Bridget Dougherty and Lucy Hederick won at second and third singles, respectively, as Radnor topped Parkland, 4-1, in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A team tennis tournament.

Radnor, the third seed from District 1, advances to take on District 7 champ Peters Township Friday morning at 8 at Hershey Racquet Club in the semifinals. Peters swept Altoona, 5-0, Tuesday.

Grace Frigerio and Mia Xie picked up a point at second doubles for Radnor. Kanon Ciarrocchi won by forfeit at first singles.

In other PIAA Class 3A first-round action:

Downingtown West 5, Cardinal O’Hara 0 >> The Whippets won all five matches in straight sets to bring O’Hara’s team season to a close.

Samma Zahran put at a fight at first singles before falling to Tanya Pant, 6-2, 6-1.

Zahran and teammates Caroline Lynch and Mary Clare Hayden will go for District 12 titles Wednesday at Legacy. Zahran won the Catholic League Class 3A singles title last week. Lynch and Hayden topped Archbishop Carroll’s Mary Finley and Bridget DiCarlo, 6-1, 7-5, to win the Catholic League Class 3A doubles title Monday to complete a sweep of the league championship events (team, singles, doubles).

The Lower Merion High School girls soccer team wrapped up its regular season with a 16-2 record, which are the most victories for the program in the past 13 seasons. The Aces, who are the No. 4 in the PIAA District 1 4A playoffs, earned three 1-0 victories in the final week of the regular season, as Maya Masotti provided much of the offense and Audrey Brown had some of her best saves of the season in these games.
LM defeated a solid, determined Haverford squad, 1-0, Oct. 15. Elly Slensky, Teresa Cato, Abby Braslow, Emma Burke, and Lily Garton all had a big part in keeping the Fords off the board.
Two day later, the Aces earned a 1-0 overtime win against Agnes Irwin in very windy conditions. In the first oevertime, Grace Downey crossed the ball to a waiting Maya Masotti, who placed the ball in the back of the net. Aviva Kosto, Hannah Shalaby, and Laura Getsleman all contributed to the offensive chances the Aces had in this game.
On Oct. 19, in their final regular-season game, the Aces defeated Mount St. Josephs 1-0. Amanda Rosello, Grace Downey, Aviva Kosto, Alice Wall and Kate Jackson each provided high quality minutes and stepped up when called on due to injuries.
In other Main Line high school sports action through Oct. 21 (the high school wrapup is compiled from game results sent to badams@mainlinemedianews.com by the respective teams):

Soccer
Academy of Notre Dame defeated Agnes Irwin, 1-0, Oct. 15, on a goal by Izzy Casale assisted by Caeli Maher with 33 seconds left in the second half. The Irish defense was anchored by Allie Lynch, Mia Vattanzo, Grace Bleckley Audrey Cain and Hannah Jackson, along with a few key saves from goalie Megan Mackey.
Episcopal Academy (girls) defeated Penn Charter, 3-0, Oct. 18. Bella Piselli scored two first-half goals, and Kendal Elison added a goal and an assist. EA goalie Allie Bush recorded 11 saves.
The Churchwomen defeated Germantown Academy, 2-0, Oct. 16. Goals were scored by Lauren Cunningham (assisted by Ali McHugh) and Maya Naimoli (assisted by Madison Vetterlein). EA goalie Allie Bush recorded six saves.
The Episcopal Academy boys (4-6-4, 2-4) lost to Springside Chestnut Hill, 3-1, Oct. 18. Brendan DePillis scored EA’s lone goal, assisted by Jackson Tuna. Trevor Manion recorded four saves.
The Churchmen defeated Haverford School, 1-0, Oct. 15. Jackson Tuma scored the game-winning goal in the final minute, assisted by Josh Levinson. EA goalie Trevor Manion recorded six saves.
Haverford School defeated Penn Charter, 6-0, Oct. 18. Senior MJ Atkins had two headers for goals. Senior Luke Macaione, sophomore Asher Laackman, junior Zach Seaman and senior Charlier Sommer each had a goal. Senior Goalkeeper Will Boyes had three excellent saves to keep the shutout, his seventh of the season.

Field hockey
Academy of Notre Dame (13-3-1, 5-0-1) defeated Agnes Irwin, 2-1, Oct. 18. Mia Leonhardt and Riley Gillin scored goals for the Irish, and Abby D’Anjolell dished out two assists. ND goalie Page Kieft recorded seven saves.
The Irish defeated Conestoga, 2-1, in overtime Oct. 17. Meghan Mitchell tallied a goal, and Mia Leonhardt scored the game-winner on a well-executed corner with an assist from Mitchell. ND goalie Paige Kieft recorded three saves.
Two days earlier, the Irish defeated Springside Chestnut Hill, 4-0. Vivi Trumpbour scored two goals, and Emily Graeff dished out two assists.
Agnes Irwin lost to Academy of Notre Dame, 2-1, Oct. 18. Hadley Evans scored the Owls’ lone goal, assisted by Ari Karalis. Goalie Jordan Healy recorded 10 saves.
Three days earlier, the Owls lost to Episcopal Academy, 5-0. Owl goalie Jordan Healy recorded 12 saves.
Archbishop Carroll (8-9, 8-1) defeated Archbishop Wood, 4-0, Monday. Carleigh Connors scored two goals, and Karli Dougherty and Lana Pergine talled one goal each. Carroll goalie Grace DiMascio recorded one save and the shutout.
The Patriots lost to Radnor, 4-1, Oct. 17. Carly Bateman scored a goal and Carroll goalie Grace DiMascio recorded seven saves.
Conestoga defeated Abington, 5-0, in the first round of the PIAA District 1 AAA playoffs Monday. Kate Galica scored a hat trick and Annie Hirshman and Chloe Ziegler added a goal each. The Pioneers’ defensive squad of Lauren D’Emilio, Amanda Foster, Sofia Ries, and Lily Wolfe held the Ghosts to zero shots in the contest. Katie Clemson recorded her 12th shutout of the year in net for Conestoga.
The Pioneers lost to Academy of Notre Dame, 2-1, in overtime Oct. 17. Pioneer freshman scored a goal, and Conestoga goalie Katie Clemson had four saves.
Two days earlier, the Pioneers defeated Springfield, 2-1, in overtime. Carly Hynd scored with less than a minute left in regulation and Chloe Ziegler netted the overtime game-winner. Amanda Foster’s long pass set up Ziegler’s game-winner, which was scored 90 seconds into the first overtime period.
Episcopal Academy (13-1-1, 5-0-1) defeated Germantown Academy, 4-3, in overtime Oct. 18. Ashley Sessa scored two goals, Kathleen Anderson tallied a goal and Kelly Smith scored the game-winning goal (on a penalty stroke) and dished out two assists.
The Churchwomen defeated Agnes Irwin, 5-0, Oct. 15. Kathleen Anderson and Macy Szukics each tallied two goals, and Kelly Smith dished out three assists. EA goalie Gianna Cilluffo recorded five saves.
Shipley lost to Westtown, 3-0, Oct. 18. Gator goalie Casey Goss notched 15 saves.
Two days earlier, the Gators defeated Friends’ Central, 4-0, getting two goals from freshman Aisling Smith. The Gators’ first goal was by Smith, who scored off of a crossed ball by senior captain Carolina Riley. Brooke Leibowitz made it 2-0 with a goal off a cross by freshman Katie Eads. Smith then notched her second goal off of a corner- she inserted the ball to Carolina Riley, who passed it to Peyton Turner, who one touched it back to Smith on the post for a well-executed corner. Gianna Sciole scored the final goal.

Girls’ tennis
Baldwin School (10-3, 5-1) finished its season with a 7-0 win against Penn Charter Monday, securing second place in the Inter-Ac for the Polar Bears. Torrie Smith and Presley Daggett won their singles matches in straight sets. The doubles teams of Hana Ahanger/Berlyn Squillaro, Sophia Tavangar/Sophia Ran, Armina Emami/Mimi Salgado and Zoe Lebowitz/Grace Sheehan won in straight sets.
The Polar Bears lost to Agnes Irwin 4-3 Oct. 19. Despite the absence of Izzy Antanavicius, Baldwin’s No. 1 singles player, Torrie Smith, Presley Daggett and Hana Ahanger won their singles matches in straight sets.
The Polar Bears earned a 5-2 win at Springside Chestnut Hill Oct. 15. Izzy Antanavicius, Torrie Smith and Presley Daggett won their singles matches in straight sets. Sophia Tavangar and Sophia Ran won 4-6, 6-0, 10-8 at second doubles while Armina Emami and Mimi Salgado won 6-2, 6-1 at third doubles to clinch the win.
Conestoga’s duo of Leena Kwak and Olovia Dodge advanced to the PIAA District 1 Class AAA doubles finals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Unionville’s Saanvi Gargantuas and Faith IIgner. They will face the Radnor tandem of Kanon Ciarrocchi and Lucy Hederick in the championship final Oct. 23 at Legacy Youth and Tennis Education Center, after the Main Line Times & Suburban went to press.
Radnor’s double pair of Kanon Ciarrocchi and Lucy Hederick advanced to the PIAA District 1 Class AAA doubles finals with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win against Pennsbury’s Megan Walsh and Kyra Workman. After dropping the first set and trailing 5-4 in the second set, Ciarrocchi and Hederick dug down to win the next three games and the set 7-5 to force a deciding third set. In the third set, Ciarrocchi and Hederick got an important hold to take a 3-1 lead after the set opened with three consecutive breaks of serve. After Radnor held to take a 3-1 lead, the Raiders rolled to the 6-1 win and clinch a spot in the finals.
Shipley defeated Westtown, 4-1, Oct. 18. For the Gators, Tori Allen (first singles), Lilia Becker (second singles) and Audrey Fink (third singles) all won in straight sets.

Girls’ volleyball
Academy of Notre Dame (14-3, 7-1) defeated Villa Maria Academy, 3-1, Monday on its Senior Day by scores of 25-18, 25-22, 24-26 and 26-24. Senior co-captains led the way, with Riley Shaak scoring 13 kills and five aces while Maddie Donaphon collected 27 digs and four aces.
Notre Dame defeated host Springside Chestnut Hill, 3-0, Oct. 18, posting scores of 25-14, 26-24 and 25- 12. Marissa Bruno finished with 28 assists while Riley Shaak and Gracie Guerin served up 11 aces.
The Irish defeated Academy Park 3-0, Oct. 17, posting scores of 25-12, 25-21, 25-14. Keegan Bradley and Sara McDougall combined on offense with 13 kills while Brynn Pippet and Marissa Bruno served up nine aces.
Two days earlier, Notre Dame libero Maddie Donaphon, a Northeastern University commit, made her 1,000th dig as the Irish swept Baldwin School 3-0 by scores of 25-19; 25-20 and 25-18. Katie Herrington combined with Amelia Swan to score 11 kills to provide the offense.
Agnes Irwin lost to Lawrenceville School, 3-1, Oct. 17, posting scores of 25-12, 10-25, 21-25 and 16-25. The Owls’ biggest contributors were co-captain Colby Yoh (five blocks, three kills), Dayna Thomas (five digs, 17 assists) and Reaghan Pagano (three aces).
Two days earlier, the Owls lost a close match to Germantown Academy, 3-2, posting scores of 15-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-27, 16-14. The Owls were led by Gold Mehl (five kills, five aces) and senior captain Colby Yoh (five kills).
Baldwin School lost to Agnes Irwin, 3-0, Oct. 19, posting scores of 15-25, 20-25 and 23-25. Leading the Polar Bears were Olivia Stratton (20 assists), Anajah Brown (10 kills, six blocks), Ryan Shelton (five kills, two blocks), Joelle Pearlstein (five kills), Jada Williams (three kills), Hanna Maier (two aces, six digs) and Elise Kait (12 digs).
The Polar Bears defeated MsST Charter, 3-0, Oct. 16, posting scores of 25-22, 25-17 and 25-10. Leading the Polar Bears were Olivia Stratton (26 assists, three aces), Tessa Pearlstein (10 kills), Ryan Shelton (six kills), Anajah Brown (five kills), Joelle Pearlstein (four kills), Jada Williams (four kills), Elise Kait (eight digs) and Talia Viroslav (two aces).
One day earlier, the Polar Bears lost to Academy of Notre Dame, 3-0, posting scores of 19-25, 20-25 and 18-25. Leading the Polar Bears were Tessa Pearlstein (12 kills), Olivia Stratton (13 assists), Elise Kait (13 digs), Anajah Brown (five blocks) and Ryan Shelton (three aces).
Lower Merion defeated Radnor, 3-0, Oct. 16, posting scores of 25-10, 25-10, 25-21. Talia Bierschwale had 11 digs while Adi David and Sara Beqiraj had 10 assists apiece. Sophomore Laila Newborn added four blocks to break the all-time school record for blocks in a season (heading into the District 1 playoffs, she had 75 blocks).

