Rhodes, Stevens back for senior seasons
2022 area high school girls tennis preview
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The 2022 high school girls tennis season opens on Monday, and most area teams will be introducing several new players to their starting lineups.
Two players, though, that don't need any introduction are Hollidaysburg Area senior Gretta Rhodes and Altoona Area senior Morgan Stevens, both four-year singles starters and three-time Mirror first-team all-stars.
Rhodes has been the Lady Tigers' No. 1 player since she was a freshman and finished last year as the District 6 Class 3A singles runner-up and the doubles champion. Stevens was the District 6 3A singles champion as a sophomore and the runner-up as a freshman.
While Hollidaysburg returns five players who started last season, Altoona has just three. Tyrone has no starters back, and Bishop Guilfoyle has just one.
Central Cambria brings back six starters but lost its top two to graduation, and Central returns its No. 1 player in Julia Ritchey along with three other players who saw significant playing time as starting doubles players last year.
The following is a closer look at the six area girls tennis teams:
Altoona
Coach: Jake Colledge, second year
Career record: 21-12 overall
Last year's record: 12-4
Conference: None
Returning starters: Seniors--Morgan Stevens, Sophia Caputo, Leah Koehle
Other returning players: Senior--Katie Hovan; Juniors--Olivia McMinn, Abby Donlan; Sophomores--Isabella Graham, Courtney Irwin, Kaylee Swain, Oriana Dent, Mary Worley, Dawn Dempsie, Lauren Walgrove
Newcomers: Junior--Jade Oakes-Lopez; Sophomores--Triumph Kilmartin, Madison Marketta, Kaylyn Adams, Michaela Etters
Strengths: "Morgan Stevens will continue to provide stability and senior leadership at the top of the lineup as she is the 2020 District 6 3A singles champion. Over the course of four years, she has worked to become one the better players in the area. Her skill set and her competitive nature make her a tough matchup for her competition. Sophia Caputo has worked hard in the offseason to become a solid singles player and will be counted on to fortify our singles lineup. Her athleticism, along with her ball striking abilities, will allow her to have a successful senior year. Isabella Graham, Katie Hovan, Leah Koehle and Courtney Irwin have all worked hard in the offseason to put themselves in position for a singles or doubles spot in the lineup. Collectively, they never stop competing during match play and always battle to the end.''
Concerns: "Depth, as we lost 11 seniors from last year, including five starters, and determining doubles teams.''
Overall outlook: "Morgan and Sophia provide the senior leadership needed at the top of a varsity lineup, and Leah Koehle's varsity experience will only help our doubles teams. I am confident their desire to compete will prevail. Our team goal is to contend for a District 6 team title and to have individuals qualify for states in the singles and doubles championships.''
Assistant coach: Miriam Colledge
Bishop Guilfoyle
Coach: Samantha Fulchiero, third season
Career record: 24-12
Last year's record: 13-5
Conference: Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference
Returning starters: Sophomore--Lilly Pearl Koelle
Newcomers: Senior--Mailinh Do; Juniors--Elina Casanave, Jennie Merilli; Sophomore--Kearsten Pham; Freshmen--Isabella Casanave, Laurel Lehman, Ella McClellan
Strengths: "The team is a great group of girls willing to learn and play at their hardest. The girls are willing to learn and have a drive to be better tennis players. With BG being a small school, the girls are close, which helps keep things fun and enjoyable, but competitive. These girls know when it's match time, all fun aside and it's competition time. The girls are always giving 100% and can compete at the highest level every time."
Concerns: "We only have one returning player. We have half of the girls who have played tennis before and the other half who have only played a handful of times. The lack of experience may become a weakness when it comes to playing experienced teams, but I know the girls will try their hardest every time."
Overall outlook: "This is my third year coaching, and I am excited. We have one returning sophomore, but everyone else is new to the team -- which makes it fun as a coach. I will be able to teach while showing them why tennis is such a fun sport. I am looking forward to competing this year and hoping we have great success in the coming season."
