The Prairie View A&M women's tennis team lost 5-2 in its match up against the No. 6 ranked Baylor Bears in Waco Friday afternoon.

Despite the loss, the Lady Panthers were too much for Baylor to handle in doubles action, digging in to win the doubles point for Prairie View by winning the No. 2 and No. 3 matches to take an early lead.

“They came out and gave a good effort. They are No. 6 in the country,” Prairie View A&M tennis coach John Cochran said. “It was huge to get that doubles point. They fought through the nerves of playing a ranked opponent and got through it.”

The No. 2 doubles team of Raven Lewis and Lerato Ndlovu defeated Sona Novakova and Abby Stainback 8-5, getting an early lead and then holding off a late surge by the Baylor duo. In the No. 3 slot Alix Thomas and Christine Ngo Gwodog dominated their opponents Zoe Adom and Brittany Ridenour 8-2.

Alix Thomas was the only Prairie View player to pick up a victory in singles competition, taking out Dana Larsen of Baylor 6-1, 6-2 in the No. 6 match up. After a good showing Cochran believes his players have the confidence to play with just about anyone.

“It lets them know that we can play with top competition,” Cochran said. “5-2 against Baylor is huge. I don't care how you slice it. They are No. 6 in the nation. That's big. We were one point away from 4-3. If we beat them then we're ranked.”

The Lady Panthers take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Jan. 26 at the Prairie View A&M Tennis Courts, starting at 2 p.m.