HERSHEY — Hamburg’s quest for a PIAA Class AA girls’ tennis team championship ended Saturday in the semifinal round when District 10 champion Mercyhurst Prep defeated the Hawks 5-0 at the Hershey Racquet Club.
The winners held Hamburg’s singles players to victories in just two games before sweeping the Hawks’ doubles teams in straight sets.
“Great run comes to a close,” Hamburg head coach Bill Tritt said in an email. “They were too good for us. We had an unbelievable season.”
The loss ends Hamburg’s season with a 17-5 record.
Hamburg had qualified for the PIAA Tournament as the third-seeded team out of District 3 and then defeated both Westmont Hilltop and Indiana in the state tournament’s first two rounds.
In Saturday’s match, Victoria Kissinger and Samantha Nye led Hamburg by winning five games in their No. 2 doubles match.
Later in the day, Mercyhurst Prep went on to capture the state championship with a 5-0 victory over District 2 champion Scranton Prep. Mercyhurst won all five matches in straight sets, dropping just 11 games along the way.
PIAA Girls’ Tennis Team Championship Saturday’s results At Hershey Racquet Club Class AA Semifinal Mercyhurst Prep 5, Hamburg 0
Singles: Lauren Petrella (MP) def. Melanie Haas, 6-0, 6-0; Cait Schultz (MP) def. Brooke Buckley, 6-0, 6-2; Anna Bruns (MP) def. Caroline Bashore, 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles: Taylor Levinson and Nicole Freeman (MP) def. Kristen Wade and Hannah Hungerford, 6-2, 6-1; Audrey Bell and Fran Kern (MP) def. Victoria Kissinger and Samantha Nye, 6-3, 6-2.