Water polo
Episcopal Academy (girls) defeated Hill School, 9-7, Oct. 17. Contributors included Katie Brian (eight saves, five steals), Jovana Sekulic (two goals, two assists, eight steals, two kick outs drawn) and Alex Swanepole (two goals, one shot block, two steals).
Haverford School (21-1) defeated Penn Charter, 20-10, Oct. 17. The Fords were led by Ryan LaRocca (four goals), Matej Sekulic (three goals, two assists, three steals), Grayson Walker (three goals) and Jack Deppen (two goals, four assists).
Malvern Prep (10-10) defeated Friends’ Central, 16-9, Oct. 17. Chris Krein scored three goals, while Jack Cassidy, Eric Yablonski and Brendan McLaughlin each had a pair of goals to lead the Malvern offense.

Golf
Conestoga junior Morgan Lofland was tied for 10th after the first round of the PIAA Class AAA Boys Golf Championship, shooting a 4-over-par 75 Monday at the Heritage Hills Golf Club in York. The final round was played Tuesday, after this issue of Main Line Times & Suburban went to press. Final results are pubished at www.PAPrepLive.com and will be published in the Nov. 3 issue of the Main Line Times & Suburban.
Devon Prep junior Ryan McCabe was one stroke off the lead after the first round of the PIAA Class AA Boys Golf Championship, shooting a 2-over-par 73 Monday at the Heritage Hills Golf Club in York. The final round was played Tuesday, after this issue of Main Line Times & Suburban went to press. Final results are pubished at www.PAPrepLive.com and will be published in the Nov. 3 issue of the Main Line Times & Suburban.
Lower Merion freshman Sydney Yermish held the first-round lead in the PIAA Class AAA Girls Golf Championship, shooting an even par 72 Monday at the Heritage Hills Golf Club in York. The final round was played Tuesday, after this issue of Main Line Times & Suburban went to press. Final results are pubished at www.PAPrepLive.com and will be published in the Nov. 3 issue of the Main Line Times & Suburban.

Cross country
Agnes Irwin finished fifth at the Inter-Ac Girls Cross Country Championships Monday. The Owls were led by sophomore Sarah Toth (22nd) and senior Caroline Shannon (23rd).
Academy of Notre Dame placed second at the Inter-Ac Girls Cross Country Championships Monday. Theresa Trainer and Lindsey Smith finished third and fourth, respectively, The Irish were topped by first-place finisher Penn Charter, 41-47. Cara Stevenson (ninth) also was in the top 10 for ND.
Episcopal Academy earned its first Inter-Ac League boys cross country title since 2015 Monday. Owen Maier (third), Bradley French (sixth) and Connor Hanrahan (eighth) placed in the top 10 to lead Episcopal Academy. Charlie Kraftson (11th) and William Sargent (19th) rounded out the scoring for the Churchmen. Maier finished in 17:17.20 to help EA edge Germantown Academy, 47-49, for the team title. 
For the Episcopal Academy girls, Jilliana McEntee finished sixth and Alexandra Gobran was 10th. 
Haverford School was led at the Inter-Ac Boys Cross Country Championships by AJ Sanford (fifth), Lleyton Winslow (14th) and Ben Szathmary (15th).

Before last week, the Perkiomen School girls volleyball team had lost three times to Academy of the New Church in the 2019 season.

Those three losses seem like ancient history after the two teams’ most recent match.

The Panthers proved they could beat ANC with a five-set win Oct. 15 to end the regular season tied for a share of the Tri-County League title. Perk School followed that up in the postseason with a 3-0 sweep over ANC in Thursday’s TCL championship match, winning by scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-19.

Lualis Alvarado had 25 kills, Paola Mejias had 29 assists and Sophia Taylor had four kills and three tips to help the Panthers claim the championship win.

Pope John Paul II 3, Mount Saint Joseph 0 >> The Golden Panthers won in straight set (26-24, 25-17 and 25-19) to earn a trip to the District 1-3A championship game. 

PJP will face Villa Maria at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Harrtion High School in a rematch of last year’s district championship, which Villa won 3-0. PJP has now appeared in a district title game in all seven seasons since 2013.

Sarah Ward and Hanna Tulli had 10 kills followed by seven kills for Julia Durand to lead PJP in Thursday’s win. Chelseas Harvey had 33 assists and two aces. Téa Pasquale finished with 15 digs and three aces.

Downingtown East 3, Methacton 0 >> The Warriors’ season ended with a 25-12, 25-10, 25-15 sweep at the hands of third-seeded Downingtown East in the District 1-4A second round.

Elly Brunt had 24 digs. Melinda Eglinton tallied five kills, one ace, seven digs and a block. Alli Hazlett finished with five kills and one block, and Sydney Zerbe added three kills one ace, four digs, one block. Maid Roth rounded out the Warriors’ leaders with 14 assists and two digs.

Girls soccer

Spring-Ford 1, Downingtown East 0 OT >> Vania Mokonchu scored the game-winner in the second overtime to lift the No. 11 seed Rams past No. 6 Downingtown East in a second round District 1-4A playoff game.

Spring-Ford (17-5) advanced to face No. 3 Conestoga Saturday at 2 p.m.

Girls tennis

Perkiomen School 4, Barrack Ac. 1 >> The Panthers won the Tri-County League’s team tournament Thursday, capping the day with their domination of J.M. Barrack Hebrew Academy.

Perkiomen swept the singles bracket against Barrack, Julia Kelly handled Megan Grob at first singles 6-2, 6-4; Kate Galant topped Shira Stein at second singles 6-2, 6-0; and Helena Balzer outlasted Janie Hershman at third singles 7-5, 6-0.

In doubles play, the Panthers’ first team of Abirami Chinnakarruppan and Sara Oswald beat Ruby Benjamin and Sami Savitz 6-1, 7-6. Barrack’s second-doubles tandem of Marie Rudolph and Alsu Stepanova won 6-4, 7-5.

Perkiomen scored nine points to Barrack’s six. Kimberton Waldorf had four, and AIM Academy one in a competition that included Delaware Valley Friends School.

Boys golf

Perkiomen School golf won it’s annual Fall invitational.  Perkiomen led the field of 5 teams in the 18 hole match played at Buttervalley, par 72. The Panthers finished with a team score of 259 followed by AIM Academy with a 261, followed by Church Farm School, Collegium Charter and Woodlynde school. Andrew Miller from AIM led the field with a 77. Perkiomen’s score were Ben Griffaton 82, Pierce Laessig 85 and Alexa Eisenbeis 92.

Newtown Square >> Episcopal Academy girls tennis coach Whitaker Powell knows each season can be special in its own way. This year was no different, as the Churchwomen captured the Inter-Ac title.
Powell got a quick glance of just how special this season was going to be at the first Inter-Ac match when his team traveled to Baldwin for a key league match-up that would definitely carry title implications.
With his No. 3 doubles team of senior Natalie Johnston and Junior Madison Hanssens firmly in control of what would be an eventual 6-0, 6-0 win to clinch the match against Baldwin on September 9, Powell looked over and saw the rest of his team sitting together supporting the remaining players on the court in what would eventually be a 5-2 win.
With that image planted in his mind, he knew something special was on the horizon. The only question remaining – how special?
“The term special for the season really comes from the group of girls,” said Powell. “They definitely had talent, but talent only gets them so far. This particular group had never won anything so I was impressed with how hard they worked to improve each and every day. Obviously starting off with Baldwin was a tremendous test due to their talent and coaching but once we overcame that hurdle, we moved on to the next challenge. As I told them after that match, it only means something if we win the next one. That was the mantra of the team … next point, next game, next set, next match.”
With each season being different in terms of players and playing position, the constants of tennis being an individual sport with a team concept on the high school level along with a team-first culture remain the same.
“Every tennis team I have been a part of at Episcopal has always been a close group,” said senior co-captain Cara Harty, who plays No. 1 doubles with junior Eliza Aldridge. “I’ve had great captains to learn from, who would always make everyone feel included no matter what grade you are in. Caroline and I have tried to incorporate some team activities, like team dinners, to create a bond off the court. Our group naturally gets along very well so our efforts have been to help facilitate and improve that bond.”
Following their win over Baldwin, the Churchwomen knew it was only the first step towards an Inter-Ac title.
With the mindset of taking one match at a time and seeing different players step up each match and make key contributions, the Churchwomen would earn hard fought victories throughout the season that culminated against Germantown Academy with a 4-3 win to clinch the outright Inter-Ac crown.
“Winning the Inter-Ac was a huge accomplishment for our team,” said senior co-captain Caroline Burt, who plays No. 2 doubles with junior Georgie Crockett. “It would prove to all of us that our hard work paid off. We are taught to have the mindset of the next match being the most important one, but we constantly have the thought of the Inter-Ac title in the back of our minds. We knew who our biggest competitors were coming into the season, but we knew we had to play our best each match in order to come out on top.”
Playing a three singles – four doubles format indicates that even with a strong singles line-up you need to have strong doubles teams as a complement in order to gain the four points necessary to win the match.
For the 2019 season, Episcopal had both and it showed throughout the season with EA clinching the match with different positions on the ladder each day.
Senior Natalie Johnston added, “That fact that someone different has come through and won the match for us really reinforces the fact that we are playing as a team and working together towards a common goal.”
Comprising the EA team was sophomore Ashley Kennedy playing No. 1 singles, Freshman Stephania Calastri playing No. 2 singles and sophomore Maddy Mitchell at No. 3 singles. The doubles line-up was filled with experience with Aldridge and Harty playing No. 1 doubles, Burt and Johnston, who played No. 2 doubles once his roster was finalized, Crockett and Hanssens played No. 3 doubles once the roster was finalized and the combination of freshmen Maggie Dugery, Maggie Lo, junior Hollis duPont and freshman Riya Mukherjee) played No. 4 doubles.

Episcopal Academy celebrates capturing the Banner vs. Agnes Irwin.

Newtown Square >> Last weekend was a banner one for Episcopal Academy, as the EA girls’ and boys’ teams won both the Banner and coveted Sweater against long-time rivals Agnes Irwin (girls) and Haverford School (boys).
“Everyone [at EA] shares in this success,” said Episcopal Academy Athletic Director Gina Buggy. “It has been a hugely successful fall season. Capping this off with winning back the Sweater and keeping the Banner creates incredible excitement for our school community.”
It was a whirlwind weekend, including nine contests and school spirit that culminated with an all-school Pep Rally Nov. 8. The results were as follows:
EA wins Banner
EA-Agnes Irwin Day Nov. 8 brought blustery winds and temperatures in the 30s, and the EA tennis (5-2), cross country (20-37), and field hockey (5-1) teams were victorious and secured the Banner with a 3-1 win over AIS.
Agnes Irwin won the soccer battle 1-0, getting a goal from Nicole Pansini in the first half. AIS goalie Amelia Leyden recorded 12 saves.
“It was a very exciting weekend for our entire community,” said EA girls’ tennis coach Whit Powell. “I am proud of the girls winning a tennis match in very difficult conditions. More importantly, I was impressed with how they handled themselves amongst a ‘non-tennis’ atmosphere and won, as they have all season, as a team.”
EA girls’ cross-cuntry coach Lauren Finnical said, “Our cross country team ran a strong race in cold and windy conditions. We have been working all season on running in packs, closing the gaps, and focusing on effort. Our runners executed that well on Friday. Winning the Banner and the Sweater is an awesome way to cap off the fall season.”
For the EA field hockey team (19-1-1, 9-0-1), Ashley Sessa scored twice, and Macy Szukics dished out two assists and scored one goal. EA goalie Gianna Cilluffo recorded five saves.
“Our spirited rivalry with AIS and Haverford did not disappoint,” said Buggy, who is also the EA field hockey head coach. “The field hockey team came out strong and put up four goals on the way to a 5-1 victory. The win capped off an undefeated Inter-Ac championship season. It was a total team effort in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd.”
EA wins Sweater
On EA-Haverford Day Nov. 9, the EA boys’ cross country team ran away with the first win of the day. EA was victorious over Haverford (24-32) with runners finishing in first, third, fifth, sixth and ninth places. The Fords won the golf match at Aronimink Golf Club, 148-152.
In water polo, Haverford School (27-1, 8-0) completed an undefeated Inter-Ac season, winning 18-6. Ryan LaRocca collected seven goals and three assists, and Jake LaRocca added three goals to pace the Fords. Dave Gabora pitched in with two goals, two assists and four steals.
In boys’ soccer, EA secured the next win of the day (1-0). It was the first time the boys’ soccer team has won on EA/Haverford/AIS Weekend since November 12, 2005 on EA’s Merion campus. Jackson Tuma put home a pass from Eddie Jones in the first half and that’s all the Churchmen (6-9-4 overall, 4-6 Inter-Ac) would need to win the soccer game, 1-0. Goalie Trevor Manion took care of the rest with eight saves for the shutout. Will Boyes made three saves in goal for the Fords, who would be taking on Kiski School Nov. 13 for the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) title.
“We knew that cross country had won and that golf was tight,” said EA boys’ soccer head coach David Knox. “But we didn’t want to know any other scores. The team remained focused, determined, disciplined and worked together for the win, outworking Haverford. The scene at the end with the students flooding the field was awesome for the seniors and the team to experience.”
EA’s football team earned a 38-28 win to determine the rights to the Sweater and this year’s Inter-Ac championship title.
“This was the second time in three years we have won the Sweater and our third consecutive win over Haverford in football,” said EA football head coach Todd Fairlie. “This was the culmination of all of our hard work. We played our best football of the year on Saturday.”
“Our faculty, administrators, plant personnel, and fans are instrumental in hosting and supporting this rivalry weekend,” said Buggy. “Everyone shares a part in winning the Banner and Sweater. It is team work at its best.”
“I’m especially happy for our seniors and for Ms. Buggy,” said Finnical.
“It was a thrilling weekend for EA,” said Buggy, who is retiring in June after 34 years at EA.

