STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Southwestern women's tennis suffered its third defeat against a higher division of competition to open the season, losing 7-0 to the NCAA Division I Tarleton State Texans. 

"We battled extreme conditions with heavy winds and struggled to find a rhythm, especially in doubles," Southwestern head tennis coach Billy Porter says. "We adjusted much better in singles after learning from doubles.' 

Alli Ziehm and Emma Kesterson returned to line 1 doubles and lost 6-3 to Deniza Marcinkevica and Jemi Aguilar. Nina Mitrofanova and Lydia Lee fared better against Celia Vaudiau and Faustine Palatte in line 2 but lost 6-4. Elsa Boisson and Martha Makantasi bested Lauren Chisholm and Taylor Despriet 6-2 in line 3, sweeping the PIrates and earning the doubles point.

Southwestern was more competitive in singles, with Mitrofanova taking Marcinkevica three sets in a 6-4, 2-6, 2-6 loss. Despriet followed suit with a three-set loss to Aguilar in line 2, losing 6-0, 2-6, 3-6. 

"Nina and Taylor both split sets at the top of our lineup, which is impressive," Porter says. "It's great to see us playing really good tennis at the top of our lineup against scholarship teams." 

After losing 6-3 in the first set, Sydney Wahl took Boisson to a tiebreaker in the second, losing 7-3 to fall 7-6 in line 4 singles. Chisholm battled Natalia Komar to the tiebreaker in the first set of line 6 singles, falling 7-2, then losing the second set 6-1. 

Lee was shut out with a pair of 6-0 defeats in a line 3 loss to Makantasi, and Ziehm was defeated 6-0, 6-4 by Vaudiau in line 5. 

"Sydney dictated much better on the forehand side than she has in her previous matches this season," Porter says. "Lauren played an amazing first set with a loose tiebreak and made major strides." 

Southwestern drops to 0-3 with the demanding early schedule. This weekend, the Pirates will face their first NCAA Division III opponent, hosting East Texas Baptist on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 9:00 a.m.