Box Score STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – After a lengthy match featuring line-up changes and injuries, Lady Baron tennis fell to the Westminster College Titans 4-5.
"This is one of the toughest teams we are going to face all season, if not the toughest," Lynch said. "The fact we almost beat them shows that we are growing."
Though the Lady Barons lost 1-2 in doubles, senior Alanna Murray and sophomore Clare Haddad battled to defeat the Titans in no. 3 doubles 8-2.
"Doubles was huge for no. 3. They played really well. We had pretty great energy in doubles but for some of them it was tough," Lynch said.
Lynch decided to make some adjustments to the lineup based on which players showed stamina but was surprised by the energy and confidence on the court shown by her players.
"Last year we lost to Westminster twice. We've only gotten one match off them in the past, so I didn't expect a ton in terms of number of victories," Lynch said. "The girls really went above and beyond my expectations."
As the match played on into the evening, players shone in their singles matches despite the mental and physical strain of several injuries the team has endured this season.
"We've had a lot of nuisance injuries that aren't serious but affect the way they play," Lynch said. "I think we are a force to be reckoned with and I can't imagine how we'd look as a completely healthy team."
Relying on mental strength, the Lady Barons managed to win three singles matches. Freshman Anna O'Connor played hard at her no. 6 singles match defeating her opponent 7-5, 6-4.
"Anna has shown a lot of mental stamina that does not often come in freshmen," Lynch said, adding that all of this year's freshman players mesh well with the rest of the team.
The other two singles wins came from sophomores Clare Haddad and Alli Jensen. Haddad initially lost her first set 1-6 but made a significant turn around in the match by winning her next two sets 6-1, 6-2, while Jensen won her no. 4 singles set 6-2, 6-1.
"Claire just persevered and stopped thinking about her injury," Lynch said. "She won her second two sets without a problem." Lynch added that Jensen played a nice clean mental match in spite of a difficult no. 1 doubles loss.
Prepared to learn from the loss and confident of the team's imminent growth, Lynch looks forward to what the rest of the season will bring.
"I think we've started out really strong as a team this season," Lynch said.
The Lady Barons tennis team will next play D'Youville College in Williamsville, New York, Friday, September 5th at 4:30pm.
