PHOTO BY KENNETH PEISER Meredith Lane returns a volley during Saturday's matches against Leander. Lane won her singles match 7-5 despite letting an early lead slip away. Lampasas begins district play today at 3:30 p.m. against Marble Falls in Burnet. It was deja vu all over again for the Lampasas varsity tennis teams.

In Lampasas' first match of the year, Leander defeated the Badgers' squads 11-8. Last Saturday, Lampasas traveled to Leander and again fell 11-8, losing three of the final four matches which all went to three sets.

In all, Lampasas played in 12 three-match sets but claimed victories in only four.

Nick Baker rallied from a 5-2 deficit to win, while Caleb Wales dropped the first set of his match but also fought his way to victory.

"[Baker] kept it to his opponent's weakness and battled it out until he won," coach Kenneth Peiser said.

Zach Holcomb fell short of completing a comeback in his singles match, but he earned a victory in doubles play when he teamed up with Cody Self.

"As with all players, starting aggressive early is [improving]," Peiser said. "Finishing it is the tough part."

On the girls' side, Lillie Davis won in both singles and doubles. She found herself in a hole early but found a way to win her singles match before teaming with Abby Peterson for a doubles victory.

Meredith Lane started off strong but allowed her opponent to creep back into the match before taking the set 7-5.

The most impressive win of the day came from Macy McPherson, who moved up to the No. 5 spot and took a 6-2, 6-0 victory. McPherson also won her doubles match, teaming up with Katy Shaw.

"This was still a practice match for the players to learn from," Peiser said. "They should be gaining confidence and experience [while learning] what to do when down, where the opponents' weaknesses are and what to do when in the lead."

Lampasas' district schedule begins today at 3:30 p.m. with matches against Marble Falls in Burnet. Marble Falls could only provide four courts to play on, so the matches are being held in Burnet instead.

The LHS teams had three new players on the varsity squad.

Katrina Salazar went 1-1. Alvin Aleman was 0-2, and Alex Morua split his matches, going 1-1.

Before facing Marble Falls, the Badgers and Lady Badgers focused on strategy and serving while trying to fix any technical shortcomings with various drills during practice.

"We start district play [today], and it all starts then," Peiser said.