The 2003 season did not start nearly as well as the 2002 season ended for the South Whidbey girls tennis team.

Without seven seniors who graduated off last year’s team, the defending state champion Falcons got blanked 7-0 at home Monday by a more experienced batch of tennis players from Sedro-Woolley High School.

In a meet Falcon coach Tom Kramer called an “eye opener,” the South Whidbey girls won just two sets among nine total matches. At singles, freshman Catie Newman was the only Falcon to have success countering Sedro’s lob-heavy playing style. She won the first set of her Number 3 singles match against Sedro-Woolley’s Amber Howard 7-5 before losing the next two 4-6, 3-6. South Whidbey’s other three singles players — Amy Vogt, Sonya Morphew and Janelle Iverson — lost in straight sets.

In doubles play, the Falcons could only offer faint resistance. At Number 1, veteran varsity players Jenny Newman and Chelsey Miller were able to stay in a match against Sedro’s sister team of Sara and Tara Ireland. But the South Whidbey juniors came up short on games, losing in straight sets 4-6, 3-6.

The only doubles team that managed a set win was the Number 4 doubles team of Katie Riggs and Lily Fox. The pair took the middle set of their three-set loss to Sedro Woolley’s Lindsey Ray and Rachel Hiller 6-2, but lost the bookends 4-6 and 3-6.

Coach Kramer said the meet gave his players a lot of hints as to what they need to work on in practice this week. They will get a chance to try out what they learn Thursday when Burlington-Edison comes to South Whidbey.