PV’s Francis and White reach D11 quarterfinals

BETHLEHEM – Madison Olexson and Kara Urland made history when they became the first Pleasant Valley girls doubles team to advance to the quarterfinals of the District 11 Class 3A tournament in 2014.

On Monday, Masani Francis and Haley White became the second.

Francis and White, who were freshmen when Olexson and Urland reached the quarters, stormed into the second day of competition with a performance that evoked memories of their predecessors.

“I’m so happy, especially for those two,” Bears’ head coach Mark Allison said of Francis and White. “They’ve had a great career at Pleasant Valley in tennis. They’re great kids, and I couldn’t be happier for them.”

Now seniors, Francis and White made more history for the program – and themselves.

“It’s really exciting,” said White. “I don’t think we’ve ever made it to the second day in any category, so this is really exciting for us.”

True, it was a day of firsts for the duo. But they played with the skill and poise that made them the Bears’ Nos. 1 and 2 singles players.

It showed in a first round 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 7 seed Liz Hozza and Rose Sharga of Northampton.

And it continued in a 7-5, 6-3 win over Freedom’s Anjali Chhugani and Olivia Chhugani in the second round.

“Well, I know for me, I was like, senior year, last one, let’s just go out, and go out with a bang, and do the best we can,” said Francis. “And I don’t really think I saw it coming that we would win both and move on.”

Getting the first victory, and doing it against a seeded opponent, gave Francis and White all the momentum they needed.

“Everyone was telling us we were playing really good, so we were just like, maybe we’re onto something today, I don’t know,” laughed White. “I think our confidence, with senior year, the last time, we decided we were just gonna honestly go for it, and we actually did it.”

It wasn’t easy. Chhugani and Chhugani led 4-3 in the first set of their second match. But Francis and White closed strong to take the set and take control of the match.

Despite trailing early in the match, they never got rattled.

“I think we kind of compliment each other with the way we play,” Francis said. “I’m pretty good at the net; she’s (White) pretty good baseline and serves, so whatever I lack in she’ll pick up, and whatever she lacks in I’ll pick up.”

“We have a lot of fun,” added White. “We know that the other one will always be there; we got our backs. We have a lot of fun, definitely.”

That style got them two victories on Monday. Now they’ll try to grab two more when they take the court in today’s quarterfinals, with a potential semifinal match looming later in the day with a victory.

“We’re just gonna keep the momentum going,” said Francis.

“Simple as that,” said White.

White and Francis were the only team from the Times News area to make it past the first round on Monday at Lehigh University’s Ulrich Courts.

But they weren’t the only team in the Class 3A bracket.

Pleasant Valley’s Rebecca Makrides and Alyssa Wagner fell 6-2, 6-1 to No. 5 seed Kaitlin Grogg and Hiu Ying Kwok of Easton in the first round.

CLASS 2A

A pair of area teams lost first round matches in Class 2A competition.

Tamaqua’s Molly Clemson and Brooke Williams lost 6-1, 6-2 to No. 8 seed Bailey Andreeko and Jennifer LaBar of Bangor.

“It was a lot of fun, because neither of us play doubles usually,” said Williams, who noted the duo had only been playing together for the past week. “We learned strategy the past week. It was fun.”

While Williams, a junior, played in the singles tournament two weeks ago, Clemson was in district competition for the first time.

“There were nerves, especially in the first game,” said Clemson, a senior. “I was really tense … but coach told us to relax, and it was just like getting into it. The usual.”

Williams tried to help Clemson enjoy the moment, and their last time playing together.

“I tried my best,” said Williams. “It was fun being with her the whole season. I probably spent the most time playing with her over the season, so it was fun.”

Jim Thorpe’s Evelyn Flores and Angelica Uzar also faced a seeded opponent in the first round in Blue Mountain’s Paige Blankenhorn and Imani Mika. The fifth-seeded Blankenhorn and Mika prevailed 6-1, 6-2.

“It was really fun, and it was a good experience to play against tougher opponents,” said Flores. “I knew it was going to be hard coming into it.”

Though not the outcome they were hoping for, the experience is something they’re eager to build on.

“Blue Mountain is a very good school, so we learned from their shots, their serves, different strategies we see them play,” noted Uzar.

“So we just take what we learned on the courts off to the courts. Summer’s coming, there’s winter, we get to practice every strategy to get better for next year.”

With Flores, a sophomore, and Uzar, a junior, both have a chance to put those lessons to good use next season.

“This is great to have them come here and to play,” said Olympians head coach Norb Lienhard. “Even though we played Blue Mountain, we still played nice. I felt we played nice. We got a couple games off of them.

“The more they play … I don’t care if they come here and they lose, all right. But we’re here, they know the experience, they know what it feels like, and now they can say, ‘Hey, I wanna get back.’”

UP NEXT … White and Francis will face No. 2 seed Halle DeNardo and Jenn Soika of Nazareth in today’s quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. at Parkland High School. Semifinal matches will follow.

GOT THEIR NUMBER … White and Francis also beat Chhugani and Chhugani last year, claiming a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the first round. Their tournament ended with a 6-1, 6-0 loss to top seed Ireland and Sophia Amato.