RADNOR >> The Radnor High School girls’ tennis team had one of the best doubles teams in the state this fall in senior co-captains Kanon Ciarrocchi and Lucy Hederick.

The Radnor duo captured the Central League doubles tournament, the PIAA District 1 doubles tournament, and advanced to the championship final of the PIAA Class AAA state doubles tournament, losing a three-set match.

Ciarrocchi has played first singles for the Raiders and been team MVP each of the past three years, and has won more than 100 matches in her four- year varsity career. Last year, she was the Central League singles champion, and this fall she posted a record of 30-3, earning first team All-Central League singles honors. One of her most satisfying singles wins this fall was a victory against Conestoga standout Ananya Krishnan that enabled Radnor to edge the Pioneers 4-3.

Ciarrocchi paired with Hederick to win the PIAA District 1 3A doubles championship final against Conestoga’s Olivia Dodge and Leena Kwak, 6-2, 7-5.
“Our win in the finals was especially memorable because we were playing our friends Olivia and Leena, who we also played in the Central League final,” said Ciarrocchi.

Her Radnor partner, Hederick, has won more than 100 matches for the Raiders in her four-year varsity career, had a record of 31-5 this fall, and was a second team All-Central League selection for singles.

Hederick, who advanced to the state quarterfinals of the PIAA state doubles tournament last year, teamed with Ciarrocchi in the district doubles semifinal to overcome a 6-4 loss in the first set to Pennsbury’s Megan Walsh and Kyra Workman to prevail, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

“My most vivid memory of district doubles was when Kanon and I were down 4-5 in the second set in the semifinal against Pennsbury and we were able to channel our frustration in order to win the match and go on to the finals,” said Hederick. “I think my best match in doubles was in the district finals for a similar reason – I was consistent from the baseline and aggressive at the net and was even able to serve out the match.”

In the first round of the state doubles tournament, the Radnor duo faced the Shady Side Academy pair of senior Elle Santora and junior Renee Long. Santora was part of the doubles pair that defeated Ciarrocchi and Hederick in the state doubles tourney last year. This time, the Radnor pair prevailed, 6-4, 6-4.
Ciarrocchi said, “We knew we were going to have a tough match. We played our hardest and I was so proud of us when we managed to get the win.”

In the state finals against the Peters Township pair of Kat Wang and Marra Bruce, Ciarrocchi and Hederick won the second set, but lost in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6.

Hederick said, “The moment when the finals ended was such a bittersweet moment because I was sad that we had lost and our season was officially over, but proud of how far we had come and how successful we had been.”
The Radnor duo play well off each other’s strengths.

“I think Lucy’s net play is naturally better than mine, and I think my baseline game is very strong,” said Ciarocchi. “We usually rely on my service games a lot because I can keep the rally going, while she waits for the opportunity to finish the point with a volley which I think worked very well.”

“I think Kanon has a great serve and is very strong from the baseline and can out-rally almost everyone, which often enables me to take over at the net by poaching,” said Hederick. “From a mental standpoint, she does a good job of helping calm me down when I’m frustrated whereas I can help us get fired up when we’re down.”

Both girls’ favorite tennis player is Roger Federer, whom they try to pattern their games after.

“In addition to his physical ability, he is very strong mentally, and I try to mimic this on the court by not getting too down on myself,” said Ciarrocchi.

“He is so poised on the court and never stops fighting,” said Hederick. “His style of play is also very effective and amazing to watch. I definitely try to pattern my game after Federer’s, especially my mentality and attitude since I really admire his ability to keep a level head under enormous amounts of pressure.”

While neither girl has selected a college yet, Ciarrocchi would like to major in international business, and said, “In the future I’d love to travel around the world for my job.”

Hederick, whose favorite subject at Radnor is biology, is considering a medical career, but is undecided as to a college major as of now.

Asked who was her top tennis mentor, Ciarrocchi responded, “My top tennis mentors have been my coach and my parents. My coach has helped me with my training and mental mindset on the court while my parents have always been my top supporters.”

Hederick said, “My top tennis mentors have been my coach, Julia Cohen, and my mom. Julia helped me become a more consistent player and taught me how to better manage my nerves and frustration on the court. My mom was the one who signed me up for tennis lessons and eventually clinics in the first place and always motivated me to keep pushing myself on and off the court.”

Radnor girls’ tennis head coach Pat Kurz said, “Kanon and Lucy are two outstanding young women, who have contributed so much to the team’s success over the last four years, and I believe will contribute much to whatever they do with the rest of their lives. As their coach I will miss them very much.”

Citizen Award Winners

Boyertown: Aimee Toscano
Methacton: Jessica Lineen
Norristown: Bryce Carroll
Owen J. Roberts: Mikayla Niness
Perkiomen Valley: Kyle Rittenhouse
Phoenixville: Quinn Hoffman
Pope John Paul II: Justin Mitala
Pottsgrove: Riley Simon
Pottstown: David Hicks
Spring-Ford: Ryan Kolander
Upper Merion: Jillian Demcher
Upper Perkiomen: Abigail Foreman

Academic Award Winners

BOYERTOWN: Abigayle Nafus, cheerleading; Eric Muthersbaugh, boys cross country; Sabrina Bergey, girls cross country; Madison Rhodes, field hockey; Noah Segal, football; Carmen Rosselli, boys golf; Kylie Wood, girls golf; Jacob Groff, boys soccer; Lauren Moccia, girls soccer; Natalie Zaleski, girls soccer; Zydrel Tancino, girls volleyball.

METHACTON: Kaitlyn Clark, cheerleading; Jack Kapralick, boys cross country; Sydney Tobin, girls cross country; Liz Chipman, field hockey; Michael Torcini, football; Trevor Keaton, boys golf; Cerise Walker, girls golf; Andrew Kacala, boys soccer; Rachel O’Toole, girls soccer; Karen Li, girls tennis; Nya Cherry, girls volleyball.

NORRISTOWN: Lauren Rivera, cheerleading, Issac Vasquez, boys cross country; Valerie Tellez, girls cross country; Bailee Hendricks, field hockey; Bryce Allen, football; Sean O’Connor, boys golf; Max Guzman, boys soccer; Jane Baker, girls soccer; Paige Kay-Conway, girls tennis; Julianna McNamee, girls volleyball.

OWEN J. ROBERTS: Camryn Rogers, cheerleading; John-Patrick Duffy, boys cross country; Mikayla Niness, girls cross country; Kendall McNeff, field hockey; Thomas McLean, football; Samuel Diehl, boys golf; Zebulon Smith, boys soccer; Sophie Marks, girls soccer; Claire Feltenberger, girls tennis; Jordyn Chambers, girls volleyball.

PERKIOMEN VALLEY: Sierra Novabilski, cheerleading; Tyler Woolsey, boys cross country; Avery Taylor, girls cross country; Kelly Baitinger, field hockey; Mike Dougherty, football; Andrew Donnelly, boys golf; Julie Neild, girls golf; Joshua Sabio, boys soccer; Madison Reehl, girls soccer; Nour Mimouni, girls tennis; Sydney Schoenewald, girls volleyball.

PHOENIXVILLE: Alexandra Dabrowski, cheerleading; Sean Lukowski, boys cross country; Sara Sabo, girls cross country; Cassidy Stevens, field hockey; Tyler Pekofsky, football; Parker Stevens, boys golf; Rylie Bird, girls golf; Nathan McMullen, boys soccer; Lily White, girls soccer; Madelyn Fisher, girls tennis; Natalie Detweiler, girls volleyball.

POPE JOHN PAUL II: Kayleigh Niwinski, cheerleading; Michael McElroy, boys cross country; Sarah Abruzzo, girls cross country; Kathleen Schiele, field hockey; Justin Mitala, football; Logan Beyer, boys golf; Bethany Julias, girls golf; Giacomo Badalamenti, boys soccer; Julia Patterson, girls soccer; Lauren Keefe, girls tennis; Haley Spotts, girls volleyball.

POTTSGROVE: Cassia O’Brien, cheerleading; Simon Keen, boys cross country; Naomi Hillen, girls cross country; Kathryn Henriksen, field hockey; Joe Silvestri, football;
Steven Rinda, boys golf; Caleb Hockstuhl, boys soccer; Rebecca Delp, girls soccer; Mya Krueger, girls tennis; Kaith Gillin, girls volleyball.

POTTSTOWN: Madison Friedman, cheerleading; Darius Smallwood, boys cross country; Ariana Torres, girls cross country; Winni Weng, field hockey; David Hicks, football; Dylan Maximenko, boys soccer; Julianna Figueroa, girls soccer; Jesseny Redrovan, girls tennis.

SPRING-FORD: Juliane Ryan, cheerleading; Alexander Benton, boys cross country; Kayla Breisch, girls cross country; Lauren Constantine, field hockey; Blake Terrizzi, football; Sean Pham, boys golf; Felicity Thatcher, girls golf; Liam Murray, boys soccer; Gabriella Curry, girls soccer; Jenna Tumelty, girls tennis; Erin McGrann, girls volleyball.

UPPER MERION: Brianna Hill, cheerleading; Siddharth Patel, boys cross country; Claire Becker, girls cross country; Samantha Deskiewicz, field hockey; Keith Boyle, football; Justin Kravitz, boys golf; Audrey Schnebel, girls golf; Brian Vo, boys soccer; Riley Eaton, girls soccer; Mariah Nguyen, girls tennis; Sophia Gammarino, girls volleyball.

UPPER PERKIOMEN: Kyleigh Danasko, cheerleading; Kenneth Markwalter, boys cross country; Isabella Ferreira, girls cross country; Victoria Williams, field hockey; Ethan Rundell, football; Zachary Rozanski, boys golf; Dean Miller, boys soccer; Leah Marks, girls soccer; Kayli Clemens, girls tennis.

There was an abundance of talent at the top of Spring-Ford’s lineup this fall.

Three players — Riley Burke, Cady Krause, Isabel Mejia — were part of a spirited competition to see who would be the team’s first singles player this past fall. They dueled in the preseason for the right to be atop the Rams’ ladder.

It was Krause who emerged from the competition with the upper hand over her upper-classmen teammates.

The precocious freshman then managed to stay a step ahead of her Pioneer Athletic Conference opponents and teammates to claim both the league’s singles championship and Mercury All-Area Player of the Year honors.

Krause capped a near-perfect roll through the PAC’s regular season by winning 10 of 11 league matches. She then keyed Spring-Ford’s domination of the PAC Singles Tournament — it occupied three of four semifinal spots, that despite Krause being the lone Ram among the top four seeds — with a spirited three-set final against Mejia.

“It was unexpected,” Krause said of her successful freshman season. “It was pretty close. Both (Isabel and Riley) are very good.”

Despite being a rookie, Spring-Ford head coach Todd Reagan was impressed by Krause’s on-court demeanor.

“Cady did a good job staying nice and even-keeled,” he said. “She doesn’t get too high or too low. She’s focused, intent, determined.

“It’s always a testament to ability when a player performs like that as a freshman. She put in hard work over the past couple years.”

Spring-Ford’s Cady Krause won the Pioneer Athletic Conference girls tennis singles championship this season. (Barry Taglieber – For MediaNews Group)

Krause (11-6 overall) rolled up pro-set victories in the opening rounds of PAC singles. The tournament’s third seed first dispatched Pottstown’s Abby Parson 8-2, then handled Methacton’s Irene Bijoy in the second, 8-5.

The quarterfinals saw her extended to three sets by Upper Merion’s Rhea Desai. But Krause finished strong, her 6-1 victory in the third set complementing a 6-0 victory in the first.

“The third match, when I played her during the season, it was close,” Krause said. “In PACs, I controlled points more.”

