This early in the season, it's difficult to imagine that match experience has an effect on the outcome of a tennis match.

The inclement weather has proven inconvenient for teams throughout Pennsylvania, limiting the on-court time for players, which would seem to level the playing field in any matches that actually get played.Palmerton and Jim Thorpe entered Thursday's nonleague tilt at different stages of this young season, as the Blue Bombers have already faced four other opponents. The Olympians, meanwhile, took to the courts for their first match of the season.The somewhat battle-tested Bombers managed to sweep the singles' competition en route to a 3-2 decision earning first-year coach Jenn Danzeisen her initial career win."It really is a learning experience for not only the players, but for me as well," she said. "I've coached FBLA, but not sports. So this has been new to me. I'm just so glad for the kids that they got their first win today."Sophomore Nate Andress, junior Marc Roselli and senior Mercy Melo all prevailed in straight sets for the hosts, giving their team the three necessary points for a victory."Nate has been working so hard on becoming more aggressive during his matches, and today I saw that," Danzeisen said. "Marc played today after being sick for the past two days, so he really had a battle. And Mercy has had so many close games and sets so far this year, that it was really nice to see her get her first win out there."Each match proved to be tightly-contested, and in doubles, the Olympians (0-1) nabbed both matches, as the tandem of Emilio Mercado and Ray O'Neill picked up the No. 1 doubles match, while Erik McLain-Walter and teammate John Fedora grabbed the No. 2 doubles match, both in straights.Olympian head coach Norb Lienhard was naturally disappointed with the loss, but happy his athletes could compete."It's nice for them to be able to see what they can do out there, and they get some of their early-season jitters out of the way," he said. "The doubles teams really played nice today and controlled the net most of the time, so I was happy with that."Losing some integral players from their successful team from a season ago, the Bombers are regrouping and have taken their lumps early. However, they hope the win sparks some more confidence."We've had some tough matches early on in the season," Andress said. "But after today, we're going to take the matches one-by-one, keep working hard and hopefully get some more wins.""Overall, I'm really happy with the team," Danzeisen said. "The doubles teams are communicating better. They're playing better up at the net, and they just keep working so hard at improving. For those that this is their first year, it's so nice to get that win and hopefully we can go from here."WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH... With weather causing postponements, the tennis teams have little practice time. Both teams have a rare day of practice this afternoon, before having matches tomorrow. The Olympians travel to Pleasant Valley, while the Bombers face Bangor.GIRLS, SCHMIRLS... Other than Lehighton, Palmerton is the only Times News area team to have a co-ed tennis season in the Spring. The Blue Bomber lineup sports five female players among the top seven slots, including Melo, a senior, in the No. 3 singles slot. "It's not about the opponent," Melo said. "Sometimes, guy opponents will take it easier on me, but I just play the ball like I'm playing against anybody."Palmerton 3, Jim Thorpe 2SINGLESNate Andress (P) def. Shaun DiCostanzo 6-3, 6-3; Marc Roselli (P) def. Matt Widdicombe 6-4, 6-3; Mercy Melo (P) def. Matt Green 6-2, 7-5.DOUBLESEmilio Mercado/Raymond O'Neil (JT) def. Nicole Andreas/Erica Messics 6-4, 6-1; John Fedora/Erik McLain-Walter (JT) def. Taylor Hirochek/Jenna Blynn 6-2, 6-3.