Assistant coach: Brayley Lewis
Central
Coach: John Riley, 16th year
Career record: 107-105
Last year's record: 6-12
Conference: Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference
Returning starters: Seniors--Kaylee Cole, Adacyn James; Junior--Ashlyn Renner; Sophomore--Julia Ritchey
Other returning players: Seniors--Annabel Shippey, Kimmy Yingling; Sophomore--Brooklyn Coppersmith
Newcomers: Freshmen--Kate Dunn, Zoe Grill, Lila Kyle, Abigail Smith, Brooke Smith
Strengths: "We return our No. 1 player in Julia Ritchey and three doubles starters in Ashlyn Renner, Kaylee Cole and Adacyn James. Plus, we have three other girls in Annabel Shippey, Kimmy Yingling and Brooklyn Coppersmith who filled in a lot in doubles. It's a hard-working and fun group of girls who really showed up a lot to work on their tennis skills at volunteer tennis over the summer."
Concerns: "Finding two girls to separate from the pack and seize the No. 2 and No. 3 singles positions."
Overall outlook: "Hopefully, the girls continue to improve and gain confidence in their games and be ready to compete in a very tough LHAC."
Assistant coach: Shaun Coppersmith
Central Cambria
Coach: Kimberly Cavalier, seventh year
Career record: 90-15
Last year's record: 13-2
Conference: Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference
Returning starters: Seniors--Rylee Baxter, Emma Dumm, Julia Hoffman, Jessica Lian, Ella Persio; Sophomore--Marley Ratchford
Other returning players: Juniors--Olivia Heinzeroth, Liliana Janosko, Anna Stock, Emily Vandenbergh
Newcomers: Juniors--Aurora Hott, Eleanor Howard; Freshman--Lydia Paskowski
Strengths: "We have several girls returning that are now seniors. Most of these players have been playing and competing during the offseason. They have the on-court experience that should help lead us toward a winning season. The girls love the game and competing -- this is an incredible combination -- and we look forward to a fun and exciting season.''
Concerns: We lost two very strong players last year who were the No. 1 and 2 singles players, so we will have to fill these top two positions. Most of our players are doubles players, so we have our work cut out for us to transition them into singles players. Keeping our players healthy is always a concern. With the season only being a little over a month long, that means three matches per week. With not a lot of depth, we need to ensure the players stay healthy and happy.''
Overall outlook: "We have quite a few returning players and a little more depth than we had last year. As always, we are excited to get the season started and to see how the players grow and progress as a team. All of our players are positive and love the game -- that makes it enjoyable to be their coaches.''
Assistant coach: Tanya Ratchford
Hollidaysburg
Coach: Brian Denis, 21st year
Career record: 551-116 overall
Last year's record: 17-2
Conference: Mountain League
Returning starters: Seniors--Gretta Rhodes, Rachel Gallagher; Juniors--Megan Ferris, Regan McKee, Nina Meadows
Other returning players: Juniors--CeCe Williams, Erin Cummings, Bracken Ackinclose; Sophomores--Sarah Neatrour, Katie Klingner, Sarah Urban, Grier Morris, Sophia Zangrilli, Lily Grosser, Meghan Nelson, Katie Young
Newcomers: None
Strengths: "We have a nice returning core of players with District 6 3A doubles champion Gretta Rhodes at the top of the lineup. We have quite a few younger players who have really stepped up their games over the summer and will look to crack into the lineup. There is not a lot of drop-off from our No. 2 player on down, so we have some pretty solid depth in the middle of our lineup.''
Concerns: "We play quite a few matches early on, so there will be very few days that we can practice as a team. Also, finding court time to get all team members into matches, and we have zero freshmen on the roster.''
Overall outlook: Making it to the District 6 3A championship match last year and losing a tight match to State College has given us motivation to get back to that point and finish on top this year. Several teams in District 6 have a lot of returning starters that have been working hard, so time will tell if we as a team have put in the effort in the offseason in order to win districts. We hope to keep improving as the season progresses, and hopefully we will be peaking when playoff time comes around.''
Assistant coach: Maria Snyder
Tyrone
Coach: Randy Irvin, 10th year
Career record: 88-145
Last year's record: 8-7
Conference: Mountain League
Returning starters: None
Other returning players: Seniors--Ashlynn McKinney, Sarah Butin, Renee VanProoyen, Lydia Seltzer; Sophomores--Emma Witkamp, Mariah Miles
Newcomers: Senior--Mara Bollinger; Juniors--Carena Eamigh, Hannah McClellan; Sophomore--Halee Young; Freshmen--Alyssa Houck, Nicole Ramsey, Jenna Watson
Strengths: "We have six returning players from last year's team. We have a very athletic and hard-working 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 other schools.''
Assistant coaches: Jim Klesius, Dawn Irvin