LAKE HAVASU CITY — Battling strong winds and cold temperatures, victory was something both teams struggled to obtain Tuesday afternoon.

David Bell/News-Herald Photo. Havasu’s McKayla Smith returns serve during a doubles match with partner Cori Pomroy against San Luis Tuesday at Lake Havasu High School. The Smith-Pomroy team lost the match and Havasu fell to San Luis 4-5.

The Lady Knights were defeated by the two-time Gila Valley Region champion Lady Sidewinders of San Luis, 5-4 at Lake Havasu High School.

“This was the ladies’ first game and they were all nervous, but it was overall fun.” said San Luis head coach Sonia Escalante. “After as few warm up swings, the girls took off and really showed what they had learned from practice. It was obvious from the matches that both teams wanted to obtain victory, but I think San Luis wanted it a bit more than (LHHS).”

In singles, the Lady Knights (2-2 overall, 1-1 in region) took three matches, starting with No. 1 Julia Janis taking her game 6-1, 6-4. Following her were No. 2 Summer Reynolds winning with 6-0, 6-2, but No. 3 McKayla Smith fell 3-6, 3-6. At No. 4, Cori Pomroy won 6-0, 6-1, No. 5 Alley Andrade lost 3-4, 4-6 as did No. 6 Jessica Vicari, 0-6, 3-6.

“I the whole team knew as the match approached, we would be playing the hardest team we've played against,” said Smith. “When we started, we didn't have the right mindset, and therefore we weren't as focused as we could have been. We could have done better, but we tried our best out there today and it was fun.”

In doubles, Janis and Reynolds worked together to get a 8-4 win, but Smith-Pomroy and Andrade-Vicardi both lost by the same 3-8 score.

“When we started the game, we were mentally unprepared,” said Havasu head coach Greg Brueckner. “We sort of phased in and out, and it’s my job to make sure that doesn't happen. We can take this game to heart and make sure we are ready for our next game. That aside, they were playing against a very tough team, and I am proud of them for holding their ground.”

In other tennis action: the JV Lady Knights were defeated by the San Luis JV Lady Sidewinders, 3-9.

In singles, Lindsey Buckley, Amanda Walton, Carly Anderson, and Lexus Lord, the first four for Havasu, lost 7-9, 8-9, 6-8, and 8-9. Following them was new addition to the team No. 5 Liz Lundin, who won her match 8-2 and No. 6 Samantha Brooks who lost her match 3-8.

In doubles play, Buckley and Walton won 9-8. Anderson and Lundin lost their match 8-1 while Jessica Thomas and Cynthia Wingo took their match 8-2.