Washington’s girls’ tennis team has shown plenty of promise through the non-conference stretch of its season, but it hasn’t resulted in any wins. The Lady Pack continues the search for its first victory when it opens 2-A Eastern Plains Conference play Thursday at Southwest Edgecombe.

League play presents an opportunity to bounce back. Washington has squared off against plenty of tough opponents in the first few weeks of the season. Each team that has beaten the Lady Pack has a winning record.

Fike — the most recent opponent to defeat Washington — is 8-0 early in the season. The Lady Demons are slated to be one of the best 3-A groups in the east. The Lady Pack has also seen eastern powerhouses like Greene Central.

The early-season gauntlet may not have been the best thing for the girls’ confidence right now, but coach Miranda Whitley believes it will help them out in conference action.

“I think that the girls have gotten a lot of playing experience,” Whitley said. “They’re starting to pick up on their own mistakes a little bit better. Instead of me having to tell them constantly, they can recognize what they can do better now at this point.

“I know the girls are down about it. I try my hardest to make them understand that playing these teams that are better will make them better. Right now, they’re still kind of down from losing their first few matches.”

Other than Logan Crisp and Sydney Lewis dueling a bit for the No. 2 singles spot, most of Washington’s lineup is set in stone.

“They both have a similar game,” Whitley said. “They keep going back and forth between No. 2 and No. 3.”

Among the brightest spots of the non-conference stretch has been the performance of No. 6 player Kayla Clark.

“She is a sophomore and was our No. 7 player last year,” Whitley said. “This year is her first time playing consistently in the top six. She’s only lost one match so far. For her to have that good of a record against these really good teams that we’ve been playing, that’s really impressive.”

The conference competition doesn’t look nearly as strong on paper. Beddingfield, which was the league’s top dog last season, lost three seniors from last year’s team. Southwest Edgecombe seems to be decent, but hasn’t seen the kind of non-conference competition the Lady Pack has.

“Southwest Edgecombe usually has a good-sized team, but most of them are new players,” Whitley said. “The ones I don’t know much about are North Pitt and North Johnston.”

Farmville Central didn’t even have a team until this week.

There’s still a lot left for Washington to accomplish this season. The girls’ toughest matches are behind them, for the most part. A top-three finish in conference is certainly achievable. They may even be able to unseat Beddingfield should they continue to develop.

Thursday’s match at Southwest Edgecombe will reveal a lot.