for the national title next spring," Cochrane said.