Match points: Previewing YAIAA girls' tennis

Ready? Play. 

YAIAA girls' tennis kicks off on Aug. 20, and the York-Adams athletes will be looking to summon their best Serena Williams impressions on the courts this fall.

The two YAIAA singles champions, Michaela Sentz of South Western (Class 3A) and Ellie Neudecker of Delone Catholic (Class 2A), will return for their senior seasons.

Dallastown, New Oxford, Central York and Delone Catholic played in the postseason and will look to contend once again. However, none of those teams went past the quarterfinals in districts.

In Division I last year, Dallastown dominated the league, going undefeated and 13-2 overall. The Wildcats are returning their top three singles players Meghan Salaga, Morgan Kistler and Taylor Jones. 

The Wildcats are hungry to top last season's finish, where they reached the quarterfinals in the District 3 championship.

"We always have pretty high expectations," first-year head coach Melissa Kline said. "We’ve been a really solid team for the past couple of years, so I think our expectations are the same, but we always want to go further than what we did last year."

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It was similar for Delone Catholic, as the Squires also went undefeated in Division II and 11-2 overall. Neudecker, the GameTimePA girls' tennis player of 2017, consolidated her singles title with a doubles title with teammate Becca Dolce.

In District 3, Neudecker lost in the first round to Bermudian Springs' Brooke Yurick, who graduated. But in doubles, Neudecker and Dolce didn't drop a set to reach the semifinals, where they lost to the eventual champions from Wyommising.

With Yurick graduating, the Eagles' squad is a young one, according to head coach Jim Greene. Sophomore Anne Miles, described as a hard worker, will likely be the No. 1 singles player. 

This year will be an important one for her development, Greene said.

"I'm just really positive about the season," Greene said, adding that he would be happy with a .500 finish. The Eagles had a 2-6 record in Division II and a 3-10 record overall.

Another player to watch is New Oxford's Kamdyn Balko. Sentz defeated Balko, seeded fourth, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, in the final of the YAIAA Class 3A tournament. But Balko took the doubles title with partner Kasi Conjack.

Susquehannock's Julianne Cassady, returning to start in her senior season, is another name frequently brought up by YAIAA coaches. The Warriors finished with a league record of 3-4 and an overall record of 5-5.

Sophomore Bria Beverly could be an interesting prospect for Dallastown. Coaches have high expectations for Beverly, a varsity basketball player, because of her athleticism.

"I like that they believe in me, and I like being challenged a lot because I want to show that I can fulfill that challenge," Beverly said.

Despite not starting for the Wildcats, Beverly teamed with Taylor Jones to take fifth place in counties last season.

Greene named York Catholic, Delone Catholic, Kennard Dale and West York as teams to watch out for this season.

South Western, which went 2-4 in Division I and 8-5 overall in 2017, will likely be another competitive team in 2018. Sentz highlights the Mustangs' strong singles play. The team is returning all three starters and their No. 1 doubles team. 

Head coach Karen Cracium described the team, which has grown in participation considerably in recent years, as a good group that likes to have fun.

"Winning usually follows," she said.

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