Oct. 24—Scranton Prep marched forward in its girls tennis season, while Abington Heights saw its run end.
Alyssa Wigley, Lily Lengyel, and Emma Cuck, the powerful starting lineup for the Classics, stormed past District 11 champion Moravian Academy, 3-2, in the PIAA Class 2A opening round at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton.
Abington Heights put up quite a fight but lost 3-2 to Central Dauphin, the third-place team from District 3, in the Class 3A clash held at Birchwood Tennis & Fitness Club on Tuesday afternoon.
Scranton Prep (19-1), the Lackawanna League and District 2 Class 2A champion, heads to the quarterfinals for the second straight season. The Classics’ eliminated Moravian Academy in the first round again and advanced to the quarterfinals to play Sewickley Academy (14-2), the runner-up from District 7. It will be a rematch between the two programs from last season, when Sewickley Academy edged Scranton Prep 3-2.
“This feels amazing,” Scranton Prep’s Alyssa Wigley said. “This is what we worked so hard for all year. The whole team worked for this win, and it all paid off.”
Wigley, who won her third state singles match in the team tournament of her career, earned a hard-fought victory over Moravian Academy’s Francesca Bartolacci, the District 11 singles champion, 7-6 (5), 6-4. The Classics’ junior battled back in the first set to win, then powered through in the second to clinch the overall victory for the team.
“I had a phenomenal match,” said Wigley, who also defeated Bartolacci in last year’s state team tournament. “I was down in the first set, but I kept telling myself that I wasn’t going to give up and that I had to do it for the team. It was an excellent match all the way through.”
Lengyel picked up a win over Laura Li, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 2 singles. Lengyel, a freshman, earned the first win in a state match of her career.
“I felt amazing,” Lengyel said. “I am really happy with how far this team has come. I was happy that I stayed calm all through my match. My forehand was working in my favorite, and I was really happy with how I played.”
At No. 3 singles, Cuck got the Classics going with an impressive win over Penelope Blomfield, 6-0, 6-0. Cuck, like Wigley, earned the third win of her career in the state tournament. Last season, she defeated Li in the Classics’ first-round win over Moravian Academy.
“I am really excited because this is a good start,” Cuck said. “I am going to be more confident on Friday. I attacked the ball. I felt that I needed to get the points over quickly, and that is what I did.”
In the Class 3A match, Abington Heights received wins from Susan Arp and Sona Hanumali at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively. Central Dauphin’s depth overcame the Lady Comets’ strength at the top of the lineup by winning at No. 3 singles and sweeping the doubles matches all in straight sets.
Arp, the two-time District 2 Class 3A singles champion, earned her first win at the state level by beating Central Dauphin’s Katie Berra, 6-3, 6-2.
“I am really excited to pull off a win at the state level because I never thought that I could do that,” said Arp, who is a junior. “I am super satisfied. I hit my shots to the places I wanted, and I was able to hit the angles and keep the ball in play.”
Hanumali also recorded her first state tennis win with an overpowering effort in a win over Julia Wiest, 6-1, 6-1.
“I am almost as happy as I was when we won the district doubles tournament,” Hanumali said. “I thought I played equally well, and it is some of the best tennis I have ever played, so to do it in two of my biggest matches is really great. I have caught a really good stretch of tennis that has to carry to Nov. 3 (the state doubles tournament).”
Central Dauphin’s Ava Mansure defeated freshman Amishi Amit, 6-1, 6-2. The doubles teams of Lauren Waldner and Anya Damdin defeated Mary Booth and Bernie Mullin, 6-2, 6-4, and the team of Sydney Piesco and Sadie Weller beat freshman Sammy Rosenstein and Neveah Vendrell, 6-0, 6-1.
The season is not finished, however, for Arp, Hanumali, and Booth, who are all headed to the Hershey Racquet Club for the PIAA Class 3A tournament that starts on Nov. 3.
Arp is scheduled to play Red Lion senior Lexi Lakatosh, the third-place finisher from District 3, at 8 a.m. Hanumali and Booth, the District 2 Class 3A doubles championship team, will play Manheim Township’s twin sister team of Haley Miller and Jade Miller at 10 a.m.
CLASS 2A
Scranton Prep 3, Moravian Academy 2
Singles: Alyssa Wigley (SP) over Francesca Bartolacci, 7-6 (5), 6-4; Lily Lengyel (SP) over Laura Li, 6-2, 6-2; Emma Cuck (SP) over Penelope Blomfield, 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles: Emily Reynolds-Sunny Chen (MA) over Ella Cohen-Grace Devine, 6-1, 6-3; Anika Mehta-Chloe Dahl (MA) over Hannah LaCoe-Nicole Krakovich, 6-1, 6-2.
Records: SP 19-1, MA 14-2.
CLASS 3A
Central Dauphin 3, Abington Heights 2
Singles: Susan Arp (AH) over Katie Berra, 6-3, 6-2; Sona Hanumali (AH) over Julia Wiest, 6-1, 6-1; Ava Mansure (CD) over Amishi Amit, 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles: Lauren Waldner-Anya Dandin (CD) over Mary Booth-Bernie Mullin, 6-2, 6-4; Sydney Piesco-Sadie Weller (CD) over Sammy Rosenstein-Neveah Vendrell, 6-0, 6-1.
Records: CD 16-3, AH 16-3.
Contact the writer: jbfawcett@scrantontimes.com; 570-348-9125; @sportsTT on X