The women’s tennis team got a taste of some of the country’s best last week when it traveled to Madison, Wis., for the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships.The team, ranked No. 15 in the country by the International Tennis Association, fell 5-2 to the No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels in the first round of the tournament Thursday.

After the Thursday loss, the Frogs were matched up against the No. 13 Pepperdine Waves in the consolation bracket Friday. The Horned Frogs got off to an early 3-1 lead but couldn’t hold on as the Waves came back to win 4-3.

Head coach Jeff Hammond said despite the losses, the team made progress throughout the tournament and he was pleased with how hard the team fought.

“We played three incredibly tough teams, and, from the first match to the third, I saw progress,” Hammond said. “We started to accomplish things we talked about in our team meetings, like identifying the flow of the match and knowing when to make the transition from offense to defense based on the flow.”

TCU finished the tournament on a high note, defeating the No. 17 Vanderbilt Commodores 5-2 in the second consolation match Saturday.

The team will begin preparing for a three-team home match against the Texas State Bobcats and UTA Mavericks on Feb. 20.