CEDAR CITY - A majority of the girls tennis season had gone by in Cedar City, and wind hasn't been much of a factor in matches.

That was true until Tuesday.

The wind blew hard and frustrated a few players in the Hurricane Tigers 4-1 victory over the Cedar Lady Reds.

"The wind threw my girls off. You'd think because we play in it so much we'd be used to it," Cedar coach Zach Montgomery said. "It had them real frustrated."

The wind forced players to adjust on how to approach certain shots.

"The wind was difficult because you couldn't hit your typical ground strokes," Hurricane's Rebecca Wendt said.

The win puts Hurricane in a much better position in terms of the region standings.

Each match from this point on affects how the teams will be seeded in the region tournament.

Hurricane coach Marc Manuele said there is a chance the team finishing last in Region 9 might have to play a play-in match to get into the state tournament.

"The second half is more important than the first half because you know what you have to do to qualify for state," he said. "Every point will be critical because you want to beat the team that beat you by more. If you can be two or three in the region, odds are you won't be a bottom seed."

The Tigers swept through the first four matches. clinching the victory early. The first victory for Hurricane was at No. 2 singles. Taylor Steglich downed Cedar's Alex Halladay 6-4, 6-1.

Steglich's triumph was followed by Emily Wendt's 6-3, 6-3 victory Taylor DeLaura.

Montgomery said his No. 2 and No. 3 singles players were bothered by the wind the most, but it wasn't a direct reason why they two lost their matches.

"They let the wind bother them, and that's the difference," Montgomery said. "You can't blame poor play or losses on the wind."

The Tigers clinched the match in the No. 1 doubles spot. Hurricane's duo of Ashley Holt and Zoe Gregoric defeated Alex Jones and Becca Stewart 6-1, 7-6 (7-5).

The final varsity point for the Tigers came courtesy of Rebecca Wendt. Wendt defeated Cedar's Ashley Just 6-4, 7-5.

"The match was hard," Rebecca Wendt said. "We were both equal players. Serving was a big factor because the person who could hold their serve better won the set."

Cedar's lone victory came at the No. 2 doubles. Kensie Kupfer and Chanel Barnes won their match against Marrissa Lundeen and Cassidy Pickering 6-1, 7-5.

"I'm amazed every time I watch them play," Montgomery said. "They're both sophomores and it seems like they soak everything up so quickly."

The win was Barnes and Kupfer's third varsity point of the season, which is not bad considering the duo came together at the beginning of the season and never played a competitive tennis match until this season.

"It feels good to have varsity wins, and anything that can help out the team," Barnes said. "After the first set, we were getting a little tired but we came out strong and finished in the end."