After rolling in its first match at the Leavenworth triangular Wednesday, the Lawrence High girls tennis team hit a bump Thursday — and a big one at that.

Blue Valley Northwest shut out the Lions, 9-0, as the Huskies took all six singles and all three doubles matches at the Lawrence Tennis Center.

“This is one of the power teams in the state. I think we’ll see them at the end the year well represented at regional and state competition,” LHS coach Dick Wedel said of BVNW, which won state two years ago. “I think we played as well or better as we did yesterday, but they were just that much better.”

LHS senior Sydney Lartigue, the team’s top returner from last year, echoed her coach, but said the squad was starting to come together as a team … regardless of Thursday’s showing.

“We’re trying to get better, and that’s all that matters,” Lartigue said.

LHS sophomore A.K. Woolsey put up the biggest fight in singles at the sixth seed, falling to BVNW junior Marybeth McGaugh, 8-6.

But the Huskies weren’t the only ones biting.

Wedel said tiny black bugs called no-see-ums had been one of the biggest obstacles for the team — especially at practice — making insect repellent a must.

“They’re hell,” Lartigue said. “You don’t know they’re on you until they bite you. It hurts so much for something so small.”

The bugs are smaller than a freckle, Wedel said, but he’s not fooled by their size.

“If they were the size of mosquitoes, they’d put you in the hospital,” he said.

Huskies coach Ted Fabiano said he was pleased with his club’s serving and the size of the opposing crowd. He saw bleachers full of people when he pulled up to the courts.

“Lawrence has some of the best support,” Fabiano said. “You just don’t see that a lot in tennis. This place stands out of all the places we go to.”