Area teams begin high school tennis season
As though coaches didn’t have enough to worry about in the early days of practice, the WPIAL added an additional responsibility to tennis coaches, a roster rating the top 10 players that had to be turned in last Friday. The lineups will be put to task this afternoon with the opening of the girls tennis season for three local squads and their veteran coaches.
Connellsville opens coach Don Campbell’s 16th season with a tough road match at Penn Trafford. Laura Husband is firmly entrenched at No. 1 singles, but the rest of the lineup was up for grabs.
“Alyssa Augustine, Casey Nicholson and Lindsey Boors are up there for No. 2 and 3 singles. The odd girl out will slips to first doubles,” explained Campbell during last Tuesday’s scrimmage with Brownsville. “Caitlyn Anderson is at No. 1 doubles, but we still have some questions.
“By the first match, we have to put somebody in someplace. We’ll see who can fit in where.”
Section 1-AAA is top heavy with No. 1 singles players, so Husband has her work cut out for her. The difference for the Lady Falcons needs to come from the two doubles.
“Latrobe will be chased by everybody. Franklin Regional will probably be good. Then it’s Penn Trafford and Hempfield,” said Campbell, whose Lady Falcons advanced to the team playoffs last year with an overall record of 12-9.
“This will be a teaching program. I’d be tickled if we have a winning season.”
While Connellsville has over 20 girls, Brownsville’s Dan LoNigro has only eight, giving the Lady Falcons little room for error to outfit three singles matches and two doubles.
With his top two singles spots settled with Angiel Pelehac at No. 1 and Ferrell Jellots at No. 2, LoNigro needs to fill in the rest of the slots.
“The doubles aren’t set. We need to find chemistry,” said LoNigro. “I have four girls battling for the No. 3 singles.”
Year in and year out, Greensburg Central Catholic has been one of the top teams in Section 1-AA, and LoNigro sees no change in 2008.
“Greensburg Central Catholic is the team to beat. I don’t know about Derry. They lost six of seven starters. Mount Pleasant and Southmoreland are always there,” said LoNigro, who opens at home with McGuffey. “I like our chances for third place.”
Southmoreland’s John Ciarimboli also has numbers with 30 girls with over half upperclassmen, although the seniors and juniors don’t have a lot of match experience.
Junior Karyssa Gault played in every match in 2007, and returns as the most seasoned player. Seniors Maggie Echard, Emily Kring, Jen Patton and Briana Pocratsky return with experience at doubles.
The Lady Scots open Section 1-AA action today on the road at Washington.