This year, as a senior, she finally got her chance to compete with the varsity team. And on Thursday, all that waiting and patience paid off in a big way for her.

Sones was a key part of Hughesville’s No. 2 doubles team to help the Spartans defeat rival Montgomery in the District 4 girls tennis team tournament quarterfinals, 3-0, to advance to face Danville in the semifinals on Tuesday.

“That persistence, that dedication of hanging around and not walking away just because ‘if I’m not going to play, I’m not going to hang around,'” Hughesville coach Craig Weaver said. “She did (stay patient), and with that kind of personality and attitude, mixed with Shelby Myers who is just a pit bull, and I mean that in the nicest sense I can say it. That girl, she’s just very athletic and very determined.”

Sones and Myers played a tough matchup at No. 2 doubles against Arelyn Moore and Emily Moore of Montgomery and came away with a close 6-4, 6-3 victory as the Red Raiders battled tough in each set. But the Spartans never let Moore and Miller rally and force a third set as they closed it out in the second.

Talia Saka of Hughesville returns a volley to Ava Hartman of Montgomery at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

And at No. 1 doubles, it was Gracie Budman and Caroline Hicks of Hughesville who also secured a victory. That Spartan duo came away with a close win as well, 6-3, 6-3 over Arianna Snyder and Lanie Solano.

The doubles’ sweep was key for the Spartans beating Montgomery. The two doubles victories paired with Talia Saka of Hughesville winning at No. 3 singles over Ava Hartman, gave the Spartans a 3-0 win.

“We practice really hard, we practice almost every day,” Saka said. “Over the summer we trained really hard so I think we deserve all of these wins.”

As for what makes the Spartans such a solid team?

“Our team is really strong and mostly because of the practices and our coach pushing us to be our best,” Saka said “We really try hard and that’s why we’re 16-2.”

Ava Hartman of Montgomery waits for a return by Talia Saka of Hughesville at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

In singles competition, Saka won quite easily at No. 3 singles. In the first set, Saka took a 1-0 lead before Hartman cut the deficit to 2-1. That would be the closest Hartman came to rallying in the first set however as Saka closed it out with four straight points for a 6-1 win. She then cruised in the second set to win it, 6-0.

“I was really trying to hit it back and forth to her but kind of get it to where she couldn’t reach. I was just keeping that mindset that I can win and I can do my best,” Saka said. “It gave me a lot of confidence because it usually does when I win the first one because the opponent kind of feels a little bit, I don’t know, they get in their head a little bit when somebody else wins the first one. So I had a lot more confidence.”

Saka noted that her biggest strength when she’s on the court is keeping a good mindset and telling herself that she can play her best and go ahead and do just that. Saka also complimented Hartman’s play.

“I would say probably the way she hit (was toughest to defend),” Saka said. “She hit really hard to me and her serves were really good.”

The Nos. 1 and 2 singles matches were pulled after the doubles teams both won. Saka was the first victory on Thursday to give Hughesville a 1-0 lead before Budman and Hicks won at No. 1 doubles to make it 2-0 and Sones and Myers won at No. 2 doubles to seal the win.

Ava Hartman of Montgomery returns a volley by Talia Saka of Hughesville at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

At No. 1 singles, Montgomery’s Cali Barnes played well in the first set, using her speed and play to go ahead 2-0 early. Georgia Randall would cut it to 2-1 before Barnes won the next two to lead 4-1. Randall would win the next two to make it a close 4-3 matchup before Barnes could close it out at 6-3. In the second set, Randall kept battling.

The Spartan led 1-0 before Barnes tied it up. Randall then took a 2-1 lead and led 3-2 as Barnes kept fighting and wouldn’t go down without a fight. However from there, Randall would close the second set out to win it, 6-3, and forced a third set.

The third set wouldn’t begin however as the Spartans had sealed the win.

At No. 2 singles, it was a similar situation. Montgomery’s Madisyn Miller and Hughesville’s Rebecca Roberts played an exciting first set that Miller led at one point, 4-1. But Roberts would cut the deficit to 4-3, 5-4 and 6-5 forcing an eventual tiebreaker. Miller would go on to win it, 7-6 (7-3). In the second set, Roberts led 2-1 before the match would be pulled.

“Never say die. Those young ladies (Randall and Roberts) are seniors and I think their senior leadership and what they stand for, it’s come through in every match this year,”

Cali Barnes of Montgomery returns a shot by Georgia Randall of Hughesville at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Weaver said. “You can’t count them out, they have the personality that they will always, always strive to do better and they’re never satisfied. But it’s neat, it’s never not satisfied to the point that they’re head cases like it can turn into. It’s a healthy not satisfied out of those two girls and they are a delight to coach.”

Despite being nearby rivals, this was the first matchup this season between both Montgomery and Hughesville.

“The neat thing is we got paired with Montgomery. We weren’t able to play them in the regular season and Montgomery is a very strong team,” Weaver said. “It was nice to see the girls execute the way they did tonight in tight situations. We’re happy that we’re moving on.”

Weaver noted that the team couldn’t practice over the summer at their home court due to construction work and had to practice instead at nearby Muncy. But despite having to travel a bit twice a week for practices, Weaver noted how dedicated his players were and kept striving to always be better day in and day out. It’s why they’ve been successful.

“It just shows the commitment and why they had the season they had. We went over there Monday and Wednesday all summer long starting in June. We practiced twice a day — 8 to 9:30 in the morning and 3 to 4:30 in the afternoon — and those girls went over practiced in morning, came back for evening practice the entire summer,” Weaver noted. “That kind of commitment kind of set the stage for what kind of year we had, we’re not done, but the kind of season we had.”

Cali Barnes of Montgomery serves to Georgia Randall of Hughesville at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

That season continues as a team as Hughesville advances to the District 4 team tournament semifinals against Danville on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Danville earned a 3-0 win over South Williamsport in the quarterfinals.

Hughesville 3, Montgomery 0

(DISTRICT 4 TEAM TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS)

SINGLES

1. Georgia Randall (H) led Cali Barnes, 3-6, 6-3, pulled; 2. Madisyn Miller (M) led Rebecca Roberts, 7-6 (7-3), 1-2, pulled; 3. Talia Sakes (H) def. Ava Hartman, 6-1, 6-0.

DOUBLES

1. Gracie Budman/Caroline Hicks (H) def. Arianna Snyder/Lanie Solano, 6-3, 6-3; 2. Carly Sones/Shelby Myers (H) def. Arelyn Moore/Emily Miller, 6-4, 6-3.

Georgia Randall of Hughesville serves to Cali Barnes of Montgomery at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Madisyn Miller of Montgomery returns a shot by Rebecca Roberts of Hughesville at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Rebecca Roberts of Hughesville returns a serve by Madisyn Miller of Montgomery at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Rebecca Roberts of Hughesville returns a serve by Madisyn Miller of Montgomery at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Madisyn Miller of Montgomery serves to Rebecca Roberts of Hughesville at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Georgia Randall of Hughesville returns a volley by Cali Barnes of Montgomery at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette