It’s hard to beat No. 1. So the No. 11 Zionsville High School boys tennis team falling to top-ranked Carmel 5-0 at the Eagles’ invitational on Saturday was no surprise.

And although coach Dan Layton said he hoped for at least one point against the Greyhounds, he also cited positives from the match.

“It was nice to see our kids get that kind of competition,” Layton wrote in an e-mail, “because it makes us realize what we need to work on and that we have to stay focused toward the end of the season.”

A pair of other positives: The Eagles’ 4-1 wins over No. 14 Brownsburg and Floyd Central on Saturday.

Overall, Zionsville entered the week 10-2, led by J.P. Dwyer (10-3 at No. 1 singles, 1-1 at No. 2), Conner Dunn (11-2 at No. 2 singles, 1-1 at No. 3 singles), Nick Laconi (13-2 at No. 1 doubles, with Joe Hammond or Max Watson) and John Formulak (11-2 at No. 2 doubles, with Watson or Ben Kahn), among others.

“We are just about where I want us to be at the end of the season,” Layton added. “We have a few more tweaks to make to get the team ready for conference (this weekend at Hamilton Southeastern) and sectionals (starting Oct. 1 at Lebanon), but I am certain we will be able to do that.”

GIRLS GOLF

For No. 17 Zionsville — and the rest of Indiana girls golf — the playoffs start this week, with the Eagles aligned in the Ben Davis Sectional at South Grove Golf Course (11:30 a.m. Friday).

The Eagles — who advanced through the sectional last year — appear primed to reach the regional again. No. 5 Carmel appears to be the favorite at South Grove, but the Eagles are the only other ranked team in the field.

The top three teams advance to the regional round, along with the top three individuals (plus ties) from nonqualifying schools.

Also competing in the Ben Davis sectional are Brebeuf Jesuit, Cardinal Ritter, Guerin Catholic, North Central, Pike, Speedway and Westfield.

CROSS-COUNTRY

The Zionsville girls cross-country team fell from No. 22 to out of the coaches’ top-25 rankings this week, after posting a fourth-place finish (all behind ranked teams) at Saturday’s Ben Davis Invitational.

The Eagles runners kept close together, Courtney Sampson finishing 12th, Jessica Banks 20th, Maria McGraw 21st, Suzie Hoops 24th and Hayley Motter 34th to score for Zionsville.

The boys cross-country team dropped a spot — from sixth to seventh — in the rankings after tying for the top spot (and losing the tiebreaker) with No. 20 Lawrence North at Ben Davis.

Next up for both the boys and girls is the FlashRock Invitational in Carmel on Saturday.