Allentown High School enjoyed a historic girls’ tennis season in 2017.
First and foremost, the Redbirds won the Colonial Valley Conference Patriot Division for the first time in program history. After that feat, they advanced to the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 3 sectional tournament semifinals.
Four of seven starters are back from that team, one singles player and three doubles players. Those returning players have provided optimism at Allentown in 2018.
The Redbirds played as the host to Steinert High School on Sept. 5 in their season opener. They will travel to Notre Dame High School for their second match on Sept. 14.
“Before last year, we never had a winning season, let alone a division title, so that was incredible,” said Allentown coach Monica Kays. “That inspired a lot of them to work really hard for this year, too. To come back even better.”
Out of the three doubles starters back for 2018, two, junior Cassidy Smith and sophomore Isabella Dona, earned singles spots in tryouts by winning challenge matches. Both players worked hard in the offseason to transition from doubles to singles.
Smith and Dona started at first doubles and second doubles, respectively, in 2017. Now, Smith is Allentown’s No. 1 singles player and Dona is the team’s No. 3 singles starter.
“Last year she really wanted a singles spot, and she didn’t get it in challenge matches. So, I knew going into this year she was going to work really hard, and she did. It has really showed,” Kays said. “Cassidy’s consistency is a lot better than it used to be, and her shot selection and court demeanor have improved, too. She used to get a little angry and down on herself. Now her mental game is rising to her physical ability.”
Dona is also a girls’ basketball player at Allentown. By playing basketball, she has built the skills necessary to succeed as a singles tennis player.
“She’s really fit and she uses the skills that translate, footwork, ball sense,” Kays said. “I think that enables her to win.”
Dona’s doubles game also complements her singles play. She is a fearless doubles player, often charging the net and finishing points with volleys. This is allowing her to finish points quickly in singles matches, instead of getting into endless rallies that tire her out.
“It’s a big weapon. You get a lot of these singles players, and all they want to do is hit groundstrokes,” Kays said. “When she comes up and ends those points early, it’s what gets her the win. It’s good to see her in singles.”
Allentown’s other singles player is Grace Vogt. The sophomore was already a year-round tennis player when she got to high school last year. In 2017, she earned Allentown’s No. 3 singles spot.
“She was queen of the three-set matches last year but she won all of them. She was so determined. She just does not like to lose,” Kays said. “Grace will stay on the court as long as she needs to in order to get that win.”
Kays’ doubles lineup is a little less established. She knows who her first doubles team will be throughout the season, just not her second.
Jordan Annese and Rea Singh are the first doubles team. Annese started at second doubles last year and Singh played on junior varsity.
“Rea worked through the summer, went to a Nike tennis camp, took private lessons,” Kays said. “She improved greatly. She’s moving better. Her form is better. As long as you put the work in during the offseason, it really shows when you come out for tennis.”
In tryouts, Aneese and Singh won more challenge matches than any other doubles players. That is why Kays paired them together. The coach is still not sure how they will look as a team.
“I haven’t seen them play together too much yet because we just finished challenge matches,” Kays said. “The doubles play is really going to get going now.”
“I think we will be a strong pair. We can really work well together,” Singh said. “We can talk out how to win each match. We’re good friends and we can put that into tennis.”
Four players are playing challenge matches to determine Allentown’s second doubles team. At practice on Aug. 30, those four were playing singles matches on the first two courts.
Two of those players, Katie Gellman and Maansi Jain, are captains this year. They will remain captains whether they win the second doubles spots or not.
“They have both been close to the varsity lineup but haven’t quite made it, so that’s what they are vying for,” Kays said. “What’s nice about Maansi and Katie being captains is no matter what spot they were on the team, they came to all the practices, all the matches and have helped everybody with everything. They’ve always strived to be better and have involved themselves with the team. It shows that what they take from the sport is greater than the sport itself.”
So, the Redbirds have experience, leadership and talent. The talented players are also driven to improve every day. For those reasons, the players expect a season like 2017 to become the new Allentown standard.
“I feel like we’re going to do great again this year,” Smith said. “We have a really strong lineup.”
“We’re really deep this year and can really go far because everyone is at the same level,” Annese added. “We can do as well as we did last year. Better, maybe.”
