Box Score STEUBENVILLE, Ohio−Lady Baron tennis swept doubles play with 8-2 wins across the board in their season opener against St. Vincent College, eventually defeating the Bearcats 5-4.
"Last year we came out of the gate with doubles more hesitant; a little bit off. This was completely opposite of that," Head Coach Jenna Lynch said. "Our chemistry was great. They looked just as good as they did in practice, which is not typical, so that's exciting to see."
Perhaps the most surprising 8-2 doubles win came from no. 3 doubles, Anna O'Conner and Emily Mathias, where the two freshmen dominated their first NCAA match. O'Conner played particularly well, not only in doubles but also in singles play where many of her teams struggles.
In her first NCAA singles match O'Conner displayed an unusual amount of confidence for such an inexperienced player and comfortably won no. 5 singles 6-2, 6-0.
"She was very impressive with how aggressive she played. She never backed down from the ball and she controlled each point," Lynch said. "That is huge, especially because it's her first match as a freshman."
The other singles win that pushed FUS to victory came from sophomore Erin Coyne at no. 4 singles with a 6-1, 6-3 win. The closest set of the day came in no. 1 singles where senior Alanna Murray went back and forth with her opponent in a 7-5 first set loss.
The match was Murray's first game in over year. The Lady Baron took a break from tennis in 2013 after being one of the top players for FUS during her 2012 sophomore season.
"Match play is a different type play than practice. For not having played for a year and a half she exceeded my expectations," Lynch said of the team's only senior. "She's still not where she was before but it was clear today that it won't her take as long to come back as a typical player might."
While winning the first match is obviously a good way to start the season, Lynch noted that the Lady Baron's play was still far from perfect. The team followed up their dominant doubles play by losing three of five singles matches. Lynch said she would like to see her girls play with more confidence and more consistency. She also said she wants to focus on taking things one step at a time this season.
"I'm taking each moment for what it is and I'm encouraging them not to look ahead, not to look behind but to be in the moment of each practice of each match," Lynch said.
The Lady Barons will look to continue their strong start to the season on Sunday, August 31 when they travel to Bethany College for a 4 pm match.