In the semifinals against Pope John Paul II second seed Veronica Marinari, Krause was solid in a 6-2, 6-4 straight-set duel. That put her against Mejia, the Ram fifth seed coming off a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 contest with eighth-seeded Burke.

In another three-set match, Krause prevailed over Mejia 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

“The finals was harder,” Krause recalled. “We were both tired, and the match dragged on to three sets.

“I tried to stay focused, not let up as playing. I tried to go with the first serve working … move her around a lot.”

Spring-Ford’s Cady Krause competes. (MediaNews Group File)

With that, Krause qualified for her first District 1-AAA singles tourney as the PAC’s top seed. Her post-season ended abruptly, though, in a 6-1, 6-0 loss to Conestoga’s Ananya Krishnan.

“It was very challenging,” Krause said of her district experience. “The competition level was a little harder than I was used to.”

But it did not obscure Krause’s progression in a sport which saw her start out by participating in clinics at Frog Hollow Racquet Club.

“I like the competitive aspect,” she said. “At Frog Hollow, I was able to get my backhand shots deeper.”

The refinement of her game continued at Spring-Ford, complemented by the input from her parents — they both play the sport — to “go for shots.”

“I tried to move up on the ball, to be more aggressive,” Krause added. “I think I improved on that.”

First Team

Riley Burke, Spring-Ford, Sr.

Julia Kelly, Perkiomen School, Sr.

Cady Krause, Spring-Ford, Fr.

Isabel Mejia, Spring-Ford, So.

Tyne Miller, Hill School, Sr.

Elena Zhang, Hill School, Sr.

Second Team

Singles

Sierra Everett, Owen J. Roberts

Kate Galant, Perkiomen School

Kay Mahon, Perkiomen Valley

Veronica Marinari, Pope John Paul II

Emma Schultz, Perkiomen School

Nadja Townsend, Perkiomen Valley

Doubles

Casey Goldstein/Lucy Olsen, Spring-Ford

Olivia Newman/Emily Shoemaker, Perkiomen Valley

Joanna Zheng/Ashmitha Sivakumar, Methacton

Katie Chan/Hannah Kim, Methacton

Honorable Mention

Boyertown: Natalie Wood, Natalie Zaleski.

Daniel Boone: Mallory Barndt, Abbey Cleaver, Jordan Houck

Methacton: Shrinidhi Dandibhotla, Sian Ford-Barkley.

Owen J. Roberts: Alexis Carr, Claire Feltenberger, Allie Iyoob, Lien Nguyen, Sonya Soeder, Jordan Sylvia.

Perkiomen School: Helena Balzer, Abirami Chinnakaruppan, Sara Oswald.

Perkiomen Valley: Kaitlyn Murphy, Meghana Sahasrabuddhe, Gracie Strohecker.

Phoenixville: Isabelle Butera, Rosa Gerner.

Pope John Paul II: Maggie Christiansen.

Pottsgrove: Mya Krueger.

Spring-Ford: Breanna Weigelt, Lana Hang, Emma Griffin, Hannah Sharkey, Lauren Saladino Tang, Alyssa Sharma

Upper Merion: Rhea Desai.

Coach of the Year

Todd Reagan, Spring-Ford

Led Rams to dominant showing in Pioneer Athletic Conference this fall. Team swept through PAc’s regular season, posting an 11-0 record; it had the top three players in the PAC Singles Tournament in Cady Krause, Isabel Mejia and Riley Burke; Mejia and Burke also won the PAC’s Doubles Tournament.

Boys Cross Country

2019 Mercury All-Area Boys Cross Country Teams

Tyler Clifford, Perkiomen Valley

Girls Cross Country

2019 Mercury All-Area Girls Cross Country Teams

Claire Zubey, Owen J. Roberts

Girls Tennis

2019 Mercury All-Area Girls Tennis Teams

Cady Krause, Spring-Ford

Field Hockey

2019 Mercury All-Area Field Hockey Teams

AiYi Young, Upper Perkiomen

Football

2019 Mercury All-Area Football Teams

Ryan Engro, Spring-Ford

Boys Soccer

2019 Mercury All-Area Boys Soccer Teams

Ryan Foskey, Boyertown

Girls Soccer

2019 Mercury All-Area Girls Soccer Teams

Camilla Kuever, Boyertown

Girls Volleyball

2019 Mercury All-Area Girls Volleyball Teams

Chelsea Harvey, Pope John Paul II

Golf

2019 Mercury All-Area Golf Teams

Josh Ryan, Norristown

Bryn mawr >> The Baldwin School announced its five fall Most Valuable Players at its recent Awards Night. The MVPs were: junior Jasmine Bell, cross country; junior Alice Zehner, field hockey; senior Alex Loomis, soccer; senior Torrie Smith, tennis; and junior Olivia Stratton, volleyball.
The captains for the fall 2020 season also were announced as follows: cross country – juniors Jasmine Bell and Maddy Brown; field hockey – juniors Melissa Hans and Alice Zehner’ soccer – juniors Rani Bleznak, Ellie Capuano and Taylor Levinson; tennis – juniors Presley Daggett and Berlyn Squillaro; volleyball – juniors Asia Blocker and Olivia Stratton.
Those who received All-Inter-Ac honors were announced as follows: first team soccer – senior Alex Loomis; second team soccer – sophomores Clara Page and Brianna Wright; first team tennis – sophomore Izzy Antanavicius, junior Presley Daggett, senior Torrie Smith; first team volleyball – junior Tessa Pearlstein; second team volleyball – junior Elise Kait.

EAST WHITELAND >> The snowglobe that is the Ches-Mont League is close to being shaken once again.

Great Valley will likely join the Pioneer Athletic Conference beginning in the 2022-2023 season, according to multiple sources. The move is pending approval from the Great Valley school board.

Great Valley submitted its application to the Pioneer Athletic Conference, and that application was approved by the principals of PAC schools in a vote on Dec. 10, according to sources.

Pioneer Athletic Conference President Pat Nugent, the Spring-Ford High School principal, confirmed the vote Thursday morning: “On Tuesday, December 10, the Pioneer Athletic Conference voted to approve the Great Valley School District as a member of our conference starting with the 2022-2023 school year, pending approval of the Great Valley school board of directors,” Nugent released in a statement.

Efforts to reach Great Valley officials were not successful at the time of posting.

The school, which was an original member of the Ches-Mont League, has been a Pioneer Athletic Conference member in the past. The Patriots played in what was then the 10-school Pioneer Athletic Conference from 1988 until it returned to the Ches-Mont in 2002.

Great Valley is the northern-most school in the Ches-Mont, and would become the southern-most school in the PAC. The Pioneer Athletic Conference expanded to 12 schools in 2016 with the addition of Upper Merion and Norristown, schools both in close proximity to Great Valley. Neighbor and longtime rival Phoenixville is also a PAC school.

In addition to those three schools, the PAC includes schools along the Route 422 corridor: Methacton, Spring-Ford, Perkiomen Valley, Owen J. Roberts, Pottsgrove, Pottstown, Upper Perkiomen, Boyertown and Pope John Paul II.

The addition of Great Valley would elevate the PAC to 13 schools. The conference is aligned in two divisions, the large-school Liberty Division and smaller-school Frontier Division. As a 5A football school, Great Valley would align in size with Frontier Division schools. 

The Ches-Mont recently reshuffled divisions slightly, at least for football, with the largest schools making up the National Division and the others in the American, including Great Valley.

Octorara was the last school to leave the Ches-Mont, heading to District 3 and the Lancaster-Lebanon League two seasons ago.

These honors are chosen by the Ches-Mont League coaches in each sport.

BOYS’ SOCCER

NATIONAL DIVISION

1st Team:

Kevin Kiefer, WC Henderson, Sr

Tyler Reid, WC Henderson, Sr.

Tino Kneis, WC Henderson, So.,

Rye Jarran, Downingtown West, Sr.

Tobiaz Diaz-Fragas, Downingtown West, Sr.

Eric McFarland, Coatesville, Sr.

Luke Albergo, WC East, Sr.

Chris Comber, Downingtown East, Sr.

Alex Floyd, Downingtown East, Sr.

Gavin Domsohn, B. Shahanan, Sr.

Connor Bailey, B. Shanahan, Sr.

2nd Team:

Ethan Jarden, WC Henderson, So.

Iraj Saha, WC Henderson, Sr.

Ethan Ernst, Downingtown West, Jr.

Kyle McWilliams, Downingtown West, Jr.

Jeff Devol, Avon Grove, Sr.

Niklas Nowak, WC East, So.

Jacob Blevins, Downingtown East, Sr.

Luc Rising, Downingtown East, So.

Brett McCartney, Downingtown East, Sr.

Zane Domsohn, B. Shanahan, So.

Michael Krause, B. Shanahan, Sr.

Honorable Mention:

Alex Gershman, WC Henderson, Sr.

Tommy DeAngelis, WC Henderson, Sr.

Connor Paige, Downingtown West, Sr.

Dylan Englehart, Downingtown West, Jr.

Matthew Cordell, Avon Grove, Sr.

Eric Bechtel, WC East, Jr.

Drew Murta, Downingtown East, Jr.

Chris Winndecker, Downingtown East, Jr.

Jonah Grim, Coatesville, Sr.

Colin Deal, B. Shanahan, So.

Evan Cunningham, B. Shanahan, So.

AMERICAN DIVISION

1st Team

Andrew DiStefano, Bayard Rustin, Sr.

Alex Dolce, Unionville, Sr.

Tyler Emig, Bayard Rustin, Jr.

Zoller Gray, Oxford, Jr.

Edwin Guerrero, Kennett, Sr.

Michael Hewes, Unionville, Sr.

Kyle Ketterer, Unionville, Jr.

Daniel Kunzig, Kennett, Sr.

Nate McKay, Great Valley, Sr.

Alex O’Leary, Unionville, Jr.

Garrett Pinkston, Unionville, Sr.

Matty Scoffone, Bayard Rustin, Sr.

2nd Team

Ian Baughman, Oxford, Sr.

Tyler Brooks, Oxford, Sr.

Bobbo Chambers, Sun Valley, Fr.

Evan Dougherty, Unionville, Sr.

Evan Hartman, Kennett, Jr.

Mohamed Hendawy, Bayard Rustin, So.

Chase Segool, Sun Valley, Jr.

David Siguenza, Great Valley, Sr.

Ryan Vaughan, Sun Valley, Sr.

Quintin Wrabley, Great Valley, Jr.

Christian Zavala, Kennett, Sr.

Honorable Mention

Jared Crawford, Oxford, Sr.

Grady Farrell, Unionville, Sr.

Tyler Koenig, Sun Valley, So.

Dimitri Makris, WC Rustin, So.

Zach Mannices, Kennett, Fr.

Thomas Poncet, Kennett, Sr.

Joey Schipiro, Sun Valley, Sr.

Gavin Seele, Kennett, So.

Matthew Wellener, Great Valley, Jr.

Ethan Williams, Great Valley, Jr.

Jackson Wisneski, Oxford, Sr.

GIRLS SOCCER

NATIONAL DIVISON

1ST TEAM

Kate Gordon, WC Henderson, Sr.

Riley Cantando, WC Henderson, Sr.

Alaina McLaughlin, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.

Loryn Walker, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.

Emily Buckner, Downingtown East, Sr.

Caroline McDonald, Downingtown East, So.

Maren Dougherty, Downingtown East, Sr.

Lauren Reimold, Downingtown East, Fr.

Maddie Greco, Downingtown West, So.

Jamie Perkins, Avon Grove, Sr.

Ashley Buchheit, Downingtown East, Sr.

2ND TEAM

Mary King, WC Henderson, Jr.

Julia Bixler, WC Henderson, Jr.

Emily Longenderfer, Bishop Shanahan, So.

Ellie Udo, Bishop Shanahan, So.

Ella Marrollo, Downingtown East, Fr.

Meg Buckner, Downingtown East, Sr.

Rebecca March, Downingtown East, Sr.

Bridget Riley, Downingtown East, Jr.

Ava Rightmire, Downingtown West, Fr.

Maddie MacDonald, Avon Grove, So.

Meggan Kristman, Avon Grove, Sr.

HONORABLE MENTION

Taylor Turek, WC Henderson, Sr.

Allison Ringsdorf, Coatesville, So.

Julia Repetto, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.

Julia Marrone, Downingtown West, Sr.

Katie Hudachek, Downingtown East, Sr.

Delaney Pickerd, WC East, Sr.

Cosi Latshaw, Avon Grove, Jr.

AMERICAN DIVISION

1ST TEAM

Emma Gray, Great Valley, Sr.

Veronica Younce, Great Valley, Sr.

Elizabeth Cogan, Great Valley, Jr.

Mary Deitch, Great Valley, Jr.

Sara Darlington, Unionville, Jr.

Alex Wilson, Unionville, Jr.

Hayden Wilson, Unionville, Jr.

Gabbi Hoffmann, WC Rustin, Sr.

