EUREKA - A fresh set of St. Ignatius girls' tennis players tasted some in-game action for the first time this season, heading to Eureka for a Class 7B match up.

On a cold, windy Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs fell 5-1, but gained much needed experience and showed head coach Kimimi Ashley that her team is ready to learn and improve.

"Their first match is out of the way and they got beat pretty handily," Ashley said. "Now we can get back to work and get ready for the next matches. It's the beginning of the year and the girls have lots of matches to get confidence in themselves and learn that it is hard work, strong mental faith in yourself to get the upper hand on your opponent."

The showing of first-time player Rachel Jensen impressed Ashley. The senior beat her Eureka opponent in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, for the Bulldog's only winning match of the weekend.

"I don't know if Rachel quite knows yet that she could have an excellent year, especially for being her first year of tennis," Ashley said. "She is a senior and her first time playing tennis, but she has the capability of being someone to look out for. She is smart out there on the court in knowing where to tactically put some of her shots and she also has the advantage in that she has played varsity level in all of her other sports, so she knows how to be competitive."

The team will need someone to emerge as a leader as only two players returned from last year's team: sophomores Sarah Bowers and Jane Makepeace. Bowers fell in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, while Makepeace was out with an ankle injury. Makepeace's injury allowed Jensen to step in and play a singles match. Ashley said Bowers ran into one of the strongest opponents Eureka has to offer, but will improve as the season continues.

"Sarah didn't play bad, she just wasn't used to seeing so many balls come back with so much pace on them and quite a bit of backspin," Ashley said. "Just the little bit of difference between the experience of a senior and a sophomore."

The Lady Bulldogs faced off against Bigfork Tuesday afternoon but results were unavailable as of press time. The team will next match-up with Troy at an away game this Saturday.