Muriceak defeats Tiger teammate to win the gold

district 6 class 3a girls tennis championships

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Grace Muriceak and Crosby Denis have been part of District 6 Class 3A team championships and doubles titles but have always experienced heartbreak in the high school girls tennis individual tournament.

This year, both Muriceak and Denis fought their way into Wednesday's District 6 Class 3A championship match and left everything they had on the court.

As the sun went down on their nearly three-hour match, Muriceak outlasted Denis, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to claim the district title.

"It means quite a bit," Muriceak said. "It's a lot. Four years of hard work. I have worked so hard for this moment."

Muriceak was the second seed in the tournament, and Denis was first-seeded. Muriceak also plays No. 2 singles behind Denis for the Lady Tigers.

"It was pretty nerve-wracking," Muriceak said. "I have prepared a lot for this moment. I have been training quite a bit to the point where I'm sore every day. But I felt relaxed and just had to turn off any nervous feelings. It paid off. I just had to keep my head up at all times."

Both players got an ovation following the match, but there were very few cheers during it as spectators sat on the edge of their seats during several long volleys between two players that know each other better than anyone.

"It's so much harder to go against a teammate," Denis said. "It's usually us playing each other in practice every day. We know each other's styles and everything about each other's games too."

Hollidaysburg athletic director Homer DeLattre presented Muriceak with her gold medal, but not before congratulating both players and pointing out the high quality of the match everyone had just witnessed.

"Our tennis program is known state-wide, and that was an awesome display," DeLattre said. "We have had a lot of really good teams play at our place. We have won many district championships and played really good State College teams in district championships. But watching two of our girls out there playing at the highest level of tennis was really awesome and a credit to our program. It's a testament to Amanda and Brian Denis and the program they have built here."

Denis arrived at the 4:30 p.m. match about two hours after finishing her round in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference girls golf championships at Scotch Valley Country Club.

She shot a 73 to finish second overall and played an 18-hole round that lasted more than five hours.

"It's definitely a lot. This has been the hardest year with conflicts," Denis said. "This is the fourth or fifth time I have had to do golf and tennis on the same day, which is more than the last three years combined. It's definitely a challenge both mentally and physically."

Combining the hours of the golf and tennis match, Denis competed for more than eight hours Wednesday.

"I felt really exhausted, especially with golf earlier today," Denis said. "It was just a long day overall."

Still, Denis came out strong and won the first set despite both girls putting in a lot of effort with constant returns and a lot of running.

Denis led the second set 4-3 before Muriceak claimed the momentum and took the final three games.

"I just kept my feet moving and tried to stay active," Muriceak said. "I tried not to let myself have bad body language."

Muriceak carried that momentum into the third set where she took a 3-1 lead, but Denis had another rally in her, fighting back to make it 3-3 before Muriceak won the final three games.

In Class 2A, defending 3A champion Addison Lindsay defeated Central Mountain teammate Lucy Walker, 6-0, 6-0, to win another District 6 title. Central Mountain dropped from 3A to 2A this season.

Denis will now team up with a Hollidaysburg teammate and attempt to win her fourth District 6 Class 3A doubles title. She won the previous two with Muriceak, who credited Denis for helping her improve throughout the years.

"We definitely do. We play all the time, even if we're just hitting casually," Muriceak said. "We push each other quite a bit."