Riley Boyd, WC Rustin, Sr.

Jessie Rosser, Kennett, Sr.

Amelia Winters, Oxford, Sr.

2ND TEAM

Lauren Birchler, Great Valley, Sr.

Gillian Younce, Great Valley, So.

Rose Bleahan, Great Valley, So.

Jackie Hug, Unionville, Sr.

Hanna Firment, Unionville, Sr.

Julia Capparella, Unionville, Sr.

Grace Plona, WC Rustin, Sr.

Jama Keefer, WC Rustin, Jr.

Chiara Robinson, Sun Valley, Jr.

Jordan Barish, Kennett, Sr.

Dulce Villagomez, Oxford, Jr.

HONORABLE MENTION

Julia Dill, Great Valley, So.

Katie Borlie, Unionville, Sr.

Hope Donnelly, WC Rustin, Fr.

Katie Lacosta, Kennett, Sr.

Olivia Voss, Oxford, Fr.

Jackie Oldham, Sun Valley, Sr.

FIELD HOCKEY

NATIONAL DIVISION

1ST Team

Paige Wolfe, Downingtown East, Sr.

Carlee Fulton, WC East, Sr.

Lila McCulley, Avon Grove, Jr.

Ciana Riccardo, Downingtown West, Sr.

Lauren Bradley, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.

Gianna Cugino, WC Henderson, Jr.

Drew Taylor, Coatesville, Sr.

Tatum Johnson, Downingtown West, Sr.

Kari Schmidt, Downingtown West, Jr.

Sophia Mangasarian, WC East, Sr.

Emma Leppert, Bishop Shanahan, Jr.

2nd Team

Kira Balcavage, Avon Grove, Sr.

Rachel Swink, Downingtown East, Sr.

Sydney Scully, WC East, Sr.

Gianna Jaszczak, Downingtown West, So.

Bella D’Alessandra, Bishop Shanahan, Jr.

Olivia Ingram, WC Henderson, Jr.

Lainey McGaughey, Coatesville, So.

Madison Parke, Bishop Shanahan, Sr.

Ciara Margetich, Downingtown West, Fr.

Ava Irwin, Downingtown East, Sr.

Angelina Luongo, Bishop Shanahan, Jr.

Honorable Mention

Ashley Pizak, Downingtown West, Fr.

Katie Keating, Bishop Shanahan, Jr.

Kya Effinger, Downingtown East, Sr.

Lily Willard, Coatesville, So.

Lauren Franco, WC Henderson, Jr.

Alexis Barnhardt, Avon Grove, Sr.

Kathryn Palmer, WC East, So.

AMERICAN DIVISION

1st Team

Steph Oleykowski, Kennett, Sr.

Claire Murphy, Unionville, Sr.

Morgan Becker, WC Rustin, Jr.

Ellie Almeida, Unionville, Fr.

Emma Schwarz, Kennett, Jr.

Tessa Liberatoscoli, Great Valley, Sr.

Dani Panati, Unionville, Jr.

Mia Gruce, Kennett, Jr.

Kennedy Graham, Great Valley, So.

Christine Ditizio, WC Rustin, So.

Ryan Curley, Great Valley, Sr.

2nd Team

Amanda Holz, Oxford, Jr.

Carly Stello, Great Valley, Sr.

Shalane Buck, Sun Valley, Sr.

Maya Trader, Sun Valley, Jr.

Katie Stubits, WC Rustin, Sr.

Vivian Chiomento, Kennett, So.

Taylor Krafchick, WC Rustin, So.

Ally Hoffmann, Unionville, Sr.

Maggie Lawrence, Unionville, Sr.

Devon Johnson, Kennett, Jr.

Kirsten Brennan, Oxford, Jr.

Honorable Mention

Lexi Haws, WC Rustin, Sr.

Ashton McCormick, Unionville, Jr.

Caleigh Dinsmore, Great Valley, So.

Sarah Burns, Kennett, Fr.

Brooke Rush, Oxford, Sr.

Eden VanDyke, Sun Valley, Sr.

VOLLEYBALL

AMERICAN DIVISION

First Team

Sophie Brenner, Unionville, Jr.

Kat Tuerff, Unionville, Sr.

Emily Supplee, WC Rustin, Sr.

Ashlyn Wiswall, Unionville, Jr.

Hannah Vickers, Sun Valley, Sr.

Kristine Guenther, Sun Valley, Jr.

Morgan Bitzberger, WC Rustin, Sr.

Second Team

Alex Seel, Kennett, Jr.

Maddy Lowe, Unionville, Fr.

Genna Weeber, Unionville, So.

Lidsay Gal, Great Valley, Sr.

Olivia Nickerson, Sun Valley, Sr.

Meg Dion, WC Rustin, Sr.

Rachel DiCarlo, Sun Valley, Sr.

Honorable Mention

Nicole Karwoski, Great Valley, Sr.

Savannah Applegate, Kennett, Sr.

Emily Washkalavitch, Oxford, So.

Jordan Thompson, Sun Valley, Jr.

Emily Harper, Unionville, So.

Emma Klanica, WC Rustin, Jr.

NATIONAL DIVISION

First Team

Amanda Ball, WC Henderson, Sr.

Jess Angeline, Downingtown East, Sr.

Cara Shultz, Shanahan, Sr.

Mia Caporelli, Shanahan, Sr.

Audrey Jones, Downingtown West, Sr.

Jill Curran, Downingtown East, Sr.

Grace Casagrande, Shanahan, Sr.

Second Team

Brooke Lauletta, Downingtown East, Sr.

Jordan Musantry, Downingtown East, Sr.

Coco Shultz, Shanahan, So.

Brooke Burns, Shanahan, Jr.

Lizzie Carr, West Chester East, So.

Maddie Weller, Downingtown West, Jr.

Kayleigh Sheridan, Coatesville, Sr.

Honorable Mention

Lacie Brown, Avon Grove, So.

Bridget Kelly, Shanahan, Jr.

Rachel Wertz, Downingtown East, Jr.

Jenna Schuda, Downingtown West, So.

Reilly Ragni, West Chester East, Sr.

Hope Ousey, WC Henderson, Sr.

BOYS GOLF

1st Team

Evan Drummond, Downingtown East, Sr.

Jack Cooley, Unionville, Sr.

Roy Anderson, Unionville, Jr.

Jon Passarello, Unionville, Sr.

Ross Charlton, Unionville, Sr.

Aaron Stypulkowski, WC East, So.

Dylan Kochis, WC Henderson, So.

Justin Cinnamond, WC Henderson, Sr.

Eric Miller, WC Rustin, So.

Ryan Dariano, WC Rustin, So.

Matt Feeney, WC Rustin, Sr.

2nd Team

Ben Saggers, Shanahan, Fr.

Jake Leon, Downingtown East, So.

Andrew McCook, Downingtown East, Jr.

Luke Mullen, Kennett, So.

Joseph Madden, Oxford, Jr.

Rocco Giannangeli, Oxford, Jr.

Stephen Starnes, Unionville, So.

Will Hage, Unionville, Sr.

Connor Martin, WC Rustin, Jr.

Honorable Mention

Patrick McManamon, Coatsvillle, Sr.

Jeremy Negron, Coatesville, Sr.

Matt Walsh, Downingtown East, Sr.

Thomas Harper, Downingtown West, Sr.

Logan Diehl, Great Valley, Jr.

Justin Minch, Sun Valley, Jr.

Connor Gallagher, WC East, So.

Casey Caufield, WC Henderson, Sr.

GIRLS GOLF

1st Team

Ava O’Sullivan, Downingtown East, So.

Anisha Sonti, Downingtown East, Sr.

Ava Lichok, Downingtown East, So.

Nimah Narinesingh-Smith, Kennett, Jr.

Mary Dunigan, Unionville, Fr.

Charlotte Scully, Unionville, Jr.

Victoria Kim, WC East, So.

Mary Emma Guldi, WC Rustin, Jr.

2nd TEAM

Isabella D’Ambrosio, Downingtown East, Jr.

Katelyn Samples, Downingtown East, Sr.

Maria Crowe, Downingtown East, So.

Rebecca Fields, Oxford, Sr.

Kaitlyn Ferrer, Unionville, Fr.

Morgan Santaguida, Unionville, Jr.

Molly Evanko, Unionville, Jr.

Honorable Mention

Cecily Eason, Avon Grove, So.

Rachel Schneberger, Downingtown West, Jr.

Celia Breslin, Downingtown West, Jr.

Hannah Critchley, Downingtown West, So.

Jordan Owen, Great Valley, So.

Mira Patel, Unionville, Fr.

Meghan Reilly, Unionville, Sr.

Claire Liu, Unionville, So.

