For Waynesburg University head women’s tennis coach Ron Headlee, the 9-0 loss to Grove City on Saturday is just a speed bump on their way to more success this year.

“That’s why [Grove City is] picked to win the conference,” he said. “I liked the overall attitude of our players. They didn’t quit and they didn’t get discouraged.”

The fight that the team showed in the tough shutout loss is something that the Jackets hope to build on moving forward.

“Playing good teams like that shows you what you need to work on,” said Headlee. “We are going to keep working on setting up our shots and being patient. So next time out, [hopefully] you don’t make the same mistakes.”

Grove City’s number one doubles team of senior Maggie Manchester and sophomore Morgan Happe defeated Waynesburg’s number one team of freshman Kyleigh Schmidt and junior Noelle Hughes 8-0. Waynesburg’s number two doubles team of junior Sierra Stevens and sophomore Lauren Wadsworth were able to steal a game during their match with Grove City’s duo of freshman Lillian Jeynes and senior Rachel Ford, but ultimately fell 8-1.

Meanwhile, Waynesburg’s number three doubles team that consisted of sophomore Abby Walbrown and freshman Abigail Stahl were shut out by seniors Melissa Karidis and Leigh-Ann Trepanier 6-0.

Walbrown was able to win two games in her singles match against sophomore Hannah Tarolli, but fell 6-2, 6-0 in the match. Wadsworth also stole a game in her match against Trepanier, but dropped both sets, 6-1, 6-0, respectively.

The remaining four singles matches were 6-0, 6-0 losses.

Despite the loss, Hughes believes the team can take some positives out of the performance.

“After the match I talked to the team and made sure I encouraged them and made sure they knew they did some things well,” she said. “I know in practice we will work on the things we didn’t do so well, so it’s good to take time to look at both perspectives.”

Hughes also said she didn’t sense much discouragement after the loss from the team, saying they are ready to put this match behind them and move on.

“I think everyone is ready to get back to practice and work on some things and get better,” she said. “They were a good team. We just need to stay positive and build off of the things that we did well.”

This upcoming week is a big one for the Yellow Jackets as they take the court for three matches in a four-day span. This stretch starts with a Wednesday afternoon match at home against St. Vincent at 3:30 p.m. that finished after publication. The team has a day off today before hitting the court Friday on the road at Geneva for a 6 p.m. match.

The Yellow Jackets then return home for a Saturday non-conference match against Muskingum at 12 p.m. The match with Thiel that was rained out has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 4 p.m.