Breaking News
Local Sports

Central Mountain girls tennis falls to Westmont Hilltop in district final

By HENRY HUBER 5 min read

MILL HALL - While Central Mountain girls tennis gained a lot of momentum from Tuesday's semifinal win, that exciting, nailbiter of a match also came with a cost. The battle took a lot out of the Wildcats heading into Wednesday's District 6 Class AA team championship, and that seemed to affect their play as they battled Westmont Hilltop for gold.

Senior Addison Lindsay granted Central Mountain a quick 1-0 lead, and Lane Walker battled back to put them in position to earn a second point on Singles Court 3. But the Hilltoppers swept doubles and erased Lucy Walker's early lead on Singles Court 2, defeating the Wildcats, 3-1, to earn their eighth district title in 14 seasons.

The loss stung, as Central Mountain fell a few key moments short of securing a district championship in its first season in Class AA. But they showed they could hold a candle to a competitive field and derailed a 14-year stretch of Central Cambria making the final, a showing that head coach Tom Zettle took pride in when discussing the run.

"Yesterday just caught up with us a little bit, but I'm very happy," said Zettle. "We have a singles champion, singles second place, doubles second place and now, team second place. Pretty good year."

"Tough team. Central Mountain is tough," said Westmont Hilltop coach Dan Fregly on the Wildcats. "It was always us and Central Cambria for the last 14 years, so now, Central Mountain comes in, and they're on top. It was close the whole way. Their girls are great, our girls just managed to pull it out."

While the Wildcats won their first tiebreaker of the match, with Lane Walker rallying back for a first-set win, it was the second tiebreaker that made the biggest difference. With a one-set deficit on Doubles Court 2, Kylee Markle and Erin Packer weathered a hard-fought second set in route to a tiebreaker, where they were able to pick up an early lead.

Solid coordination and spikes from both players helped them take control of the tiebreaker early and hold a lead as late as 7-6. But one point away from extending the match to a third set, Westmont Hilltop's Hibah Qureshi and Maryana Matse stole that control, as strong play from back caught Central Mountain chasing on the last three points and the Hilltoppers won the match 6-2, 7-6 (9-7).

Though not the decider, that shift occurred with the Wildcats already in a bad spot, breaking a 1-1 tie with Lucy Walker two games removed from a match-sealing defeat.

On Doubles Court 1, Westmont Hilltop's Sawyer Hoffman and Anna Dill won their last four games to erase a second-set deficit and defeat Central Mountain’s Kassie Williams and Tess Akeley in straight sets. And Lilly Evans had a similar rally against Walker after starting down 3-0, winning 13 of her last 16 games to clinch the match for the Hilltoppers.

"The girls played well; they (Westmont Hilltop) just had too many horses," said Zettle. "Plus, we're tired, especially Lucy who played three tough sets yesterday. We just didn't quite have enough today."

There were still positives from the match for Central Mountain, as Lindsay dominated her way to a 6-0, 6-0 sweep against Westmont Hilltop's Isabella Parrish and Lane Walker battled back from an early 4-1 deficit. Walker held a 7-6, 3-2 lead prior to the match being called, winning her tiebreaker against Sophia Dixon, 7-3.

"I would say just playing my game," said Lindsay on what was working throughout her match. "Going for my forehands and my serves and just staying consistent."

Those positives - both from Wednesday and Tuesday's semifinal - are what Central Mountain will look to build on moving into its last few matches of the regular season. Though its postseason run came to an end on Wednesday, its last few matches still hold stakes, as they remain alive in the race for the PHAC crown.

The Wildcats host rival Jersey Shore on Thursday before traveling to Williamsport to face the Millionaires one day later and capping their season off against Shikellamy next Wednesday. If they can win out, they'll share the league title with Danville.

"I'll say we're not done. We still have work to do," said Zettle. "Hopefully they come back tomorrow and give Jersey Shore a run here. There's another one on Friday, so it's been a busy last three weeks. I know the girls are tired. I'm tired, and I'm not playing."

Thursday's match is set for 4 p.m. at Central Mountain.

Westmont Hilltop 3, Central Mountain 1

SINGLES

1. Addison Lindsay (CM) def. Isabella Parrish (WH) 6-0, 6-0. 2. Lilly Evans (WH) def. Lucy Walker (CM), 7-5, 6-2. 3. Lane Walker (CM) led Sophia Dixon (WH), 7-6 (7-3), 3-1.

DOUBLES

1.Sawyer Hoffman/Anne Dill (WH) def. Kassie Williams/Tess Akeley (CM) 6-0, 6-3. 2. Hibah Qureshi/Maryna Matse (WH) def. Kylee Markle/Erin Packer (CM), 6-2, 7-6 (8-6).

Starting at /week.