GIRLS TENNIS

American Division Singles

Leah Walter, Unionville

Saanvi Garg, Unionville

Cassie Hung, WC Rustin

Brooke Oberly, Great Valley

American Division Doubles

Emma Schmidt-Lili Lusvardi, Kennett

Faith Ilgner-Jaclyn Santaguida, Unionville

Sophie Walter-Josie Liu, Unionville

National Division Singles

Ella Tunnell, WC Henderson

Lauren Knopp, WC Henderson

Tanya Pant, Downingtown West

Amber Nguyen, WC East

National Division Doubles

Ella Tunnell-Lauren Knop, WC Henderson

Tanya Pant-Sophia Koons, Downingtown West

Alyssa Dehart-Lily Shi, Downingtown West

Olivia Zoretic-Nancy McSwain, WC Henderson

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

1ST TEAM

Cole Walker, Unionville

Ethan McIntyre, Unionville

Gavin Maxwell, Kennett

Bruce Trimmer, Oxford

Sam Elsen, Unionville

Sean McDonald, Downingtown East

Aiden Barnhill, Downingtown West

Declan Rymer, Downingtown West

Holden Betz, Downingtown West

Ben Datte, Downingtown West

2ND TEAM

Benny Clark, Avon Grove

Luke Campbell, Oxford

Joshua Lewin, WC East

Brendan Flynn, Downingtown East

Gavin Brophy, WC Henderson

Riley Casey, Great Valley

Caelan Sims, Downingtown West

Mike Search, Great Valley

Caiden Leen, Downingtown East

Ryan Straub, Downingtown West

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

1ST TEAM

Jenna Mulhern, WC Henderson

Allyson Clarke, WC East

Sonia Piombino, WC East

Michaela Schiele, WC East

Reagan Flannery, Downingtown West

Taj Lanier, Oxford

Sofia Piccone, WC Rustin

Marcella Krautzel, Unionville

Carolyn Tarpley, Downingtown West

Meghan Smith, Unionville

2ND TEAM

Caroline Miller, WC Henderson

Annika Plaff, Avon Grove

Ashley Cichon, Downingtown West

Jackie Druecker, Downingtown East

Amanda Kelly, WC Henderson

Liesl Scherrer, WC Henderson

Lauren Flannery, Downingtown West

Jess Wogram, Downingtown West

Emma Teneza, WC Henderson

Lauren O’Neil, Avon Grove

FOOTBALL

American Division

1st Team Offense

Sam Forte, Kennett, QB

Kyle Cichanowsky, WC East, RB

Garrett Cox, Kennett, RB

Justin Neskie, Oxford, WR

John Wileczek, WC East, WR

Joe Carozza, WC East, OL

Austin Weeber, Unionville, OL

John Colomarino, Kennett, OL

John Shallo, WC Rustin, OL

Ryan Whitman, WC Rustin, OL

Matt Montgomery, WC Rustin, TE

Nick Madonna, WC Rustin, ATH

Joe Shur, WC Henderson, K

1st Team Defense

Vincent Cresci, Kennett, DL

Matt Montgomery, WC Rustin, DL

Gabe Walsh, WC Rustin, DL

Zach Good, Kennett, DL

Garrett Cox, Kennett, LB

Declan Boyle, Unionville, LB

Tim Clifford, WC East, LB

Anthony Meadows, WC Rustin, LB

Conor Schilling, Unionville, DB

Kunal Maheshwari, WC East, DB

Sam Forte, Kennett, DB

John Wileczek, WC East, DB

Declan Boyle, Unionville, P

Honorable Mention

Michael Corregin, Great Valley, RB/DB

Ian Rodriguez, Great Valley, OL/DL

Connor Jung, Kennett, LB

Shawn Carroll, Kennett, OL

Tom Repetz, Oxford, QB

Jaxson Chew, Oxford, WR

Antonio Rivera, Sun Valley, WR

Sean Stone, Sun Valley, DB

2ND Team Offense

Blake Charlton, Unionville, QB

Connor Schilling, Unionville, RB

Drew Gallen, WC Rustin, RB

Stefan Twombly, Unionville, WR

Ryan Banavitch, Great Valley, WR

Alex Bilotti, WC Henderson, OL

Sam Davidson, Kennett, OL

Sawyer Jenkins, Sun Valley, OL

Graham Muscella, Great Valley, OL

Max Bowman, WC East, OL

Declan Boyle, Unionville, TE

Tyler Brooks, Oxford, K

2ND Team Defense

Jay Morton, Oxford, DL

Yadyn Cooper, WC East, DL

Jacob Steinmetz, Sun Valley, DL

Alex Bilotti, WC Henderson, DL

Mitch Zingani, WC East, LB

Graham Muscella, Great Valley, LB

Ty McGlaughlin, Sun Valley, LB

Kelvin Figueroa, Oxford, LB

Stefan Twombly, Unionville, LB

Jon Hamm, WC Henderson, DB

Blake Charleton, Unionville, DB

Ryan Banavitch, Great Valley, DB

Danny McKnight, WC Rustin, DB

Jaxson Chew, Oxford, P

Honorable Mention

Syncere Cooper, WC East, OL

Scott Cummings, WC East, TE

Cole Cooper, WC Henderson, WR

Jordan Laudato, WC Henderson, TE

Kevin Freas, WC Rustin, DB

Mike Fannon, WC Rustin, LB

Daniel Son, Unionville, OL

Nate Holt, Unionvile, LB

National Division

1st Team Offense

Ricky Ortega, Coatesville, QB

Tyriq Lewis, Downingtown West, RB

Spencer Uggla, Downingtown East, RB

Dapree Bryant, Coatesville, WR

Abdul Stewart, Coatesville, WR

Caelan Krasely, Downingtown East, OL

Richard Santiago, Coatesville, OL

Keanu Yazdjerd, Downingtown East, OL

Beau Bryan, Downingtown West, OL

Dylan Jorgenson, Avon Grove, OL

Sean Pelkisson, Downingtown West, TE

Julian Williams, Downingtown West, ATH

Spencer Machulski, Downingtown West, K

1st Team Defense

Sean Pelkisson, Downingtown West, DL

Maximus Hale, Downingtown West, DL

Jordan Engler, Coatesville, DL

Tony Cipriano, Bishop Shanahan, DL

John Ruttman, Coatesville, DL

Garrett Gripton, Downingtown East, LB

Connor Noble, Downingtown East, LB

Derek Seasgreaves, Coatesville, LB

Dapree Bryant, Coatesville, DB

James Basilii, Downingtown East, DB

Abdul Stewart, Coatesville, DB

Tyriq Lewis, Downingtown West, DB

Owen Mahoney, Avon Grove, P

2ND Team Offense

Will Howard, Downingtown West, QB

Colby Riddell, Avon Grove, RB

Stanley Brayant, Downingtown East, RB

Connor Noble, Downingtown East, WR

Alex Rosano, Downingtown West, WR

Tony Cipriano, Bishop Shanahan, OL

Matt Atwell, Coatesville, OL

Drew Shelton, Downingtown West, OL

Donnie Mitchell, Downingtown East, OL

Lenny Kresefski, Bishop Shanahan, OL

Rowen Hershey, Avon Grove, TE

Bobby Smith, Avon Grove, K

2ND Team Defense

PJ Grubb, Downingtown East, DL

Beau Bryan, Downingtown West, DL

Briggs Godfrey, Avon Grove, DL

Lamar Brown, Coatesville, DL

Spencer Uggla, Downingtown East, LB

Will Mahmud, Downingtown West, LB

Wyatt Kirby, Avon Grove, LB

Frank Johnson, Coatesville, LB

Stanley Bryant, Downingtown East, LB

Julian Williams, Downingtown West, DB

Sean Glatts, Avon Grove, DB

Garrett Glenndenning, Bishop Shanahan, DB

Justin Townsend, Downingtown East, DB

Spencer Machulski, Downingtown West, P

Honorable Mention

Rhys Whitehouse, Avon Grove, OL

Max Paschall, Avon Grove, OL

Brandon Choi, Shanahan, RB

Cooper Jordan, Shanahan, QB

Shamar Hall, Coatesville, DB

Connor Barthmeir, Coatesville, LB

James Voss, Downingtown East, OL

Nick Lovenguth, Downingtown East, TE

Marcus Gainer, Downingtown West, DB

Ryan Waters, Downingtown West, LB

First Team Singles

Leah Walter, Unionville

Advanced all the way to the District 1 Class 3A semifinals before falling to eventual champion and top seed Amelia Honer of Council Rock North. Finished fourth after falling in the consolation match to DLN Player of the Year Ananya Krishnan. Won her opening match at the state tournament, and helped Unionville win a first-round match in the team tournament.

Tanya Pant, Downingtown West

Won a first-round match at district singles, and helped the Whippets reach the semifinals in the Class 3A state team tournament.

Cassie Hung, WC Rustin

Rolled over crosstown rival Lauren Knopp of Henderson in the first round of districts before giving Unionville’s Leah Walter all she could handle in a three-set loss: 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 4-6.

Ella Tunnell, WC Henderson

Won her first-round match at districts in three tough sets before falling in the second round.

Leena Kwak, Conestoga

Reached the District 1 quarterfinals, where she — like Unionville’s Walter — lost to eventual champ Amelia Honer. Won the fifth-place match at districts. Won a first-round state doubles match with Olivia Dodge.

First Team Doubles

Sophie Lusvardi / Mikaru Kumata, Kennett

Coco Kambayashi / Bella Chen, Conestoga

Faith Ilgner / Jaclyn Santaguida, Unionville

Alyssa Dehart / Lily Shi, Downingtown West

Leena Kwak / Olivia Dodge, Conestoga

Second Team Singles

Amber Nguyen, West Chester East

Lauren Knopp, West Chester Henderson

Saanvi Garg, Unionville

Brooke Oberly, Great Valley

Second Team Doubles

Olivia Zoretic / Nancy McSwain, West Chester Henderson

Emma Schmidt / Lili Lusvardi, Kennett

Ella Tunnell / Lauren Knop, Henderson

Tanya Pant / Sophia Koons, Downingtown West

Sophie Walter / Josie Liu, Unionville

Honorable Mention

Downingtown West: Kaitlyn Pacheco, Divya Kalmady, Lili Zebluim.

Great Valley: Megan Corrigan

Unionville: Catherine Stone

Westtown: Claire Burke

From picking up a racket for the first time to becoming Central League champion in three short years is a rather remarkable thing. Ananya Krishnan is living it.

The 15-year-old Conestoga sophomore, in her first season as the Pioneers’ No. 1, was the Central League singles champion, finished third at the District 1 tournament, qualified for a PIAA Class 3A berth and won a first-round state match in Hershey.

Krishnan’s meteoric rise has garnered her Daily Local News All-Area Player of Year honors.

Slotted third a year ago on Conestoga’s singles ladder as a freshman, Krishnan elevated to the top spot through graduation, held off squad ladder challenges, then proved her mettle with a solid postseason run.

Conestoga second-year girls’ head coach Britt Aimone can see the making of a special talent in her sophomore No. 1 that has as much, if not more, to do with intangibles than anything that can be taught.

“When you see Ananya’s work ethic, drive and grit, it would make sense as to why she made such a huge jump in such a short period of time,” Aimone said. “She holds herself to a very high standard and sets goals for herself that she’ll work hard to achieve.”

Krishnan: “My grit is the best part of my game. I always know that I want it more. It gets me through a lot of matches, especially when I’m down in a match. … I’ve worked really hard to get here and I want to it for my team as much as for myself.”

Remarkably, Krishnan did not pick up a racket until she was 12, just three years ago, after her family relocated from Michigan.

“I started playing tennis because my parents had decided they wanted me to play a ‘life’ sport, something I could play no matter how old I was, as opposed to something like dance or gymnastics” Krishnan said. “A sport that I could always continue in, in their eyes. Then after I started playing, I just fell in love with it. I love the competitive nature on the court.

“I love that it’s by yourself, a competition within yourself. You don’t have to rely on other people. It’s based on your own skills and abilities … It’s a good thing. You know exactly what you need to do better and what’s wrong, when it’s just you.”

Now she finds herself at the top of the Stoga food chain, a traditional power both locally and at states in scholastic tennis. She isn’t fazed by it.

“You’re always expected to win matches and it seems like a lot of pressure at first,” Krishnan said, “but I love it. You’re someone everyone can count on to bring up the team.”

If Krishnan has a secret weapon, it could be that she’s killing ‘em with kindness. It’s a rare trait to possess.

PETE BANNAN — MEDIANEWS GROUP
Conestoga sophomore Ananya Krishnan won the Central League championship and reached the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals.

“When people see her play, they know that she’s someone they’re going to have to contend with for the next few years. She had a really great season,” Aimone said. “And she’s a beautiful player. Her graciousness and humbleness on the court is something that I admire about her, the way she carries herself. You have no idea whether she’s winning or losing.

“Regardless of how she’s doing, she is able to compose herself. She’s able to sit back, collect herself, relax and get herself back into a match. And actually, the kindness that she embodies does her well because I think sometimes her opponents are intimated by that. That usually don’t go hand-in-hand with really talented players.”

Krishnan profiles as a baseliner. She’s content to slug it out and wait on the unforced error rather than attack the net with any kind of frequency.

“I think I’m really consistent from there,” she said, “which is how I’m able to win matches by outlasting other players.”

In her mind, Krishnan really arrived when she took Radnor ace Kanon Ciarrochi to three sets as a decided underdog earlier this season. The fact she actually noted a match that she didn’t win highlights a bulldog mentality that has served her well to this point.

“I think it was my best match because going into it I was told that everyone was expecting me to lose in straights sets,” she said. “She’s been first singles her entire career and I ended up taking her to three sets. Even though I didn’t pull out with the win I was able to show everyone that I wasn’t someone who was going to crumble under pressure.”

Krishnan’s Hershey venture at states saw her beat McDowell’s Abby Murray 6-1, 6-0 in the first round before falling to Charlotte James of Fox Chapel, 6-2, 6-0, ending her season in the PIAA quarterfinals.

As for future heading into her junior year next fall?

“I want to maintain my No. 1 on the team, of course,” Krishnan said, “but then I want to continue on to play tennis in college.”

The Main Line high school girls’ tennis scene featured many fine teams this fall.
In the Inter-Ac, Episcopal Academy (13-2) posted a 6-0 record and captured both the regular season league title and the Inter-Ac tourney championship. Baldwin School (5-1) was just one game behind EA in the league standings.
Conestoga (18-4 overall), Harriton (15-4 overall) and Radnor (20-4) shared the Central League title. The Raiders’ record includes a 5-2 mark in the post-season and a third-place finish in the PIAA state team tourney. Lower Merion (11-4) was another strong Central League team.
In the Friends’ Schools League, Friends’ Central (10-3) and Shipley (FSL team tournament runner-up) had solid campaigns.
The All-Main Line high school girls’ tennis teams are selected by the coaches. Because Main Line Media News covers 19 high schools, the Main Line Media News sports staff limits the number of sports available to first team, second team and honorable mention – but follows the priority of the coaches’ selections.
What follows are the 2019 All-Main Line high school girls’ tennis teams:

FIRST TEAM – Singles
Izzy Antanavicius, Baldwin School – Sophomore first singles, a first team All-Inter-Ac player, lost only one league match all season and was a gold medal winner at the Inter-Ac tourney.
Torrie Smith, Baldwin School – Senior second singles, the Polar Bears’ MVP, posted a 6-0 league record and was a gold medal winner at Inter-Acs.
Presley Daggett, Baldwin School – Junior third singles posted a 6-0 league record and was a gold medal winner at Inter-Acs.
Ananya Krishnan, Conestoga – Sophomore first singles was the Central League singles champion and Daily Local News Player of the Year, finished third at District 1 singles.
Leena Kwak, Conestoga – Sophomore second singles posted a 20-2 record and was first team All-Central League singles. Finished second at Central League singles tourney; later teamed with Olivia Dodge to finished second at the District 1 doubles tourney.
Olivia Dodge, Conestoga – Senior third singles, a second team All-Central League singles pick, posted a 19-3 record against some tough competition; later teamed with Leena Kwak to finished second at the District 1 doubles tourney.
Ashley Kennedy, Episcopal Academy – Sophomore first singles won the Inter-Ac’s Most Valuable Player award, and posted a sterling 12-1 record at the league champion Churchwomens’ top spot.
Anna Volpp, Friends’ Central – Versatile senior was MVP for a strong Phoenix squad (10-3), playing both second singles and first singles as needed, and coming up with some big victories.
Saige Roshkoff, Harriton – Junior first singles posted a 12-0 mark against strong competition and received first team All-Central League singles honors.
Shaina Ginsberg, Harriton – Senior third singles posted a fine 11-3 mark against tough competition and was a second team All-Central League singles selection,.
Mackenzie Sherman, Harriton – Junior second singles was a second team All-Central League singles pick, and posted a fine won-loss mark at her demanding spot.
Cecilia Denis, Lower Merion – Junior first singles, a first team All-Central League singles selection, posted an outstanding regular-season won-loss record at a top position, and lost only once, to Harriton’s Saige Roshkoff.
Chloe Abramowitz, Merion Mercy Academy – Junior first singles posted a 15-0 record at a demanding spot; and won the AACA singles championship as the No. 1 seed in the tourney.
Kanon Ciarrocchi, Radnor – Senior first singles, a first team All-Central League singles selection, posted a 16-1 regular season record, 30-3 including post-season and doubles, where she teamed with Lucy Hederick to win the Central League and District 1 doubles title and advance to PIAA state finals.
Lucy Hederick, Radnor – Senior second/third singles, a second team All-Central League singles selection, posted a 15-2 regular season record, 31-5 including post-season and doubles, where she teamed with Kanon Ciarrocchi to win the Central League and District 1 doubles title and advance to PIAA state finals.
Bridget Dougherty, Radnor – Senior second/third singles, a second team All-Central League singles selection, played a key role in the post-season, in which the Raiders finished third in the PIAA state team tournament.
Tori Allen, Shipley – Freshman first singles, the Gators’ MVP and a first team All-Friends’ School League player, posted a 9-4 record at a demanding spot.

