STEUBENVILLE, Ohio—The Lady Barons tennis swept the LaRoche Redhawks for the second season in a row, with a final score of 9-0. Despite the abnormally cold and wet afternoon, the Lady Barons persevered focusing on new tactics and walking away with their eighth win of the season.

Doubles started off well with the return of Freshman Anna O'Connor. Following her return from injury, an air of excitement and nervousness surrounded her first match back, a no. 3 doubles win 8-1 with sophomore Ashley Veazy.

"She was incredibly excited to play and I was nervous for her," said Head Coach Jenna Lynch. "It was great to have a spot for her back on the team."

Going into singles, the Lady Barons played tactically at the net and on their approach shot. By using these approaches, the Lady Barons were able to successfully respond to the other teams lobs, despite the weather conditions.

"They did really well approaching the net and that sets them up for a winning point.  They really had nice approach shot forehands," said Lynch. "When their opponent hit them a shorter ball, the girls used that ball well to hit a net shot."

The first to finish her singles match, sophomore Ali Jensen won her no. 4 singles 6-0, 6-0.  Moving quickly with the bad weather approaching, Jensen hustled while playing efficiently and aggressively. The Lady Barons took this approach with their matches.

"I told them to play strategically with the ball, to play on points, and to be aggressive at the net," said Lynch. "They came to the net more than usual and that's good because it really relays the ball back faster."

Working their net shot well, the Lady Barons won set after set. Building off the energy of her teammates wins, Freshman Emmie Mathias successfully won her no. 6 singles match 4-6, 7-5, 10-5.  Mathias and her team both focused heavily on their net shot while also hustling to return the ball from the service line.

The Lady Barons will next play on their home court against Washington & Jefferson College on Sunday, October 5, at 1pm.