The effort certainly did not equal the outcome for the Lawrence High girls tennis team Monday in its second home appearance of the season.

In a triple-dual meet that welcomed Topeka High, Topeka West and Topeka Washburn Rural to town, the Lions tied their first two duals and lost their third.

LHS tied Topeka, 1-all, and Washburn Rural, 2-all, and fell to Topeka West, 4-0.

The most painful for Lawrence was its dual against Topeka West.

Lawrence senior Cara Breeden suffered a tough defeat to Topeka West’s Teri Hopkins, who volleyed Breeden as many as 20 shots on multiple points.

In the dual against West, both Lawrence singles competitors lost, 8-6.

Junior Laura Wilson also struggled, dropping two singles matches, but was partly responsible for the Lions’ only win in the third dual, playing in doubles with junior Emily Thompson.

“Cara and Laura had such a tough day down in Emporia (Saturday), we threw them to the wolves in a big tournament, and they learned from their experience,” Lions coach Dick Wedel said. “Cara played such a good match, and, I mean, she made that girl hit 20 balls a point. That’s incredible. Most young players are not patient enough to do that.”

In the first match of the day, Lawrence tied Topeka High on the strength of a solid doubles effort from seniors Katie Robertson and Shannon Wanna. The duo won convincingly, 8-2.

Lawrence High's Laura Wilson returns a shot during the Lions' triple-dual meet with Topeka High, Washburn Rural and Topeka West. The Lions tied Topeka and Washburn Rural and fell to Topeka West at the meet Monday at the Lawrence Tennis Center.

In the second dual, against Washburn Rural, Wanna made her first singles appearance of the season, winning again, 8-5.

Despite solid showings all around for the Lions, Wedel knows that if his girls can get their footwork down, everything else should fall into place.

“Foot-wise, we need a bunch of Chihuahuas out there,” he said. “When we get better at that, we’ll be hitting the ball better and attacking better.”

Lawrence will be back on the court Wednesday at the Topeka Invitational.