Great chemistry key to success for Parkland doubles team of Joo, Zolotareva.

Prior to this year’s District 11 tournament, Parkland’s Erin Joo and Leah Zolotareva had never competed together in doubles.

Sure, the Trojan sophomores both enjoyed many singles victories, but the question remained: could they transition individual success into team chemistry?

Not only did the pair click in the District 11 Class 3A tournament, but they dismantled every team in straight sets, including the defending champions.

For claiming district doubles gold in impressive fashion, Joo and Zolotareva are The Morning Call girls tennis doubles players of the year.

“We anticipated they would play together but managed very little practice. They didn’t have an opportunity to play in league matches together,” Parkland head coach Mike Hingston said. “[Districts] was their first experience playing with one another and they really just had great chemistry. We talked about the idea of playing a fearless brand of tennis, and that’s what they did.”

The biggest attribute the Joo -Zolotareva tandem displayed was their willingness to attack early on each point. When they served, they did so with power. Whenthey returned serve, they did so with aggression. When the two underclassmen are between points, they maintain a positive energy to keep each other at ease.

“They play with pure joy; they’re always happy out there,” Hingston said. “They smile in between points and communicate very well.”

All of those qualities were certainly on display in this year’s district doubles tournament. Coming in as the No. 2 seed, Joo-Zolotareva won three straight-set matches to reach the final, where they took on defending champions Evelyn and Erica Wang of Southern Lehigh.

In what Hingston described as “pure magic,” Joo-Zolotareva knocked off the top seed, 6-4, 6-2 and capture gold.

“We were thrilled because for a lot of people, it was unexpected. Part of what I was trying to do was getting them to believe. Right until the end of the match, they were relentless,” Hingston said. “Going forward, the sky is the limit because they both love tennis. They have high expectations and they’re hungry and want to improve. Look out for them going forward as singles players, and in doubles if given the opportunity.”