With the majority of their teams comprised of inexperienced players, the Sedona Red Rock High School boys and girls tennis squads’ best showings will not come until later in the season.

The teams faced off with Northland Preparatory Academy on Tuesday, March 7. The boys [2-1] lost 8-1 while the girls [0-2] lost 6-3.

“This will be the toughest team in our section,” boys head coach Phil Kovac said. “We’ll see if we can play them tougher next time.”

The Scorpions’ No. 2 player, sophomore Kai Zimmerman, was the lone winner on the day. Zimmerman won his match in the 10-point, third-set tiebreaker with a final score of 6-2, 7-5, 12-10.

Junior No. 1 Max Knaus lost 6-1 and 7-5, senior No. 3 Leo Gonzalez and senior No. 4 Javier Diaz lost by identical scores, 6-1, 6-1. Sophomore No. 5 Trevor Stovall lost 6-0, 6-2 and freshman No. 5 Frank Alves lost 6-0, 6-0.

“The score is not indicative of how well they played, there were long points,” Kovac said.

With the bottom four of the ladder being new, the players will progress.

“What I’m seeing is the kids are playing better,” Kovac said.

The girls team played in Flagstaff, and without lights on the courts, was forced to play eight-game pro sets in singles and doubles rather than just doubles.

Two freshmen combined to win all three of the Scorpion points: Aria Harness and Leilani Olson. Harness won her singles match 8-4 and Olson 8-5 after pairing to win their doubles match 9-7.

No. 1 player senior Fernanda Valencia lost 8-2 as did junior No. 2 Sarah Lynch and junior No. 3 Erandi Mojica. Junior No. 4 Verdi Trinidad lost 8-3. Valencia and Lynch lost their doubles match 8-2 while Mojica and Trinidad paired up, losing 8-4.

“The team is getting stronger with each match,” head coach Claudette Lalibrete said. “Their ground strokes are getting much more consistent. The freshmen are doing exceptionally well.”