Southern Lehigh, Moravian Academy reach semis
It has been 19 years since a pair of District 11 girls tennis teams reached the state semifinals in the same season.
Colonial League powers Southern Le high and Moravian Academy put an end to that lengthy drought Wednesday as both teams dispatched highly touted opponents to advance to the final four of their respective classifications.
In 3A, Southern Lehigh swept the singles matches to edge State College 3-2 at the Gorilla House Gym tennis courts in Altoona. Shortly after in 2A, Moravian Academy displayed balance throughout its lineup and ousted Conrad Weiser 3-1 at the Hershey Racquet Club.
Southern Lehigh coach Andraea Drabenstott liked her team’s chances heading into the quarterfinals against the District 6 champion Lions, but it was forced to adjust to a different court surface.
Due to damp conditions, the match was moved to indoor carpet courts, a surface the Spartans have not played on before.
Drabenstott’s top three singles players made the necessary adjustments and came out victorious.
“Fortunately, we got to the courts early enough to warm up beforehand, so that helped a lot,” Drab ens tot ts aid .“The surface is a little faster, especially with flatter balls. We had to prepare for each shot a lot earlier and have a shorter backswing.”
No .1 player Evelyn Wang relied on aggressive ground strokes and solid court coverage to upend Quiana Guo 6-3, 6-3, and give the Spartans an early 1-0lead.
Michelle Li was off the court next when she defeated Catelyn Janac,7-5, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.
Erica Wang took a set to fully adjust to her opponent’s heavy spin, eventually settling in for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win, which clinched the match for the Spartans.
“Erica’s opponent had a skidding, slice back hand ,” Drab en stott said .“It took a little while to get the rhythm going, but then she started to hit the ball deeper and got much more aggressive.”
With the team score already decided, both doubles matches were decided in short pro-sets. State College wonboth.
Southern Lehigh advances to Saturday afternoon’ s semifinals at the Hers hey Racqu et Club, where it will take on District 1 power Spring-Ford.
“The team is feeling good,” Drabenstott said. “We’ve never made it out of the preliminary round at states, so this is the furthest the girls have ever gone.
“It’s a nice feeling to say we’re one of the top four teams in the state.”
In 2A, Moravian Academy No. 3 player Jamilie Atiyeh turned in a gutsy performance to help give her team a victory over District 3 champion Conrad Weiser.
Down5-1 in the first set, Atiyeh turned up the heat with her groundstrokes and won the next five games to take a 6-5 lead over Victoria Waltz. The match went to a tiebreaker, which was nip ping close all the way, but Atiyeh prevailed 9-7.
Atiyeh went up an early break in the second set and held on for a 6-4 second-set win, which also clinched the team score for the Lions.
“J ami lie ha sputa lot of time into tennis, and her winning this match was pivotal,” Moravian Academy coach Rick Brown said. “Her opponent’s objective was to keep the ball in play with a lot of slice and drop shots. Jamilie started putting those shots away by hitting top-spin, cross-court winners.”
The No. 2 doubles team of Grace Wright-Sophia Brands gave Moravian Academy an early lead when they defeated Isabel Wiggins-Lydisa Bashore 6-0, 6-4.
After dropping No .1 singles, the Lions got back on track as District 11 singles champion Chessie Bartolacci continued her stellar play. Playing No. 2 singles, Bartolacci won a battle over Alexandra Pancu 6-3, 6-4.
Moravian Academy will make a return trip to the Hershey Racqu et Club on Saturday morning. The Lions will take on the winner of Villa Maria Academy and St. Mary’s Area.
“We’re excited for the semifinals and everybody is really happy,” Brown said. “The thing with our team is we don’ t have two or three good players; wehave 10.
“The goals are to always win the Colonial League[ and] districts and get to Hershey. This will be a great experience for the kids.”