It was a day of shutouts Sunday, as the Alabama women’s tennis team sent the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga home empty-handed, ending the first balmy day of February with a perfect 7-0.

Though sun and mild temperatures graced the courts out of winter’s drudgery, the weather conditions proved to be somewhat problematic.

Though temperatures were moderate, strong, gusty winds made judging balls difficult at times, lofting occasional lobs high into the air, making it more difficult to see exactly where ground strokes were heading.

Head coach Jenny Mainz said her team handled the wind conditions well in the match.

“The conditions were a bit tricky with the wind,” Mainz said. “We were planning our points around it, and we stuck with the game plan.”

Though the wind made playing a little more difficult, Mainz said she was impressed with her team’s overall performance.

“We had a good day,” Mainz said. “We took control of the match early on in doubles. I think we did a good job keeping control of the court.”

The Tide only lost one game out of 25 in the doubles super sets, scoring 8-0, 8-0, and 8-1. Though winning the doubles point set the team off to a good start, Mainz said that her players had to work hard to attain the rest of their wins.

“[Chattanooga] fought tooth and nail after the doubles matches,” Mainz said.

The game plan worked. Five out of six singles’ matches were won in two sets.

Alabama’s Alex Clay and Chattanooga’s Alexa Flynn battled into tiebreak after going 6-3, 3-6, in the first two sets. Clay shut out Flynn in the challenge, winning the 10-point set 10-0.

Senior Meritt Emery defeated her single’s opponent in two sets, dropping only two games to Chattanooga’s Charlotte Bossy in the second.

“It went really good,” Emery said. “We came out and were ready to play.”

Junior Taylor Lindsey said she also felt that the team was well prepared for the day’s matches.

“We came out and started off well,” Lindsey said. “We had a lot of energy, and I think we got better.”

More preparations lie in the team’s immediate future. The Crimson Tide has next weekend off in its schedule and plans to use the week away from competition to prepare for the Blue Grey Invitational in Montgomery.

Though they completed two perfect matches this weekend, including another shut out Saturday against the University of Central Florida, Meritt said the team will take only a short break before resuming practice.

“We will have tomorrow off,” Meritt said. “Then on Tuesday, we will come and have conditioning at 7 a.m., run our butts off. Back to the grind.”

Lindsey said the hard work will be worth it to help the team meet its goals.

“We are kind of expecting to take this program to a whole new level that it’s never been at before,” Lindsey said. “I think that this is going to be the best that we have ever been. I am really excited. It is going to be a good season.”

After the Blue Grey Invitational, the Tide will begin its SEC season on March 7, with a match against the Tennessee Volunteers at home.