The start of SEC play for Mississippi State University women’s tennis (8-3, 0-1 SEC) came at home against a No.13 University of South Carolina (9-3, 1-0 SEC), and the night got off to a rocky start.

In doubles, MSU lost courts one and two, and court three was suspended as USC took a one point lead.

“We were a little flat, we kind of had a plan of what we wanted to do and we did not execute it enough with enough enthusiasm,” head coach Daryl Greenan said. “South Carolina was very aggressive, and very good in doubles. We would have had to play with great enthusiasm and play well to beat them in doubles today.”

Despite the one point deficit MSU fought back to make it a three to two game before South Carolina clinched the match on court two to win four to two. Greenan said he was proud of the way his team fought.

“If you just watched the doubles, you would think that we did not care enough or we were going to lay down and die,” Greenan said. “We sure did not, we gave ourselves a chance. We got some wins at a couple of positions and got into some third sets. I’m proud of the way we battled, and it was a tough match, and we came up short.”

The team is also calling awareness to the fight against cancer, specifically ovarian cancer by wearing teal ribbons. The fight is important to Caroline Kelly, a junior from Fayetteville, Georgia, whose grandmother has been battling it for many years.

“My grandmother, GiGi, has ovarian cancer and has been struggling with it since my sophomore year in high school,” Kelly said. “There are bigger things in life than just tennis. I think it is good to show support, not only for our team and people that have  diseases, but someone who is fighting a bigger disease, no one fights alone.”

The softball team also has a player battling ovarian cancer, her name is Alex Wilcox, and Kelly said this was another person the team was showing support for, because of how close they are to the softball team.

“I think it just shows that Mississippi State’s athletics is really truly a family,”  Kelly said. “In that we really do support anybody in any situation. It could be our team, softball, basketball, soccer or any other sport. I think it really just means that we trust in the lord, and that is just the plan it is and we can support each other on and off the court.”

State will play Florida on Saturday at noon, and Greenan said the team can play with more enthusiasm to give themselves a chance against a defending national championship team on MSU’s home court.

“What we can do better is go out and really trust ourselves and play with enthusiasm from start to finish,” Greenan said. “We always talk about playing it one point at a time, we are going to have to play well to beat Florida. They are a really good team and the defending national champions.”

Greenan said his team needs to have belief they can beat any SEC team, despite the team losing its first game. It is a long SEC season, and they will have many chances to prove themselves.

“We may not beat every SEC team that we face this year,” Greenan said. “We need to go in believing we can beat any of them on any given day. Florida is next, and we need to go out there and put it all out on the court.”