SECOND TEAM – Singles
Agnes Irwin – Ruthie Njagi, junior first singles.
Episcopal Academy – Stefania Calastri, freshman second singles; Maddy Mitchell, sophomore third singles.
Friends’ Central – Grace Decatur, senior first singles.
Shipley – Lilia Becker, senior second singles; Audrey Fink, senior third singles.

FIRST TEAM – doubles
Rachel Mashek and Natalie Corkran, Agnes Irwin – the senior first doubles pair were Inter-Ac finalists, and posted an 8-4 record.
Coco Kambayashi and Bella Chen, Conestoga – Kambayashi, a senior, and Chen, a freshman, paired for a 16-6 record and earned first team All-Central League doubles honors.
Eliza Aldridge and Cara Harty, Episcopal Academy – Aldridge, a junior, and Harty, a senior, posted a 12-2 record at first doubles, was first team all-league and Inter-Ac tourney champions.
Caroline Burt and Natalie Johnston, Episcopal Academy – This senior duo posted an 8-2 record at second doubles, was first team all-league and was Inter-Ac Tournament champions.
Thea Volpp and Emma Malone, Friends’ Central – Captured the Friends’ Schools League Doubles Invitational Tournament title, and posted a 7-4 record at top doubles spot, which included many victory-clinching matches for the Phoenix (10-3).
Josephine Kwok and Allison Lao, Harriton – The sophomore pair posted a fine 11-5 mark at first doubles and received first team All-Central League honors.
Kelly Tong and Rachel Wang, Harriton – The freshman duo lost only on match at second doubles, and received first team All-Central League selection.
Annie Burton, and Caroline Egg-Krings, Radnor – Senior duo, a first team All-Central League doubles selection, posted a 16-1 record during the regular season (23-4 overall) as the Raiders placed third at the PIAA state tourney.
Grace Frigerio and Mia Xie, Radnor – The second doubles pair, a first team All-Central League doubles pick, featured Frigerio, a senior, who was 14-1 during the regular season (19-3 overall) and Xie, a freshman who was 15-1 during the regular season,

SECOND TEAM – doubles
Agnes Irwin – Cate Costin, senior, and Rachel Meng, junior, second doubles.
Baldwin School – Armona Emami, senior, and Mimi Salgado, junior, third doubles.
Conestoga – Catherine Haley, senior, and Felicia Manful, sophomore, second doubles.
Episcopal Academy – Georgie Crockett, junior, and Madison Hanssens, junior, third doubles.
Lower Merion – Meg Brennan, senior, and Rachel Lappen, senior, first doubles.
Radnor – Jessica Gusdorff, junior, and Ellen Hederick, freshman, third doubles.

HONORABLE MENTION – doubles
Agnes Irwin – Katherine Ernst, sophomore, and Alex Lesko, sophomore, third doubles; Lily Halpert, freshman, and Nina Kirkpatrick, freshman, fourth doubles.
Baldwin School – Zoe Lebowitz, sophomore, and Grace Sheehan, freshman, fourth doubles.
Haverford High – Hallie Farr, junior, and Catherine Corbett, junior, third/second doubles.
Sacred Heart – Amelia Sharkey, senior, and Julia Shavo, senior, first doubles.

– Note: Archbishop Carroll, Barrack Hebrew Academy and Villa Maria Academy did not file All-Main Line girls’ tennis nomination ballots.

Zac Weaver, Baseball, Lehigh Carbon Community College

Owen J. Roberts baseball player Zacary Weaver has committed to continue his academic and athletic careers at Lehigh Carbon Community College, where he will major in construction technology. Seated from left are Jaime Weaver, Zacary Weaver, Mark Weaver. Standing behind from left are OJR head coach Greg Gilbert, Dylan Weaver, and assistant coach Jon Yoder.

Gianna Stalletti, Lacrosse, Benedictine College

Owen J. Roberts’ lacrosse player Gianna Stalletti, center, has committed to continue her academic and athletic careers at Benedictine College, where she will major in criminal justice. She is pictured with her mother Dawn Stalletti, and father Sergio Stalletti.

Michael Kilgallon III, Lacrosse, Misericordia Univ.

Owen J. Roberts lacrosse player Michael Kilgallon III, center, has committed to continue his academic and athletic careers at Misercordia University, where he will major in statistics. Pictured from left are father Michael Kilgallon Jr., grandmother Peggie “Mookie” Kilgallon, Michael Kilgallon III, sister Maggie Kilgallon and mother Katrina Kilgallon.

Sierra Everett, Tennis, California Univ. of Pa.

Owen J. Roberts tennis player Sierra Everett, center, has committed to continue her academic and athletic careers at California University of Pa., where she will major in criminal justice. Seated from left are mother Shanelle Lawrence, Sierra Everett, father Larry Lawrence. Standing from left are assistant coach Mike Fritz and head coach Jerry Styer.

Melissa Orr, Soccer, John Jay College

Owen J. Roberts soccer player Melissa Orr has committed to continue her academic and athletic careers at John Jay College, where she will major in forensic science. Pictured from left are mother Elisabeth Orr, Melissa Orr, sister Jackie Orr and father Robert Orr.

Logan Reese, Volleyball, Baldwin Wallace Univ.

Owen J. Roberts volleyball player Logan Reese, center, has committed to continue his academic and athletic careers at Baldwin Wallace University, where he will major in business. Logan Reese (BLAX) verbally commits to Baldwin Wallace UIniversity (notes/pic attached).
Pictured from left are mother Jill Reese, sister Maddie Reese, Logan Reese and father Will Reese.

For the first time in three months, there were high school athletes out on athletic fields this week. Many others will soon join them.

After getting their Athletics Health and Safety plan approved by the school board last week, Owen J. Roberts High School began voluntary summer workouts Monday.

Though OJR is the only Pioneer Athletic Conference school to officially begin offseason athletic activities, the rest of the PAC is currently working on their proposals, most shooting for activities to begin in early to mid-July.

“I stopped by and looked at some practices,” OJR Athletic Director Randall Cuthbert said. “It’s different. I think just everyone’s happy to be back doing something. We’re in yellow so it’s pretty restricted. It’s a total of 25 at a time, including coaches and players so some of the bigger teams have had to stagger their workouts and it’s all non-contact, agility and conditioning stuff like that. You’re limited in what you can do, but I think people are just happy to be able to do something at this point after being at home for so long.”

The PIAA announced June 5 that schools would be able to engage in voluntary out-of-season activities by July 1 as restrictions are relaxed amid the coronavirus pandemic. Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Education posted preliminary school sports guidance on June 10, adjusting that time frame and allowing schools to return to play when they developed their own Athletics Health and Safety Plan and had it approved by the school’s governing board and posted to the school website.

On June 18, the PDE announced more clear guidelines, posting a template for proposals to give schools a guide of how they should plan the actions needed to take place and procedures to follow.

Each school is tasked with formulating its own specific return to play plan using those guidelines and get them approved by the school board — or the Philadelphia Archdiocese in the case of Pope John Paul II — before athletes are allowed to participate in voluntary offseason activities.

Schools are then tasked with ensuring coaches and players are properly educated and trained to safely carry out their workouts while adhering to the guidelines put in place.

“There’s a lot of layers to this process,” PJP athletic director Joe Trainer said. “When the Governor said high school athletics can resume play, I think everyone was kind of like, ‘Great, I’ll see you tomorrow at school.’ It’s not that easy. You have to have protocols in place. Certainly we’ve been talking about these protocols for a month prior too, but now there’s an immediacy to the situation.”

“Everybody’s working to make it happen if we can,” Pottsgrove AD Steve Anspach said. “We would love for our kids to be out there participating and doing something, but with all the regulations out there it’s a serious deal that we have to put together the right plan for the health and safety for everybody.”

According to the PDE guidelines, gatherings are limited to 25 people in the yellow phase of the state’s reopening process and 250 in the green phase. Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties were set to move to the green phase on Friday.

The facility as a whole must not exceed 50 percent occupancy during both phases. No spectators are allowed for the time being as sports-related activities for schools are limited to student-athletes, coaches, officials, and staff.

Other safety measures mentioned include coaches and adult personnel to wear face masks, athletes maintaining social distancing on and off the field and screening and monitoring athletes for COVID-19 symptoms prior to games and practices. Those with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, or are sick, must be sent home.

Coaches and athletes must bring their own water bottle as communal coolers are not permitted. Chewing gum, spitting, licking fingers, and eating sunflower seeds are not allowed. Equipment should not be shared when possible and if it must, it needs to be properly disinfected between uses. Athletes are also asked to avoid unnecessary physical contact like shaking hands, fist bumps or high fives.

“As of right now, it’s just how do you follow all those guidelines out there to make it work?,” Anspach said. “That’s the challenging part. You read from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Return to Play guidelines from the state, the CDC guidelines. The focus is trying to blend it all together so our athletes can get back on the field and our coaches can get back on the field. That was kind of the focus because with everything going on there’s a lot of recommendations and a lot of advice out there. How do you make it work for us?”

At the moment, the proposals are only for allowing athletes to participate in voluntary offseason activities. Schools will need to get another plan approved before fall sports officially begin in mid-August.

“It’s just for the summer, the voluntary workouts and things like that,” Cuthbert said. “Districts are going to have to submit another plan in August for the school year. We’re kind of approaching this as this is our plan, we’re adapting things kind of as they come up and it’s kind of like a trial period. What’s working? What isn’t? Then the next plan in August we’ll kind of be reviewing that stuff and looking how things went, what we can do better, what worked and stuff like that.”

Communication has been invaluable in putting the proposals together. Athletic Directors have worked with coaches, trainers, principals and other administrators at their respective schools to figure out the safest way to return to sports.

Trainer said he has gotten on a few national calls to talk to athletic directors around the country to see what measures they are putting in place to ensure a safe return to high school sports.

There has also been a large amount of communication between the PAC schools with athletic directors and administrators from the league getting on conference calls with each other multiple times a week.

“How are we going to do the little things to make sure our kids have as little exposure to any potential threats as possible?” said newly appointed Phoenixville AD Don Grinstead, who doesn’t officially begin his duties until July 1. “There’s a lot of little details in here and it takes a lot of thought process. In our conference, we’re all sharing ideas and we’re all trying to find different things. We’ll be on a conference call and someone will say something and it will be, ‘Oh, I hadn’t thought about that.’ … There’s a lot of things we take for granted in a normal life situation that now we have to start to process.”

“I’m pretty happy and pretty proud that all of our administrators, all of our ADs and all of our superintendents, it’s like we’re all in this together,” Grinstead added. “The fact that we’re having so much dialogue and so many meetings right now, I think that speaks to the cooperation we’re all showing with each other and the respect and the care that we’re putting in for our kids.”

The consensus among the area’s athletic directors and many others trying to plan for a return to athletics is that the biggest challenge is not knowing what the future holds.

While lots of time and communication have been put into each school’s planning, it’s apparent that those plans will have a lot of give and take as more information comes and counties move between the red/yellow/green phases of reopening.

“Obviously we want to get the kids to work and get out there, but at the same time safety is still the priority,” Cuthbert said. “Things could change quickly either way. Everyone is just going to have to be ready to be flexible and change between phases if that’s what’s going to happen.”

“It’s a very fluid situation,” Grinstead said. “Nothing’s concrete right now. We’re getting new guidance from the state every day.”

Each AD made sure to note the safety of their students, coaches and others was paramount in all decision making. While the planning can only look so far down the road, it’s fairly clear that high school sports will look a lot differently for the indefinite future.

“The big thing is that these are new normals,” Trainer said. “It’s not like there’s a return to any state. It’s kind of like we’re basically forging new territory here whether it’s face masks or temporal scans, taking temperatures. At the end of the day, until you get a vaccine, you’re talking about policies. … I just think the consensus is that we want to go slower rather than faster because what we do in the fall potentially impacts what happens in the winter and the spring.”

