The Whitehall boys tennis team has been making steady progress, taking small victories every chance they get and building from those experiences.

Their latest challenge came last week as they faced Nazareth Area and Bangor Area High Schools. They lost to both the Blue Eagles and the Slaters, 7-0, but were able to take a few games from each opponent.

Head coach Austin Berg said that Monday's match against the Slaters found them a little shorthanded due to the holiday weekend, forcing them to juggle their line-up a bit. They played well in stretches, but couldn't sustain it over the whole match.

Islam Ahmed was able to take a game from Tyler Learn in No. 2 singles, and Gavin Meyers took four, eventually losing 6-1, 6-3 to Garret Nelson.

In doubles, the No. 2 tandem of Reno Honzo-Vasso and Max Nuscher battled Chris Csencsits and Nate Simineri down to the wire, losing 6-4, 6-3 to a pairing who has only lost once so far this season.

At No. 3, Toby Chan and Daniel Herrera Acevedo wrested a game away from Nick Hagan and Jeremy Ringland, while Clement Mei and Harshal Patel managed to win four games in their match against Victor Chaykowsky and Aaron Mulitsch.

Berg said that the team has been competitive in a lot of their matches, but still need to overcome some barriers that prevent them from winning.

"They're right there," said Berg. "They just need to step over that hurdle."

Some of those hurdles have been the ability to recognize when to be aggressive and when to lay back. At times it's beneficial to attack the net and be aggressive, but other times it may be more prudent to stay back and volley from the baseline, depending on the situation. He said the ability to adjust and make those decisions could help them cross those hurdles.

He said they also need to play harder so they have that extra push to help them get over those close matches. They're still struggling to put away points, and once they learn how to close out games, they'll start seeing the wins pile up. It's still a learning process and the Zephs have made some sign cant strides this season, winning three matches so far in 2014.

They also played the Blue Eagles, and once again took a number of games, but couldn't string together enough wins to take a match.

Meyers was efficient once again, taking five games against Mike Fishler, 6-3, 6-2, while No. 2 Alex Rohn was able to take a game from Calvin Carpenter, 6-0, 6-1.

In No. 2 doubles, Honzo-Vasso and Herrera lost to Jorey Ferraro and Michael Palmeri, 6-2, 6-0, while No. 3 pairing Nuscher and Jordan Saliby managed to win six games but eventually lost, 6-3, 6-3. At No. 4, Hazem Abdelaal and Chan got two games, losing 6-1, 6-1.

Berg said they showed a lot of grit against the Eagles, but weren't able to come out on top.

With Parkland High School on the horizon, Berg said it's important to come in with a positive attitude. He said it's going to be a challenge, but they need to understand that anything can happen. They just have to play their best and try to win each point as it's played. He also said that getting those small victories will help.

"It's about seeing how many games we can wrestle away from them," he said.