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Montoursville’s Mann, Marchioni win District 4 doubles gold

By JIMMY DEROGATIS 6 min read

The Montoursville doubles tennis tandem team of Alaina Marchioni and Kara Mann continue to shine on and off the court. The pair have only been playing tennis for about two years together now and they have both risen the ranks to become one of the best doubles teams in District 4.

Both hold on to a special bond when they are out on the court with one another.

"We just have a good feeling for what we think the other is going to do out there," said Mann.

Mann and Marchinoi played with a gracious, kind and generous nature for not only one another but their opponents as well. It helped the duo secure the District 4 doubles championship by beating Hughesville’s Kylie Kilgore and Annaka Bruder at the Central PA Tennis Center on Monday, 6-3, 6-2.

It’s the fifth District 4 doubles title for Montoursville since 2017.

The Warrior duo never seem to get too tensed up or flustered from a bad play which shows in the way they play the floor together, hand in hand together.

"We just kept our heads up and we just kept telling ourselves we can win this thing, we just tried to stay focused on the next point and the next game," Mann said.

The first doubles match came on court three in the Central PA Tennis Center with first serve coming at 1 p.m. The Warriors made quick work of Central Columbia, beating them in two straight sets 6-2, 6-3, coming off the heels of Montoursville’s table setter, Mann. On the other court came Danville falling to Hughesville in a dog fight to the very end. Hughesville squeaked out the three set victory winning by a narrow margin of two points. This pinned the Spartans against the Warriors for the AA doubles championship.

"We also had a lot of built up adrenaline going too which helped for sure," said Marchioni.

The Warriors would go up two scores to open the championship round, as Mann was able to blow a couple serves right past the Hughesville defenders. Giving the Warriors some fits came by way of Kilgore, who was bouncing up and down the court like a bouncy ball as she was able to get to almost every ball that wasn't beat into the ground or so far out of her reach she had no shot. Along with the finesse, agility-based game of Kilgore followed her partner who balanced out with very strong, and powerful serves and hits by Annaka Bruder.

"The most difficult part of today was just how powerful Hughesville’s shots were in their serves. They had a lot of power behind them," Marchioni said. "Honestly just going to states is a really cool experience, and I'm super glad that we get to go.”

Mann and Marchioni were able to withstand the two overflowing plays that both Kilgore and Bruder were running.

Both Mann and Marchioni reached the 2021 district doubles semifinals, but came a win shy of reaching the state tournament.

"I think we did better this year than we have in the past we have a young team so I think they will keep on improving," Mann said.

"Some things we can work on are just volleys, the fundamentals of the game, footwork is big too all those things really,” Montoursville coach Shawn Gardner said. “We have a big group of sophomores and freshman so we going to have a good team next year as well. We were 13-5 this year so we hope to improve on that for next year.”

Entering this year, Mann and Marchioni wanted to secure a state in spots and win district gold. Getting to states was also a goal for Hughesville senior Kilgore, after she fell in the doubles quarterfinals in 2021.

"This is all I really wanted (district championship title) as far as a goal for this year," Marchioni said.

Practicing every day has also helped the Montoursville duo get to where they’re at.

"For training we go to practice every day after school, we hit with John (Dorner), or work with someone on the team after practice. John gives us advice on game play and mainly focusing on serves," Mann said.

Gardner has been able to see Montoursville doubles teams win District 4 titles a lot recently. Since 2017, the Warriors have produced five District 4 doubles champions. Mann and Marchioni are the latest two.

"I was very excited to see the girls win a district championship out of all the girls in the district that is quite the honor. To get that far 6-3, 6-2 that was pretty good there were some close games in there but they pulled through on some tough ones,” Gardner said. “Even though those Hughesville girls hit the ball hard, they held their own out there. So very proud of them and the accomplishments.”

Being district champions is something Gardner is happy to see his team accomplish again.

“It was good to get back in the winners’ circle. Those girls worked hard, they play on the weekends and they play all the time,” Gardner said. “Alaina, this is actually only her second year of playing tennis at all and Kara is on her third year, so they have come a really long way in a short amount of time.”

Mann and Marchioni and Kilgore and Bruder will look to keep their fall seasons continuing as they compete at the Hershey Racquet Club for the Class AA state tournament. The first two rounds of the doubles tournament will be played on Friday, Nov. 5, at 10 a.m.

Mann and Marchioni will face the District 6 champions, and Kilgore and Bruder will will face the District 11 champions. The two District 4 teams are on opposite sides of the bracket. The semifinals and finals are played Saturday, Nov. 5.

The singles tournament will be played the same days in Hershey. Jersey Shore’s Peyton Dincher won the District 4 singles title while Sarah Buck, Kilgore and Bruder’s teammate, advanced with a runner-up finish.

DISTRICT 4 DOUBLES TOURNAMENT

SEMIFINALS

Montoursville’s Kara Mann/Alaina Marchioni def. Central Columbia’s Riley Noss/Brady McNamara, 6-3, 6-4; Hughesville’s Kylie Kilgore/Annaka Bruder def. Dannville’s Sarah Bhanushali/Mehak Kotru, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.

FINALS

Montoursville’s Kara Mann/Alaina Marchioni def. Hughesville’s Kylie Kilgore/Annaka Bruder, 6-3, 6-2

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