Wilson Girls’ Tennis heads to states
This year, the Wilson Girls’ Tennis Team hit a major milestone when Senior JinLin Chen and Junior Brooke Mengel won the District III Class 3A doubles championship. The District III championship is known as one of the most competitive high school tennis events in Pennsylvania, and winning is a huge accomplishment for any team.
This event was held at the Hershey Racquet Club. Last year, this duo placed 4th in this very championship. But after their hard work and determination, it led them to victory. In a high-competition tournament, the journey to victory is never easy. In their opening match, Chen and Mengel faced Kendal Newswanger and Natalie Earhart of Manheim High School. JinLin and Brooke’s serving easily led them to have power over their opponents, which led them to win the first match with a score of 6-2, 6-0. Their first win set a good mood and confidence for the rest of the day. Though, as expected with any competition, it immediately got tougher. During the quarterfinals, they were challenged by their opponents, Frederika Cocoronis and Izobel Ungrady from Northeastern. This quickly became a high-tension match. Unfortunately, Chen and Mengel lost the first set 3-6, but their teamwork and sharp thinking ultimately led them to win the 2nd and 3rd sets 6-4, 6-2.
The semi-finals were an exciting and unique match. This is because Chen and Mengel were asked to play their own teammates, Madison Uzar and Lucy Lamparella. This guaranteed that Wilson would have at least one team in the final. Despite being teammates, the girl played a good professional match. Chen and Mengels’ experiences helped them secure the win with winning scores of 6-1, 6-3.
Chen and Mengel faced a very motivated team, Abby Martin and Maya Lamichane of Manheim Township. Even with the pressure of it being the final, Chen and Mengel still managed to win the match with a 6-1 victory in the first set. Unexpectedly, the Manheim team quickly found their pattern in the second set. Chen and Mengel took an early 4-1 lead, but Martin and Lamichane refused to back down. This resulted in a sudden comeback that led to a tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker was full of tension and suspense. Chen and Mengel fought hard and earned an easy 6-3 advance. But Manheim Township leveled the score quicker than expected. Chen and Mengel played their hardest, winning the tiebreaker 8-6. Their hard work and dedication earned the Bulldogs a District III 3A gold medal.
The tournament became an important milestone for not only the tennis team but for all of Wilson High School. Not only did Chen and Mengel win the gold medal, but their teammates Uzar and Lamperella won the bronze medal by defeating Priya Christman and Kiana Nguyen of Hempfield (6-4, 6-4).
Wilson’s head coach, Todd Gensenmer, was ecstatic, “It was a great day for Wilson tennis!” We walked away with the 1st and 3rd place titles, and we are looking forward to the first round of states on Tuesday!” he stated.
Both of the Wilson doubles teams are now qualified for the PIAA state tournament, where they will represent District III against some of the best players across the state. The entire community at Wilson is excited to see the champions compete.
