STEUBENVILLE, Ohio- The Franciscan University women's tennis team hosted John Carroll University as part of Homecoming Weekend and lost for the second time this week 8-1.
"Even though the girls lost they have improved just from this past Thursday," FUS assistant coach Patrick O'Hearn said. "This will definitely help them prepare for conference championships in the upcoming weeks."
No. 5 singles seed Hannah Pettit was the only Lady Baron to win, beating her John Carroll opponent 6-2, 6-1. Pettit contained her composure throughout the match, appearing mentally and physically together.
Freshman No. 3 singles seed Caeles Crunkleton-Wilson carried her match into a third set tiebreaker. She was defeated 6-3, 5-7, (5-10).
"Caeles, along with the other girls, was not totally demoralized by her loss," O'Hearn said. "She knew that her level of play had improved, and she was happy to learn from such a skilled opponent."
The Lady Barons play Waynesburg University October 16th, just days before the conference championships. Coming off of two back-to-back losses, the girls are trying to remain positive about their upcoming matches.
Because they are undefeated in conference, the Lady Barons have a bye in the first round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championships, giving them about two weeks to mentally prepare for the competition to come.
"I think it is important that we step up our level of dedication in the upcoming practices," O'Hearn said. "These losses are a blessing because they show the girls what exactly they want to improve on, and where they want to be in this level of competition."
The Lady Barons are now 11-3 overall on the year and 8-0 in the AMCC.
"We're going to forget about the regular season and leave it behind us," O'Hearn said. "When you're too satisfied with yourself is when you stop improving. We're going to start over."
