Positive attitudes lead Lady Tigers to team title
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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
STATE COLLEGE -- From 2008 through 2018, the Hollidaysburg girls tennis team won 10 out of 11 District 6 Class 3A team championships, but as the sport has grown in the area, so has the competition.
Altoona won in 2019, and State College has worn the crown the last three seasons, which made the celebration set off by the No. 2 doubles win from Sarah Neatrour and CeCe Williams that much wilder as Hollidaysburg clinched this year's title with a 3-1 win over the Lady Little Lions on Wednesday at the State College Tennis Center.
"It's so difficult in tennis to win a 3A championship," Hollidaysburg coach Brian Denis said. "You've got State College, Altoona, Williamsport, Mifflin County and Central Mountain, which always has an awesome No. 1 player. You have to beat all of those, and we don't have the benefit of playing teams our size. State College is so hard to beat. They have 40-plus girls on their roster, and when you have that many kids, you're naturally going to be super good. It means the world to win this. It has been a great ride."
Neatrour and Williams won the first set, 6-1, but the second was tightly contested throughout against State College's Kara Lin and Lyla Higgins.
The Lady Tigers fell down 3-1 early, battled back to take a 6-5 lead, but lost a chance to win in regulation forcing a seven-point tiebreaker that could have evened the match if it went State College's way.
Throughout the entire match, Neatrour kept repeating words of positive encouragement.
"I have been doing that for a long time," Neatrour said. "I feel like it helps me, my partner and everyone else on the team to hear it too. Always staying positive is kind of a habit now. We know we have so much potential, and we're just so comfortable with each other, and I'm really proud of how we did today."
Hollidaysburg went up 4-1 in the tiebreaker, but State College managed to pull within one at 5-4 before a long return and a Williams strike just over the net that clinched the match just before she jumped into the outstretched arms of Neatrour to celebrate.
"It felt so good, because the team has never won a district championship in any of my years," Williams said. "It was a great way to end senior year. I just kept reminding myself that I didn't want this to go like last year. Sarah kept me going and didn't let me beat myself up."
Hollidaysburg lost by a 3-2 score in each of the last two years to State College in the finals, and Neatrour and Williams were on the other side of the final match a year ago.
"It was a little deja vu from last year," Denis said. "They went three sets and ended up losing in a three-set tiebreaker, which was the deciding match last year as well. I think they felt a little bit of that pressure with the same scenario and a chance to pull it out. Every time they nudged ahead, it would get close again. They were a little nervous, because all year our goal was to turn our result against (State College) around. For them to come back and go out and win it and turn things around, I'm really happy for them."
The Lady Tigers, who improved to 19-0 and who will play the WPIAL runner-up on Tuesday, Oct. 24 in the first round of the PIAA 3A team tournament, also got a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles from Megan Ferris and a win at No. 1 doubles by Nina Meadows and Grace Muriceak.
State College's Ephrasinia Shimelis won at No. 3 singles.
"They feed off Sarah and Nina," Denis said. "Those two especially are the most upbeat girls. They bring everybody up, and they are both tremendous leaders. They are both great students, and kids flock to them, especially Nina. They follow those two, and they will be great in whatever they do. Today, CeCe was struggling a little bit, but to have Sarah there with her calming influence was important, especially in the tiebreaker that could go either way."
Crosby Denis, the freshman daughter of Hollidaysburg's coach, led her No. 1 singles match against Joanna Liu, 7-6, 4-1, when Neatrour and Williams won to clinch the title.
"It was a huge relief to not come down to my daughter's match," Coach Denis said. "I said, 'no way, I'm leaving,' if it would have come down to that."
Hollidaysburg is back in action today against undefeated Bedford at 3:30 as the teams play for the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference championship.
HOLLIDAYSBURG 3, STATE COLLEGE 1
SINGLES: 1, Denis, H, leading Liu, 7-6, 4-1 when suspended; 2, Ferris, H, def. Paterno, 6-0, 6-0; 3, Shimelis, SC, def. McKee, 6-1, 6-1.
DOUBLES: 1, Meadows-Muriceak, H, def. Bechtal-Shen, 6-1, 6-1; 2, Williams-Neatrour, H, def. Lin-Higgins, 6-1, 7-6.
Records: Hollidaysburg (19-0); State College (12-3).