What else can you say at a time like this?

The Northwest Missouri State tennis team had just received a swift rump-kicking by Barry University of Florida on Wednesday, and it was time to give head coach Mark Rosewell a jingle on his cell phone to get a quick quote and reaction from the match.

Calling coaches, or interviewing them in person, following a resounding defeat isn’t always the most pleasant of tasks. I figured I would get a quick and nearly meaningless quote, say a hasty goodbye and wait for the promise and anticipation of next fall before initiating any further contact.

Roswell didn’t disappoint, mastering the art of understatement:

“They were pretty good.”

Uh, yeah. But of course, a Missouri vs. Florida matchup in nearly any spring sport pretty well sums up what is inherently unfortunate in college sports.

To be sure, in women’s tennis this season, Northwest was good. Really good. But that is measured in Missouri terms. Missouri ain’t Florida, baby.

While the Bearcats were slapping tennis balls back and forth across one end of a basketball arena during snowstorms, the Buccaneers were soaking up the Florida sunshine on a warm court, getting in practices of a quality that Rosewell’s troops can only dream about.

And it goes much deeper than that. The best players in the country — and in the world, for that matter — gravitate to the places they can play outside year-round.

“Every kid wants to go there,” Rosewell said.

Northwest can be proud of what it did in tennis this season, reaching the national tournament for a sixth consecutive season. And nobody can feel bad about a losing effort against the titans of the United States’ southern tier.