Kate Dunn returns a shot at the net against Central Cambria in the District 6 Class 2A Doubles Final.

Hollidaysburg and Central Cambria will both attempt to defend their respective District 6 girls tennis championships while also both competing for the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference crown this season.

The Lady Tigers have won back-to-back Class 3A titles and return Altoona Mirror first-team all stars Crosby Denis and Grace Muriceak, who won the Class 3A doubles District 6 championship last season as well.

Also back for Hollidaysburg is Emma Moritz, who was a second-team Mirror all star last season.

Central Cambria, which upset top-seeded Westmont Hilltop to win the 2A championship last season, graduated Marley Ratchford but brings back Mirror honorable mention Lydia Paskowski.

Central welcomes back Mirror second teamer Kate Dunn and honorable mention Zoe Grill as the Lady Dragons pursue a team championship after winning an individual and doubles title recently.

Altoona junior Skylar Irwin, a Mirror second-teamer last season, is back for her junior year and will lead the Lady Lions, who went 11-3 a year ago.

Tyrone will be led by Nicole Ramsey, who was named to the Mirror’s honorable mention list last year.

The following is a capsulized look at all of the teams in the Mirror’s core coverage area.

Altoona

Coach: Jake Colledge, fifth year

Career record: 89-44

Last year’s record: 11-3

Conference: Independent

Returning starters: Juniors–Andie Adams, Skylar Irwin. Sophomore–Emma Hovan

Other returning letterwinners: Senior–Isabelle Holmberg. Juniors–Mariah Harris, Emillee Vo. Sophomores–Addison Mitchell, Natalie Baker, Adalia Lopez-Oakes, Ava Williams, Ryleigh Campbell, Claire Long, Andrea Young

Newcomers: Junior–Bailey Barron. Sophomore–Sharray Francis. Freshmen–Nadia Eilenberger, Rachael Vaughn

Strengths: “We have a solid foundation of returning players in Andie Adams, Skylar Irwin, Emma Hovan and Addison Mitchell. Additionally, Ava Williams, Adalia Lopez-Oakes, Ryleigh Campbell, Natalie Baker and Claire Long will bring athleticism and depth to the lineup. We are also excited about the number of newcomers to the program and their development.”

Concerns: “Forming doubles teams.”

Overall outlook: “As always, we look to compete for District 6 titles and advance to the state playoffs.”

Assistant coaches: Miriam Colledge, Brett Mitchell (volunteer), Kristen Lucas (volunteer)

Central

Coach: Shaun Coppersmith, third year

Career record: 20-13

Last year’s record: 10-6

Conference: Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference

Returning starters: Seniors–Kate Dunn, Zoe Grill. Juniors–Breslyn Beech, Taryn Walters, Aubry Eckman, Gabby Decker, Hailey Fries

Other returning letterwinners: Senior–Lila Kyle. Sophomores–Kara Weidlich, Laura Longwell

Newcomers: Sophomore–Sofie Maldonado. Freshmen–Kaycee Stapleton, Rachel Guyer

Strengths: “We have a bunch of girls returning with lots of playing experience. We have two girls returning that paired up to win the District 6 2A doubles title last year (Kate and Zoe). We have a bunch of girls that put in lots of time in the offseason to improve.”

Concerns: “The only concern I have is trying to figure out who will be playing at the No. 2 doubles spot. We have a bunch of girls that are close toward the top and also fighting for the last starting spots.”

Overall outlook: “I think we can definitely contend for the district team title this year if we keep improving and put the needed time in. That’s the one we really want that has eluded us the past two seasons. We were able to win the singles and two doubles championships in the past two seasons. So we really want that team title.”

Assistant coach: Paul Keller

Central Cambria

Coach: Jim White, Jeff Livermore, first year

Career record: 0-0

Last year’s record: 9-6

Conference: Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference

Returning starters: Senior–Lydia Paskowski. Juniors–Taryn Ream, Madison Dietz. Sophomores–Kat Kubat, Daisy Smith

Other returning letterwinners: Juniors–Maddy Bobby, Nora Anderson. Sophomores–Leah Bowersox, Chloe Sandoval

Newcomers: Freshmen–Ireland DeBalli, Hannah Handlon

Strengths: “Our team has had a really good offseason with many players participating in summer tournaments and leagues to improve their game. Our team members have had a great attitude and willingness to learn new skills which has been great to see. Although our team is young, we have some good experience and look forward to competing in our conference and district.”

Concerns: “None.”

Overall outlook: “We have many really good Central PA tennis teams on our schedule this year which will provide a big challenge for our team. We are excited about the upcoming season and hope to do well as we improve throughout the year.”

Assistant coaches: None

Junior high coaches: None

Hollidaysburg

Coach: Brian Denis, 25th year

Career record: 663-126

Last year’s record: 20-1

Conference: Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference

Returning starters: Juniors–Crosby Denis, Grace Muriceak, Emma Moritz, Olivia Panaro

Other returning letterwinners: Juniors–Taylor Eardley, Sandy Zheng. Sophomores–Rina Stiffler, Brooklyn Klingner, Jillian Buffone, Selina Dong, Lainey Williams, Claire Cummings, Adele Theys

Newcomers: Freshmen–Katherine Wang, Crosby Beauchamp

Strengths: “We have our top four players back, including doubles state quarterfinalists Crosby Denis and Grace Muriceak. They have a ton of varsity experience and will be great role models for the younger/newer players. The girls are a very tight-knit group and push each other to make the entire team better. We have some really promising young talent that just needs to get some match experience, including 14 junior high players.”

Concerns: “No seniors on the roster will require some underclassmen to step up in leadership roles. We have a log-jam of kids vying for the two doubles positions, so we need to try to get that figured out and move forward with our best combinations. Hoping our schedule is challenging enough to push us to play our best in the postseason.”

Overall outlook: “We are really excited to get the season started and looking to defend our back-to-back District 6 3A team championships. We have a streak of 55 straight regular season victories that we would like to keep going, and hope to advance some players to the state tournament for the fifth year in a row. The girls had a great first week of practice, and the younger players are improving daily. How much we get better as the season progresses will determine if we are again a top-notch program by the time the season ends.”

Assistant coach: Amanda Denis

Junior high coach: Amanda Denis

Tyrone

Coach: Randy Irvin, 13th year

Career record: 115-202

Last year’s record: 6-8

Conference: Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference

Returning starters: Seniors–Nicole Ramsey, Emily Christofer. Juniors–Ezri Bumgarner, Cassidy Fleck, Jocelyn Diehl, Grace Zimmerman

Other returning letterwinners: Seniors–Jenna Watson, Aliyah Smith

Newcomers: Seniors–Cadence Ball, Amyra Snyder, Chase Yaniello. Junior–Adalyn Jeffries. Freshmen–Sydney Beeman, Cassie Behrer, Addison Davis, Charlie Murphy

Strengths: “We have seven returning players from last year’s team and a total of 16 girls on our team. We have a very athletic and hardworking group of girls. The new girls are all picking up the game very quickly, and this will give our team some additional depth.”

Concerns: “Our biggest concern is getting the girls ample court time because of the weather and our very early match schedule.”

Overall outlook: “We are excited to get out and play some tennis against other schools.”

Assistant coach: Winnie Grot