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Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs High School girls tennis, say hello to Shelby Reed.

Despite an injured left ankle and an opponent who is several years older, the freshman won the first tennis match of her varsity career in straight sets, defeating Eaton High School senior Whitney Cunningham with scores of 6-0, 6-3. Reed's match was the only victory in a Sailors home loss Friday to Eaton, a team made mostly of seniors and juniors that remains undefeated on the young season at 4-0.

Steamboat falls to 0-1 after losing its first match.

Coach John Aragon praised the effort of the entire team, which was without top singles players Breanne Murray and Lisa Floyd because of a two-match disciplinary suspension. Kristin Toy also did not play Friday because of CHSAA regulations involving her move from California, Aragon said.

Missing three of his top players meant Aragon had to shuffle his lineup, making Reed's win -- and the Sailor's effort -- more impressive, he said.

"That was a big win for Shelby -- she stayed very focused and determined from the start of the match," Aragon said. "She made (Cunningham) hit a lot of balls. She broke her down. Hopefully some of these other young kids will see that if you put a lot of balls on the court, you can break down a good player."

Cunningham may have felt as if she was hitting against a wall Friday, as Reed returned shot after shot with a steady style that caused Cunningham to make numerous errors. Coach Don Toy said Reed "tweaked" her ankle with an awkward step early in the second set. After Aragon wrapped tape around Reed's ankle and applied ice, she continued on to the victory.

Steamboat junior Molly Weiss also turned in a strong performance, taking Eaton junior Grace Kerns to a second-set tiebreaker and battling hard throughout her match at No. 3 singles.

Steamboat seniors Cori Evans and Rebecca Timmerman took their Eaton opponents to three sets at No. 2 doubles.

Aragon also praised the play of sophomore Alexis Lezin, a junior varsity player who stepped in at the top of the line-up.

"Alexis took four games off (Eaton senior Caryl Abeyta) at No. 1 singles -- as coaches, we're extremely proud of that," Aragon said. "I was proud of these young kids who stayed in there and played well."

The results might be different if Steamboat faces Eaton again, he added.

"I think with our full team that would have been a real solid, competitive match," Aragon said.

The team's next match is today at Delta.