Bartolacci, Lynn have common ground
Moravian Academy, Liberty players repeated as District 11 champs
Moravian Academy’s Francesca Bartolacci and Liberty’s Helena Lynn have a lot in common.
Both have played tennis since they were young girls and have siblings who have played the sport and had great success.
Both were members of the Northwood Racquet and Fitness Club’s USTA 18U junior team that won the national championship last year in Orlando.
Both were District 11 tennis champions in 2022 and both repeated in winning D11 singles crowns this year with their titles coming on one of the hottest days of the fall on Oct. 2 at Freedom High School.
And, now they have something else in common. They are The Morning Call’s girls tennis players of the year for 2023.
Bartolacci, a senior, won her third 2A singles gold in four years, beating Northwestern Lehigh’s Mallory Conner 6-4, 6-0 in the finals. Meanwhile, a few courts away, Lynn went three sets to outlast Parkland’s Lexie Warsing 5-6, 6-2, 6-3 for her second straight singles crown.
Both had phenomenal seasons that were capped by solid state tournament appearances. Both reached the semis before losing and Bartolacci won the consolation match to finish third in 2A.
Bartolacci who is better known with the first name of Chessie, led Moravian Academy to the Colonial League’s regular-season and tournament titles and its fifth straight district team titles. Lynn helped Liberty post a better-than-expected record of 17-3 and advance to the District 11 3A finals.
Both were consistency personified and great examples of the caliber of girls tennis being played in the Lehigh Valley.
They were proud to represent the area and be together at the state tournament.
“I grew up playing with Chessie,” Lynn said. “To see her playing high school was comforting to me because I’ve known her for so long. Obviously at states, it felt like we were there together representing the district. I’m really happy that we both did really well and got medals. I know she has worked really hard and for us both to have success is really great.”
As the one who is leaving the local tennis scene, Bartolacci is a little more reflective of her accomplishments than Lynn, who isn’t sure of her future but has one more year of scholastic eligibility left.
Bartolacci ended her high school career with a district title each year -three singles and a doubles title with her older sister Bella as a sophomore in 2021. Moravian Academy coach Rick Brown, who has a tennis juggernaut, said the program will miss her.
“This sport has been a huge part of my life,” Bartolacci said. “Playing club tennis, playing tournaments, playing high school tennis ... they’re all different experiences. They all have their moments. Winning nationals for Northwood was special and so was winning districts for Moravian Academy. For me, states was really fun. I went into my quarterfinal match and got down 5-0 and I just had to get myself in the right mental stage.”
She said she has worked on the mental part of her game throughout her career and that work paid dividends at the state tournament in Hershey.
“I’m more mature now and that’s something I neglected in the past,” Bartolacci said. “I came back and won that set, 7-6, after getting down 5-0. I was really proud of that moment, but I was most proud of our team. We had a really young team. My sister, Bella, graduated in 2022 and when she graduated we lost a lot of kids. But a lot of girls came here from other schools, new kids to Moravian, and we made a really great team.”
Bartolacci talked a lot about her team.
“We have a really good dynamic and we all value tennis a lot,” she said. “It’s important. We have the same values. We stay to the end of the match and cheer each other on. It’s important to have people there supporting you. My parents always supported me and that’s one of the reasons why I did so well.”
Asked how she’d like to be remembered, Bartolacci said: “As a good teammate.”
“I take pride in being dedicated to the sport and being a good student-athlete as well,” she said. “Those things are really important to me. I hope people remember that I worked really work hard, but I also maintained a balance with everything else going on in my life. I play the violin, I take Chinese, I am in a lot of school clubs. I am the senior class president, so there are a lot of things that are really important. I like to diversify everything. I want to try everything. Tennis has been great for me. It’s always there for me. I might play club tennis in college, but that’s not really my focus.”
Lynn is focused almost exclusively on tennis and will be playing an extensive tournament schedule between now and her senior year. She wants to play college tennis, preferably at a Division I school on a scholarship.
She is home-schooled because of her tennis commitments, but is proud of what she has done the last two years at Liberty.
She said winning the district title was more rewarding this year because of how challenging the finals were against Warsing. Both Liberty coach Chris Conrad and Parkland coach Mike Hingston called this year’s title match a classic and one of the best matches they have seen.
“It was a really long match and it was really hot out,” Lynn said. “There were definitely moments when I thought I wasn’t going to pull out the win. But after like three hours to win it felt really good. Lexie is obviously such a great competitor. It’s always a super competitive match when we play.”
Warsing actually beat Lynn for the No. 1 singles title in the EPC tournament.
Since Warsing is only a sophomore, the two could meet again next season.
“She’s my toughest opponent in the district,” Lynn said. “Playing her so many times, it’s always tough. You have to have new game plans each time because she comes out with new game plans. She always pushes me to be a better player.”
Lynn isn’t sure of her plans for next year, saying only “I don’t know, but playing again at Liberty is definitely a possibility.”
One thing that is certain is that she will continue to play a lot of tennis and improve her game.
“I’ve worked a lot on my game and think I’ve improved as a player and teammate,” she said. “This year I definitely was a better competitor. I had a lot of close matches and really worked on keeping my emotions in check and fight through adversity and fight for every point. I plan to keep training and play tournaments here and there.”
Lynn said tennis has become a family tradition. Her sister, Veronica, was also a successful local high school player.
“Both of my brothers played at Liberty and Veronica played at both Liberty and Notre Dame, so it has always been a part of my family forever and ever,” she said. “It’s the thing we all have in common.”