The Salisbury girls' tennis team wasn't dealt any favors early in the season, as the Lady Falcons hosted one of the top Colonial League teams in Moravian Academy on Monday.

But despite dropping the match 5-0, Falcon head coach Rob Benson saw plenty of positives as his squad faced a number of the top players in the district last season.

"Last year and two years ago, we barely got a game," Benson said. "So everybody is competitive within the game. Nobody got beat 6-0, 6-0. I'm happy with that, and there is effort. As long as there is effort and there are smiles on their faces, you have to be happy."

No. 1 singles sophomore Leandra Roelker and No. 2 singles sophomore Claudia Crouthamel both took the first game of their matches and won three games apiece before coming up short in straight sets.

Roelker faced last season's District 11 Class AA semifinalist Kara Chyung at the top spot. And while Chyung came out on top 6-2, 6-1, Benson sees plenty of improvement from his top player.

Chyung paired up with Moravian Academy's Mia Chyung last season in district play on their way to a doubles championship, too.

"Leandra has improved so much as far as her mental outlook," Benson said. "She is more focused on the court. I think Leandra is going to pull a big upset this year somewhere. She has the strokes, and the mental attitude is getting there.

"Leandra's footwork is impeccable. It has been since day one. All of the other coaches say the same thing about her footwork."

Salisbury (0-2) remains focused on working on the basics early in the season. Footwork has been a key point of emphasis early on, particularly for sister duo Claudia and Lil Crouthamel, a freshman.

Claudia Crouthamel dropped the first set to Moravian's Lena Deb, 6-1, before winning two games in the second set. Lil Crouthamel took a game in each set against Skyler Hammons in No. 3 singles play.

"They have to understand the court presence and know where to go," Benson said. "They are getting there."

For being a freshman, Lil Crouthamel's play has been solid to begin the season.

"I was happy with Lil," Benson said. "She made some very nice, aggressive shots. She made some mistakes, but I was happy with her playing aggressive. She will only get better.

"Leandra, even though she missed some of these shots, she played aggressive. Claudia played aggressive. Lil played aggressive, [but] sometimes too aggressive. But if I can get them to play aggressive, they are going to start making those shots."

Both doubles teams, Hannah Kahn and Laura Albright at No. 1 doubles, and Faith Moore and Tricia Pingarelli at No. 2 doubles, both won games against Moravian.

The road ahead doesn't get much easier for the Lady Falcons, who began a stretch of three matches in four days on Tuesday. Following Wednesday's match at Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg, the Lady Falcons return home against Southern Lehigh, one of the Colonial League's top squads, on Friday.

"We've got 18 matches within like a 30-day span," Benson said. "We're playing all of the North teams twice and all of the South teams twice."