Girls Tennis ended the regular season with a bang, winning Districts against Lower Moreland, one of the best AA team in the state.

On October 25th, 28th and 29th, the Harriton girls’ tennis team competed in the team states. Despite hard fought matches by the team, the event marked an end to Harriton’s seven – year domination at states.

To start off states, the team played their first match against Masterman at the Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis Center in Manayunk. The Lady Rams destroyed their opponents, winning all of their matches in a relatively easy victory.

They then advanced to the quarterfinals in Hershey, PA. Harriton battled Mercyhurst Preparatory during a nail-biting quarterfinal round.

At third singles, Marni Blumenthal played hard and lost her match in two sets.
For those not fluent in tennis, high school tennis matches involve a maximum of three sets and to win the whole match, meaning a player must win two of the sets.

To win an individual set, one must win six games in the set. Despite Marni’s disappointing defeat, the team kept their heads up and cheered on the four remaining matches.
Hannah Drayton won her first set 6-1, but lost her second set, splitting sets.

The pressure was mounting in the last set, but Drayton rallied to win the last set and subsequently the match.

The first doubles team of Renee Simms and Jenny White won in three sets. With two matches under their belt, the team was anxiously waiting to clinch the third win.

Coach Jack Ladden initially planned for the girls to win most of their matches and let Rachel Benstock, who has an injured back, rest. However the matches were closer than expected and Benstock’s match ended up being the deciding match.

Benstock played the second singles match and split sets, but won her last set and won the match. The pressure was then lifted off the shoulders of the second doubles team of Rachel Heffler and Samantha Krouse. The final match score of the quarterfinals was Harriton, three to two. The lady Rams then advanced to the semifinals.

The match against Sewickley Academy was guaranteed to be a difficult one, and the results were not favorable for Harriton. This match was once again nerve – racking, and after four matches split sets, it appeared to be anyone’s game.

The Lady Rams fought their hearts out, but unfortunately could not defeat the skilled opposing team.

The doubles and singles teams all lost their matches and Hannah Drayton was unable to finish what could have been a winning match. Sewickley Academy advanced to the final round of states and ended up winning the championship title.

The team’s defeat at the state championships was disappointing for the team on multiple levels. The girls wished to pay tribute to their dedicated coaches, Jack Ladden and Pat Kurz, and to themselves for their hard work during the season.

In addition, it was implied going into states that the girls would maintain their winning streak.

Despite their loss, Harriton is very proud of their successes over the past eleven years. Regardless of the outcome, it is better to be defeated in a hard – fought match rather than lose a winnable match.