A late start and lengthy match against the visiting men’s tennis squad of University of Southern Indiana didn’t help Grand Valley State University off to a victorious start of the spring season on Sunday.

Despite the obstacles, head coach John Black said the 7-2 defeat was an experience to evaluate top competition in one of the top teams in the region and country.

“We started our season off with Southern Indiana, who are third in the region and top 25 in the nation … so it was definitely a tough matchup for us against a very strong team.” Black said. “I was pleased that we played a lot better from our scrimmage on Friday and to get some competition under our belts.”

Sophomore Bryan Hodges also agreed that the matchup was a tough one, but said the score doesn’t reflect how the Lakers played.

“I actually think this was something good for us today — Southern Indiana is one of the toughest teams we will play all season,” Hodges said. “Though the score was 7-2, our team was in every match.”

The Lakers started at 10 a.m. in Grandville, Mich., at Ramblewood, an hour after the scheduled start. With the doubles team taking the court first, GVSU’s No. 1 duo lost 9-7 to Southern Indiana’s No. 1 team, the top doubles team in the region. GVSU’s No. 2 and 3 doubles teams followed suit, each dropping 8-3 decisions

“This match gives us an idea of where the top teams and what we have to do to get to that level,” Black said. “I don’t think we are that far off right now … We have to pick up the doubles especially.”

The Laker’s only wins came from singles performances from Andrew Darrell and Bryan Hodges.

Darrel pulled out a victory against the Screaming Eagles’ Juan Quiroz in the battle between the No. 1 singles while Hodges picked up a victory against nationally-ranked Diego Gimenez.

“The key to me winning today was keep my head straight today and staying in every point especially facing off against Gimenez,” Hodges said. “He is extremely talented and so was their entire team, so it was definitely important to be mentally tough.”

Senior Marc Roesslein also feels his team will compete for the top spots in the conference, but needs to get balanced and earn points from doubles matches.

“The score really didn’t do us justice today,” Roesslein said. “We have a good lineup, but we definitely have to work on our doubles performance. I think its because we just got into new pairs and we just need more practice together.”

The Lakers will return to the court on Friday when they take part in the Grand Rapids City Tournament at Orchard Hills Swim and Sports Club.