The Bradford High girls’ tennis team will be facing some different competition this season.
The Lady Owls are making the move from Class AAA to Class AA, as are Punxsutawney and Clearfield.
They join fellow District 9 Class AA schools Brockway, Elk County Catholic, Johnsonburg and St. Marys.
“It’s going to be different,” Bradford coach Mark Sherman said. “Last year there were four teams with us — Clearfield, Punxsy and DuBois (which is now the only Class AAA girls tennis program in D-9). The talent pool is there, it really is. There have been a couple of years where double-A has been better than triple-A.”
Overall, the coach feels that the district as a whole will be very competitive.
“In terms of the district, Elk County has a solid program, Clearfield has a solid program and Punxsy does, too,” he said. “Throw in Brockway, St. Marys and Johnsonburg and it’s going to be a tough road, but we’re looking forward to it.”
It will be a different look, that’s for sure, but a couple of familiar faces are back to lead the Lady Owls in 2014.
Senior Hannah Burgoon and junior Ashley Stoltz will be the No. 1 and 2 singles players after each participating in the District 9 Class AAA singles and doubles championships last season.
“They’re going to be the 1-2 punch in singles,” Sherman said. “The biggest thing they bring with them is experience. You can’t beat that.”
Mandi Droney, Ellexus Weaver and Danielle Weaver are returning letterwinners, with Sherman noting that Droney (junior), Ellexus Weaver (junior) and Katelyn Wells (junior) will make up singles spots 3-5 when Bradford travels to Brockway for its season opener today.
“They just need to be consistent and patient with their shots,” noted Sherman. “Overall, I’m pleased with where we’re at. We started practicing eight days ago and we’ve come a long way.”
Joining those top five will be Mary Schroll (senior), Ali Baney (senior), Jordan McCormick (senior), Jenn Ruffner (junior), Kylee Schamleffel (junior), Jeana Ruffner (sophomore) and Isis Wilcox (freshman).
So far, Sherman likes what he sees from the group as a whole.
“As a coach, as long as we get better each and every day, that’s all I can ask for,” he said. “I like the way we’re serving as well as hitting our forehands and backhands.”
He also emphasized that at this point, singles are further a long then doubles, but that is to be expected.
“It does take more time because there’s more strategy going on,” he said. “What’s nice is that my top five can repeat in doubles.”
After eight days of practice, Sherman said his squad is anxious to get going and that he enjoys what he calls “a very nice group.”
“They work hard and do everything asked of them,” he said. “They’re a good group of kids. These eight days have been long and I think they’re really looking forward to getting out and playing against Brockway. As long as we stay healthy, we’ll win our share of matches.”
The schedule follows:
August
19 — At Brockway
21 — ST. MARYS
26 — At Punxsutawney
28 — JOHNSONBURG
September
2 — At Elk Catholic
4 — DUBOIS
11 — BROCKWAY
16 — At St. Marys
18 — PUNXSUTAWNEY
23 — At Johnsonburg
25 — ELK CATHOLIC
29-30 — Districts (singles)
October
2 — At DuBois
6 — Districts (doubles)
9 — CLEARFIELD
