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Facing a tough opponent in No. 4 seeded Mya Coyne (Bloomsburg) in the quarterfinal round of the District 4 Class AA singles tournament, South Williamsport senior Livy Harvey - seeded No. 5 - got off to a slow start that seemed to be approaching a disappointing end.
After dropping the first set by a score of 6-2, she found herself down 3-1 in the second, three games away from elimination and lacking in momentum. In a sport where momentum is all-encompassing, something needed to change in order for her to turn the tide. And quickly.
She took a second to speak with her coaches, who told her to up the aggressiveness.
"When my coaches came down, she said that I'm not getting anywhere playing safe. I was like, 'Okay well, I'd rather go out doing what I know how to do and not just hit the ball up the middle,'" said Harvey. "So, I wanted to just try my hardest, try to get every good shot I could get and just work towards that."
From there, she started playing riskier shots and the change in tone was immediate.
She'd kick off the fifth game of the set by winning a tough rally, putting a forehand shot in a great spot. She'd take that game and by the sixth, she was starting to force Coyne to chase more, a scenario where Harvey thrives.
She'd start to catch Coyne in bad positions left and right, ending the sixth game by forcing her to chase shots on both sides of the field before catching her moving too far to the right and delivering a well-placed shot to her left. That point tied the set at 3-3, and a similar scenario allowed her to take a 4-3 set lead in the ensuing game.
"I practice that shot a lot. I like that shot; it's one of my favorites," said Harvey. "So, I just always like to try to get that shot. I think my backhand shot and my backhand crosscourt were really good (too)."
She'd go on to take 5-4 and 6-5 leads before Coyne evened it at 6-6 to force a tiebreaker. Though Harvey was able to remain in that set, turning a 3-0 deficit into a 5-4 one down the stretch, Coyne was able to break away from there.
Nonetheless, she was able to get into multiple scenarios where she needed just a few points to extend the match after previously appearing dead in the water.
In her final stint at the event, which saw her turn a second-round finish last year into a quarterfinal one, she was proud of what she displayed on the court. Prior to her match against Coyne, she had dropped just two games through two full matches, kicking off her run with a clean sweep and defeating Jersey Shore's Josie Gerst 6-1, 6-1 in an impressive overall showing.
"I'm really happy with how I played. I think I played some of my best matches today," said Harvey. "I am disappointed with how I ended the day, but I am really happy with how I played in some of my other matches and stuff."
With her singles run now concluded, she turns her focus to helping her team keep up its run in districts. On Tuesday, the Mounties face off against No. 2 seeded Hughesville, a team which they gave a decent show the last time they faced off.
"I'm also really excited for team districts. I can't want to play with all my best friends," said Harvey.