Accumulating an undefeated season is a gift and a curse.

On one hand, it shows the team or individual is superior to their opponents, yet the downside comes as the pressure mounts to continue winning.

St. Aloysius’ girls No. 2 doubles team of Ashley Jarratt and Taylor Chewning is currently experiencing the downside of an undefeated tennis season as they strive to remain perfect in the second round of the 2016 MAIS State Tournament Wednesday in Ridgeland.

The duo will play two matches that day against Laurel Christian Academy.

“Some of it wasn’t too difficult and some of it was quite difficult. For instance, they’ve had some matches where they’ve gone three sets to the end. Some matches they had to win by two points in a tiebreaker. It hadn’t been easy they’ve just been playing good tennis,” St. Al tennis coach Rick Shields said.

The more they’ve won, as expected, the more competitive matches have become for Jarratt and Chewning.

In order for them to get to this point, the best friends needed to shove fellow district opponent Manchester and Heritage Academies off the court in the MAIS North State tournament.

Because of the previous two matches between the Flashes and Mavericks, Jarratt and Chewning came away with a not-so-difficult win beating Manchester 6-3, 6-1. They placed serves in ideal court positions and played into Manchester’s weak spots.

Heritage’s strength and power when returning serve gave the duo a bit of a challenge in the next round as they forced a third-set tiebreaker.

“There was a lot of rallies,” Chewning said. “There wasn’t really a point where it cut off.”

After splitting the first two sets, the motivation to get to the state competition kicked in and the partners advanced to the next round.

“We wanted to go to state. We had to be first or second so if we won that match we were automatically going,” Chewning said.

“That helped us in the match,” Jarratt said.

With more than a week off between rounds, intramural matches with the girls’ No. 1 team were played to keep Jarratt and Chewning sharp and prepared. Jarratt said practicing against a better doubles team was helpful as it pushed them.

Shields believes his girls No. 2 team is well prepared for Wednesday’s match after being under pressure against Heritage Academy. He said the girls are playing smart tennis, which is key.

The one thing that would potentially knock Jarratt and Chewning off their winning horse is if they let the pressure get the best of them.

“If they succumb to that, that’ll be their downfall,” Shields said. “I don’t think there will be too many teams a lot better than them.”