The Waynesburg University Women’s Tennis team began section play on Friday, Sept 8 at home against Grove City. The Yellow Jackets competed hard but the match was won by the Grove City Wolverines  9-0. 

The match began with three doubles matches all falling in favor of Grove City. First doubles sophomore Julia Corey and freshman Julia Luzar lost 8-0 against Emily Ivory and Janel McCray of Grove City. Second doubles freshman Karly Starcher and sophomore Felicia Duffy lost 8-0 to Alyssa Good and Catherine Petrovich. Third doubles sophomores Alli Bailey and Aubrey Burns fell short 8-1 against Courtney DeCarlo and Peyton Joines. 

Shortly after, the singles matches began. First singles Corey competed hard but fell short in 2 sets 6-0, 6-1 to Catherine Petrovich. Second singles Karly Starcher lost 6-0, 6-0 to Lexi Chappel. Third singles Luzar battled hard but it was not enough and lost 6-1, 6-0 in 2 sets to Joines. Fourth singles Duffy, fifth singles Bailey and sixth singles Burns all lost to their respective opponents 6-0, 6-0 in 2 sets.

After the match Coach Petit said he was “Pleased to see them competing well.” Being that it was only their second match of the season and how new the players are to the game, they were able to compete against a very experienced team like Grove City. Coach Petit also mentioned that he would like to see the team improve their “confidence” and also have the ability to have a “short memory.” Petit wants the team to move on after having a bad shot and just forget about it. 

Sophomore Julia Corey after her match stated, “I am pleased with how I personally competed against my singles opponent. She went to IMG academy, and I held my ground, and our match was the longest and most competitive.” She also stated, “I was pleased to see the team be so supportive of each other before and after the match.”

Corey talked about what the most challenging part about playing in both the number one singles spot and number one doubles spot against Grove City, and she stated, “In singles it was playing against a girl who came out of a tennis/sport centered high school. In doubles the most challenging part is communication with my doubles partner.” 

Corey also mentioned how to mentally compete against a tough Grove City team. She said, “To mentally compete against Grove City, you must go in with a good mindset. If you go in with the mindset that you’re going to lose, you will not play the best you can or try your hardest. “

 Corey had this to say about what she learned about herself after the match, “ …agility is a huge part of the game and by the second set, she was run down, and I was still running strong.”

In preparation for their next match, Coach Petit stated that, “They will get back at it,” as soon as they can. He wants to see the team get their “confidence up” and “forget about the mistakes.”

Waynesburg’s next match will be on the road against conference opponent Allegheny on Thursday, Sept 14 at 5 p.m.