In a public, four-plus hour Zoom meeting this week, the school board and superintendent in my home district discussed many important issues.

One stuck with me while lying in bed a few hours later.

On the two days a week my 6-year-old daughter goes to school, can she have class outside? It’s a simple question with a not-so-simple answer.

In the world of social distancing, it’s safer to have 20 first-graders sitting criss-cross applesauce, six feet apart, in the fresh air. But for security reasons, teachers can’t just see the sun and decide to move outdoors.  

What happens if there’s a school shooting?

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One month from now, if the PIAA’s pipe dream comes true, I will be starting my 15th season of high school football.

There is nothing we love more than fall Fridays. Each season, there are fewer folks who earn paychecks covering high school sports. None of us take that for granted.

In 36 days, our dwindling, but dedicated, staff should be banding together for our first 2020 Football Friday.

I don’t think it will happen.

And I don’t think it should happen.

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As the son of a teacher, I’ve always had tons of respect for that profession. And with my evening schedule, I’ve had the good fortune to volunteer often in my kids’ classrooms. 

Until you’ve seen someone say “1-2-3, Eyes on Me” and have 22 sets of 5-year-old eyes snap around to respond “1-2, Eyes on You!”, it’s hard to fully appreciate.

Trying to act as a substitute teacher last spring — and usually serving as iPad tech support and short-order cook — moved me into the “pay teachers whatever they want” camp.

If we, as a society, cannot provide those teachers — not to mention our kids — with a safe environment to continue their work, then we should not be playing high school sports.

Period.

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In that meeting Tuesday night, experts presented the best of a bad batch of options, all while facing truly life and death decisions.

My wife and I now get to choose whether we want our kids to stay home and learn on an iPad, or if we want them to mask up and head to school two days a week.

Angry parents logged on to ask “did you think of this?” or “what will you do if my kindergartener won’t wear his mask?”

I understand the frustration. I’m frustrated. We’re all tired. We’re all dreaming of our “normal” lives. 

I am one of the very lucky ones. I work nights, while my wife often works remotely. So I am exceptionally fortunate to not have childcare worries, or my own safety at work to worry about. 

So I am not going to join the chorus of stay-at-home parents on the Internet who think there are better options no one has thought of, or that a cyber charter school is the answer.

These administrators, teachers and board members are trying to make the best of an impossible situation that comes once in a lifetime (hopefully). 

And while my heart breaks for athletes who may miss another season, the musicians who won’t get to perform, and especially seniors who may lose a chance at a college scholarship, there is a reason they are called EXTRA-curricular activities.

In a time that’s forced us all to focus on what truly matters — to reduce things to their essentials — we need to prioritize the ‘curricular.’ Only one element of school is actually required by law: the part where you learn, in a classroom, from a trained teacher, five days a week.

And if that can’t happen without risking lives, then neither should high school sports.

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There are two major reasons why high school sports shouldn’t return this fall. 

One is scientific, and the other is moral. 

For the scientific part, I listen to my wife. The latter is more my speed.

First: Outside of semi-solo sports like golf, tennis and cross country, there is a real risk to playing sports in the COVID era. 

My better half is a virologist with a Ph.D. in immunology, who creates vaccines in a lab that help fight cancer. So when she speaks about viruses (and, well, most other things), I’ve learned to shut up and listen.

She believes the well-thought out school plan for our two kids is worth the small risk, so they can get some semblance of normalcy, maintain their sanity and keep learning the amazing things you pick up in elementary school. 

But two teams of football players smashing their sweaty, slobbery faces into each other 100 times a night? Twenty-two soccer players going up for headers and spitting out mouthguards?

Sure, studies seem to indicate that children are less at-risk of major illness, and may even “catch” the virus at a much lower rate. But no one knows what the long-term effects are yet.

And what about the coaches they share the locker rooms with? 

Or the 70-year-old science teacher they see the next morning. 

Or the 65-year-old woman driving the bus idling in the parking lot. 

Or the parents and grandparents waiting for them back home? 

There is just no reason to risk all of that for sports. 

And this is coming from someone who may very well be out of a job in a sports-free world.

The second reason is less about science and more about a moral compass.

Pretend for a second you’re a high school principal, superintendent or school board member. 

Now, look a parent in the eye (on a Zoom meeting) and tell them the following things.

• No, I can’t provide full-time education for your children.
• No, I can’t guarantee their safety.
• No, I can’t provide the full-time care you rely on to keep an essential job at the grocery store, factory or firehouse.
• No, I don’t have money in the budget to reduce class size and guarantee social distancing.
• Yes, the football team can practice every day and hop on a bus for a road game at Oxford.

It’s an unconscionable sell as an educator, administrator or even a parent.

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No league or sport in this country has been able to protect its players yet, and each of those has one important thing that high school sports don’t: Money.

Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and others can afford thousands of tests for players and staff. They can buy out entire hotels to quarantine players. Private planes and medical care in case of emergency.

But it’s not just money that separates the big boys from the Friday Night-lighters. 

It’s a voice.

If Bryce Harper, Carson Wentz and pros with big contracts want to weigh the risks and make a decision, then so be it. If Joel Embiid is worried about the NBA’s protocols, he simply needs to tweet about it. The NBA players’ union would have his back.

But what about a high school quarterback with a sick grandmom? Or a lineman with an autoimmune disorder? Or a receiver who just does not feel safe enough?

Even at a “big” football school like Penn State, players don’t have a voice.

If they speak up, they will simply be replaced by a kid who is willing to play. The “warrior” mindset works when you’re trying to get over bumps and bruises from training camp. Not a deadly virus.

There will be no college sports played in Chester County this fall. All three NCAA schools have cancelled their seasons. 

But sure, let’s play high school soccer and field hockey.

—

My two kids want nothing more than to go back to school. I want nothing more than to send them. Selfishly, I want a break. 

Fortunately, they are young enough to hopefully look back on this in a few years and laugh, with most of their education still in front of them.

I know that isn’t the case for most high schoolers, especially the athletes, many of whom are depending on a scholarship as a ticket to college and a life better than their parents’. 

But in a world where full-time, in-person education is impossible, and we’re deciding between protecting first graders from a deadly virus or a school shooter, sports should be a non-starter.

To be frank, I’d take an even money bet that no student — my two included — sets foot in a Pennsylvania classroom before 2021.

The last few years, mid-July has marked the end of our “slow” summer season. It’s when we start planning our Pa. Prep Live Football Preview — the project I’m most proud of each calendar year.

Other than the kids who are actually strapping on the football pads, running through the grass, swinging clubs on the links or kicking a soccer ball, there is NO ONE who wants to see high school sports return more than I do.

My job quite literally depends on it. 

But, I don’t think it will happen.

And I don’t think it should.

Steven Moore is the sports editor of the Daily Local News and an editor for Pa. Prep Live. You can reach him at smoore@21st-centurymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @smoore1117.

In what was probably one of the most anticipated announcements in Pennsylvania high school sports history, the state’s governing body voted Wednesday in favor of moving forward with plans to play sports this fall season.

In the throes of a global pandemic, and with heat acclimatization set to begin in less than two weeks, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Board of Directors voted 29-3 in favor of ‘Return to Competition’ guidelines, outlined in a two dozen-plus page plan.  

“We’ve really been working at this because we feel it is vitally important to give our students every opportunity to be student-athletes,” said PIAA Executive Director Robert Lombardi. “We are advocates for them. Educational-based athletics are vital to growth, health and development of student-athletes and their ultimate success.

“There are a lot of what-ifs. But the biggest what-if is this: what if we don’t try? If we don’t try to get something out of the (fall) season for students, I think we are failing them. We need to do our darnedest to help them become successful.”

Board members representing the Pennsylvania Principals Association and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association were two of the three dissenting votes.

It’s important to note that the fate for high school athletics for 10-PIAA sanctioned fall sports ultimately rests with local school districts and state government – principally Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine.

“We are hopeful that we can work together and use metrics to see if we can give these students an opportunity to play,” Lombardi said.

“We will do what we’ve done from the start and work cooperatively with the Department of Education, the Department of Health, the Governor’s Office – they make the determination whether schools play. And we will adhere to that.”

The news was received across Chester County with cautious optimism, at least from several head coaches who are directly affected — like Oxford football mentor Mike Means.

“My guys and our coaching staff are thrilled,” he said. “One of the biggest struggles through all of this was not knowing. Now, we can get started and get ready for what’s next. There is still a lot of uncertainty, but this is a huge step.”

The PIAA approved a fall sports schedule to begin as already outlined, but also offered two options to start at a later date with alternate and hybrid plans. In football, for example, the first date contest is set for Aug. 28, but the alternate plan has a first date of Sept. 18. The hybrid plan starts no later than Oct. 5 for all sports.

“I’m happy it now looks like we are going to have a season, but it is a moving target right. We are taking it week-by-week,” said Villa Maria field hockey coach Katie Evans.

“We are very excited,” added Downingtown West girls soccer coach Katelyn Phillips. “It’s such an uncertain time, but our players are all back with their club teams and now they have the hope that they will have some type of (high school) season this fall.”

In addition to the regular schedule for postseason tournaments, the PIAA has a plan for a reduced format for its playoffs in all fall sports except golf and cross country. If instituted, the scaled-back plan calls for a state tournament of only league champions.

And because the state is limiting outdoor gatherings of 250 or more people, it is highly unlikely that any fans will be allowed at any high school athletic events in person.  

“It seems to be out of our hands right now,” Lombardi said. “We are anticipating, in most instances, of having no spectators.”

The PIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Steering Committee recommended, for example, that a single positive COVID-19 test by a student-athlete would require the entire team to quarantine for 14 days, and the Board of Directors approved the move unanimously. The committee also released detailed sports-specific protocols that address issues like masks, distancing, equipment restrictions and what to do if an athlete has a temperature of 100.4 or higher.

“I love field hockey and sports, so part of me is happy we are playing and that the PIAA thinks it is safe enough to proceed,” Evans said. “But ultimately, at Villa Maria, we are adamant about keeping the girls safe, so we will be using our best judgment to decide what is the safest route to take.

“Field hockey is an easier sport to make sure everyone is socially distancing, and we have our own protocols where the coaches will all be in masks, the girls won’t be able to pick up equipment, and the PIAA will come out with sports-specific direction as well.”

As it stands now, heat acclimation week starts on Aug. 10, and practices can commence on Aug. 17. Golf and girls tennis will be allowed to begin competing on Aug. 20 and 24, respectively. The rest — field hockey, soccer, cross country, volleyball and water polo – can start Sept. 4.

Under the alternate plan, all sports other than football would get underway on Sept. 14.  

“The last six months have been about nothing but being flexible,” Means pointed out. “The only thing we can get ready for is what is in front of us, so we are planning to come back on August 10^th. If that gets moved back, then it gets pushed back. If that changes, we will change along with it.”

At Downingtown West, the athletic department has been offering Zoom agility workouts, as well as individual training sessions, all in preparation for a season that may, or may not, take place. There is, of course, the scenario where a season starts but is postponed or eventually cancelled, which is what happened to the tail end of the winter season and all of the spring season in 2020.    

“From what I am getting from our parents and athletes, they are ready even with the restrictions to do whatever they can,” Phillips said.

“We are ready for the unexpected,” Evans added. “We will keep moving forward until we get more direction, and keep planning as if there will be a season and keep using our best judgment to keep everybody safe.

“I think if we have a season, the teams that can adapt best to this uncertain period right now, they will be the ones that will succeed.”

As it pertains to the potential 14-day team quarantine, Lombardi explained that the PIAA is giving more flexibility to schools to work cooperatively on scheduling complications, but that is just for the regular season.

“However, if it is a district game and a team cannot play, it would be a forfeit because of advancement,” he said.

Most coaches understand that as they move forward with plans to practice and compete this fall, there will be many who disagree with the PIAA guidelines, and some parents and players who decide not to participate.

“I haven’t seen it in my community yet with my parents and players,” Means said. “They have been very positive about wanting to have a season.

“There is absolutely going to be push-back, but no matter what (the PIAA does), it will be the wrong decision for like half of the people. And usually the ones who disagree are more vocal than the ones that agree. I’m not worried about that.

“If a kid is in a compromised position, and it’s in the best interest of his family not to play, then that’s obviously the direction we would go with that family and that kid.”  

The next PIAA Board of Directors meeting is slated for Aug. 26, and Lombardi said that adjustments to the plan could take place in accordance with the medical recommendations at that time.

“This at least gives our kids a little bit of hope,” Phillips said. “And with the majority of fall sports taking place outdoors, it’s kind of an advantage because the restrictions aren’t as strict.

“There might be a shortened, or a hybrid, but they just want to have something to remember from this season.”