Freshman Ximena Yanez won a doubles match 6-2 with senior Dalina Dahlmans against McNeese State University. Don Lawrence/The Lion's Roar

In preparation for their first conference game, the tennis team played against the University of Louisiana at Monroe for the first time this season.

Senior kinesiology major Madina Vorotnikova and senior business administration major Fleur Holtkamp sat out this game to rest for conference play. Head Coach Jason Hayes moved everyone in the lineup up two spots, opening the door for two players to play in single matches for the first time.

Vorotnikova cheered on her teammates.

“Don’t focus on the game,” said Vorotnikova. “Don’t focus on anything, just take it one point at a time.”

The Lady Lions played their first conference game against McNeese State University at 12 p.m. on March 4.

The team lost all their matches on Sunday apart from one doubles match. Senior Dalina Dahlmans and freshman Ximena Yanez won their doubles match 6-2.

Junior Ceci Mercier explained what she thought about the overall performance of the team.

“The results didn’t show what we expected,” said Mercier. “The effort was definitely there. We fought really hard, and I guess they ended up better, and that’s why we lost. We have been practicing really hard, and this was a very tough team, but I think we still have a long season waiting for us. We are going to learn a lot of things from this loss, and we are ready to keep working hard and look forward to the next one. Against UNO, we are expecting to perform really hard and play hard and beat them.”

Senior Dany Raygadas gave her thoughts on the positives from the matches.

“It was definitely a tough match,” said Raygadas. “I think we all gave our best and 100 percent. I looked at every court, and everyone was fighting, running and moving their absolute best, and sometimes it doesn’t go the way we want to. But as long as we maintain that effort and attitude and give our heart, then the results will start to come as we expect. I think we had a good preparation because we were out here for three hours. We all gave 100 percent, and we can still go out and play another 100 perfect. So fitness-wise, we are there, so we just have to get the tennis there and our attitudes there.”

The overall record for the team drops to 3-6 along with a 0-1 conference record. The team hopes to turn things around at their next home game against the University of New Orleans.

“For UNO, we have to work on the things that didn’t work today and try very hard to improve because the matches will only get tougher,” said Raygadas.