Aberdeen Roncalli has some positive moments on Monday morning, just not quite enough at the right moments.

Roncalli fell 9-0 to St. Thomas More in a battle of Cavaliers at the Northern State tennis courts.

“I think we just played a little tentative, a little scared today,” said Roncalli coach Jason Haskell. “On the points that matter is when it really starts to show up when you play like that, when you’re afraid to just go for your shots and do your thing.”

While the local Cavaliers had some quality points during the dual, they were unable to make a breakthrough and claim a set.

“There was definitely a lot of sparkle in there, just not enough to get us over humps for games,” Haskell said. “Learning how to focus on that sparkle and not pull away from it on deuce points, second serves, giving away free points for second serves. That’s a killer. Learning how to go for stuff all the time.”

Roncalli’s closest match came at flight two doubles where River Haskell and Keira Rivett lost in a second-set tiebreaker. The duo led 5-4 in the breaker before the Rapid City tandem scored the final three points.

Haskell and Rivett rebounded from an opening set where they won just one game to make things interesting in the second set.

“From all the years of playing tennis, I’ve gotten pretty good at being able to reset myself and get a better attitude, because when I first started playing, I really wouldn’t have good attitudes in matches,” Rivett said. “You’ve just got to remind yourself that a good match that you lose is better than a bad match that you win, in my mind.”

Rivett said a key to doubles play is to be aggressive at the net.

“Net play is 100 percent how you win points in doubles,” Rivett said.

The sophomore said she enjoys playing singles more than doubles.

“Definitely singles,” Rivett said, “because I think pressure helps me, and I feel a lot more pressure when it’s just me on the court.”

One thing is for sure, Rivett likes the fact that Roncalli will be at home for matches for the entire rest of the week.

“It definitely is nice,” she said, “and I do have a little bit of a better attitude playing at home, knowing that I don’t have to have a three-hour car ride back.”

Roncalli plays hosts to Rapid City Stevens and Rapid City Central on Friday, before facing Watertown and Aberdeen Central on Saturday.

Coach Haskell plans on using the new few days to gear up for the busy weekend of action.

“It’s definitely a full week,” he said, “but we’ve got three days here, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday where we can kind of regroup.”

St. Thomas More 9, Aberdeen Roncalli 0

Singles

Athena Franciliso, STM, def. Katherine Kretchman, 6-2, 6-0.

Shriya Gangineni, STM, def. River Haskell, 6-0, 6-1.

Amity Strand, STM, def. Raley Haskell, 6-1, 6-0.

Evie Reinicke, STM, def. Keira Rivett, 6-0, 6-0.

Elliya Strand, STM, def. Josie Mitzel, 6-0, 6-0.

Abigail Oaks, STM, def. Gianna Cihak, 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles

Franciliso-Gangineni, STM, def. Kretchman-Raley Haskell, 6-1, 6-1

A. Strand-Reinicke, STM, def. River Haskell-Rivett, 6-1, 6-5 (7-5).

E. Strand-Oakes, STM, def. Mitzel-Cihak, 6-2, 6-2.