Southern Lehigh (3A), Moravian Academy (2A) earn titles
Vengeance was on the mind of a few tennis players for a couple of different reasons in Wednesday afternoon’s District 11 girls doubles finals.
Southern Lehigh’s Evelyn Wang was looking to reclaim the 3A doubles crown after finishing second last year. The Spartan won the title as a freshman and longed for a return to the top when she teamed up with senior Kayla Lebby.
Meanwhile, Moravian Academy sisters Isabella and Francesca Bartolacci claimed singles titles in previous years, but both saw their bid to repeat fall short in the semifinals a couple weeks ago. The Bartolaccis came together this week to form a dynamic doubles team with visions of one final District 11 Class 2A gold medal for senior Isabella.
After an afternoon filled with high quality tennis at Parkland High School, the Spartans and Lions accomplished their missions, culminating in district championships.
Wang-Lebby knocked off defending champion and top-seeded Erin Joo-Leah Zolotareva of Parkland in the 3A finals, 6-2, 7-5. In 2A, the Bartolacci sisters defeated familiar opponents in Cara Magliochetti-Taylor Adams of Bethlehem Catholic, 6-4, 6-0.
“We exacted a little revenge from last year’s loss to Parkland. This is so great, they really played well,” Southern Lehigh coach Andraea Drabenstott said. “You have that top player in Evelyn; she’s a bonafide top player. Then, Kayla is underrated, but she’s so talented, especially in doubles. We teamed them together because they play smart tennis and have great placement.”
The Spartan duo were forced to overcome an early scare in their semifinal match against No. 2 Ellyana Jacobs-Suhani Makwana of Easton.
Wang-Lebby went down easy in the first set but, after a brief conversation with Drabenstott, figured out the proper fixes to storm back.
Precision at the net and baseline enabled the Spartans to win the next two sets and the match.
Drabenstott said her doubles team resembles a Spartan team who won a state title many years ago.
“They remind me a lot of Michelle Perez and Megan Werner from back in 2008. Just flying under the radar and not expected to win, but they mimic a very nice team. I had a really good feeling when I put them together,” Drabenstott said.
In the other 3A semifinal, Joo-Zolotareva fought off No. 4 Jocelyn ChowShelby Carter of Emmaus, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.
Wang-Lebby now advance to the PIAA Class 3A doubles tournament, which begins Nov. 5 at Hershey Racquet Club.
The Spartans open their tournament with the fourth-place finisher out of District 1.
Class 2A
The top-seeded Bartolaccis got off to a solid start on Wednesday when they beat teammates and No. 4 seed Sophia Brands-Grace Wright, 6-0, 6-0.
No. 2 Magliochetti-Adams dispatched No. 6 Keiran Lencheski-Kayla Unger of Notre Dame-Green Pond, 6-3, 6-2 to set up an incredibly talented final with the Moravian Academy duo.
In the championship match, the Lions missed a few volleys and took a little time to get settled, but by the time the second set began, the pair was locked in.
“The first set, we weren’t serving well in the wind,” Moravian Academy coach Rick Brown said. “We missed some volleys early, but in the second set we just hit volleys down the middle and we didn’t make many errors. Just much more relaxed play.”
While Moravian Academy has advanced a number of teams to the
district doubles finals over the years, Brown said this was his first champion in the seven seasons he’s been in charge.
“Both girls were singles champs, so this is icing on the cake, to have them win doubles, too.” Brown said. “Two out of three [district doubles and team titles] is not bad.”
Although the sisters do not team together much, they decided it was in their best interest to hone their doubles skills last weekend with Northwood Racquet Club pro Matt Potts.
They will now look ahead to the PIAA Class 2A doubles tournament on Nov. 5. The pair will open up with the District 9 champion.
“They worked hard over the weekend with Matt and I think they will continue to do that because they’d really like to do something big in doubles this season,” Brown said. “We take it one match at a time. We just have to play, stay relaxed and play confident tennis.”