PENNSBURY:
Have the Lady Falcons raised the bar?
Despite departures, Pennsbury hopes to keep pace with past two campaigns
By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor
Last year was head coach Lindsay Gibeau’s first season guiding the Falcons. The year before under Glenn White, Pennsbury became the first team in 10 years other than Lower Merion to win the District One Class AAA crown.
Under the spotlight in 2008, Gebeau led Pennsbury to a 9-5 record in the regular season--good enough for third place in the SOL National Conference behind Council Rock North and Abington--and a spot in the district playoffs.
In the District One AAA quarters, the Falcons shocked top seed Lower Merion, when they picked their Main Line rivals off, 3-2. For the Aces, it meant their team would not be in the state playoffs for the first time in a decade.
“It was very exciting after the previous year—winning districts,” stated senior Tara Krauss, who is lined up to play in the No. 1 singles slot at Pennsbury this year.
“Last year, we had a great run. Everybody stepped up to the plate. Certain people pulled out strong when we needed them—different people at different times. It was a real team effort.”
The question remains, can the Falcons keep this pace going? Krauss certainly seems to think so.
“Yes, [the bar is set high] but I don’t think we’re going to have a problem,” she said. “I think we’re going to do just as well as we did last year.”
Currently, the Pennsbury girls are getting ready for their first season sans Rossi, Lauren Rossi, that is, the 2009 graduate who led the Lady Falcons at No. 1 singles for the past few seasons.
Besides always seeming to manage to put her opponent away in singles play during the regular season, Rossi always managed to make her way to states on the individual circuit.
Last year, Lauren teamed up with Krauss and captured the district runnerup trophy in District One doubles play. Two years ago, Rossi made a run to states in singles play. In the year prior to that along with Krauss, Rossi also made a run to the state doubles tourney.
Now, it looks like its Krauss’ time to shine in the No. 1 slot. Tara says she welcomes the challenge and responsibility that comes with the position.
“I’ve been working up to it since I was a freshman, so I’m really excited to have it,” said Krauss. “I hope to play very well.”
Last year in district doubles play, Rossi and Krauss won in the first round against Chichester’s Rebecca Lumley and Devan Kaulek, 6-0, 6-0, and in an ensuing match with Downingtown East’s Alex Simmons and Tracey Weaver, 6-2, 6-1.
“They played the best tennis I’ve ever seen them play; they were absolutely phenomenal,” stated Gebeau.
The pair had to settle for second place at districts, when they dropped the title match to Wissahickon’s Rachel Fein and Katie Kennedy, 7-5, 7-5.
At states, Rossi and Krauss defeated Raneem Rajaoub and Meredith Manchester from Williamsport, 6-1, 6-4, in a first round pairing before falling to Julie Stroyne and Caroline Nixon of Peters Township, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) in the quarterfinals.
“That was exciting for both of us. We teamed up when I was a freshman and she was a sophomore—my very first year playing," stated Krauss. "And we made it to states [the next] year so we were excited to do it again. That was our goal.”
“We seemed to have very good team chemistry; we play well together.”
Now, not only will the Falcons have to find a way to win without Rossi, they’ll have to do it without 12 other players who have since departed including Paige Deiner, Danielle Raftery and Corinne Hansen.
Deiner and Raftery were part of a No. 1 doubles team that made it to the district quarterfinals. Hansen was half of the No. 2 doubles team that helped Pennsbury past Lower Merion in the district team tournament.
Raftery and Deiner rebounded from a 6-4 loss in the district quarterfinals to outpace Emely Levyn and Xiun Liu, 6-3, 6-4. Then, Hansen and current sophomore Lauren Zawacki defeated Kara Silberthau and Rebecca Wahrman, 7-5, 6-2 to help seal the win for the Falcons.
Before last season, Hansen, now graduated, and Zawacki, then only a freshman, didn’t know one another. Nevertheless, Gebeau said the pair worked well together from the start.
“Despite them not knowing each other, fireworks went off; they clicked from the get-go,” Gebeau stated. “They complemented each other with very strong ground strokes, being able to come to the net together and put the ball away.
Despite the departures of so many, Krauss seems to think that Pennsbury can do well again this season.
“I think we’re going to do awesome this season,” she said. “I know the team has very high hopes.”
The team has such lofty expectations, says Krauss, because it currently has a group of incoming freshman and some others stepping up from junior varsity.
That group would include freshmen Katie Reilly and Nicole Raftery, sophomore Marisa Millenson as well as returning varsity sophomores Kathleen Raftery and Emily Nelson.
By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor
Last year was head coach Lindsay Gibeau’s first season guiding the Falcons. The year before under Glenn White, Pennsbury became the first team in 10 years other than Lower Merion to win the District One Class AAA crown.
Under the spotlight in 2008, Gebeau led Pennsbury to a 9-5 record in the regular season--good enough for third place in the SOL National Conference behind Council Rock North and Abington--and a spot in the district playoffs.
In the District One AAA quarters, the Falcons shocked top seed Lower Merion, when they picked their Main Line rivals off, 3-2. For the Aces, it meant their team would not be in the state playoffs for the first time in a decade.
“It was very exciting after the previous year—winning districts,” stated senior Tara Krauss, who is lined up to play in the No. 1 singles slot at Pennsbury this year.
“Last year, we had a great run. Everybody stepped up to the plate. Certain people pulled out strong when we needed them—different people at different times. It was a real team effort.”
The question remains, can the Falcons keep this pace going? Krauss certainly seems to think so.
“Yes, [the bar is set high] but I don’t think we’re going to have a problem,” she said. “I think we’re going to do just as well as we did last year.”
Currently, the Pennsbury girls are getting ready for their first season sans Rossi, Lauren Rossi, that is, the 2009 graduate who led the Lady Falcons at No. 1 singles for the past few seasons.
Besides always seeming to manage to put her opponent away in singles play during the regular season, Rossi always managed to make her way to states on the individual circuit.
Last year, Lauren teamed up with Krauss and captured the district runnerup trophy in District One doubles play. Two years ago, Rossi made a run to states in singles play. In the year prior to that along with Krauss, Rossi also made a run to the state doubles tourney.
Now, it looks like its Krauss’ time to shine in the No. 1 slot. Tara says she welcomes the challenge and responsibility that comes with the position.
“I’ve been working up to it since I was a freshman, so I’m really excited to have it,” said Krauss. “I hope to play very well.”
Last year in district doubles play, Rossi and Krauss won in the first round against Chichester’s Rebecca Lumley and Devan Kaulek, 6-0, 6-0, and in an ensuing match with Downingtown East’s Alex Simmons and Tracey Weaver, 6-2, 6-1.
“They played the best tennis I’ve ever seen them play; they were absolutely phenomenal,” stated Gebeau.
The pair had to settle for second place at districts, when they dropped the title match to Wissahickon’s Rachel Fein and Katie Kennedy, 7-5, 7-5.
At states, Rossi and Krauss defeated Raneem Rajaoub and Meredith Manchester from Williamsport, 6-1, 6-4, in a first round pairing before falling to Julie Stroyne and Caroline Nixon of Peters Township, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) in the quarterfinals.
“That was exciting for both of us. We teamed up when I was a freshman and she was a sophomore—my very first year playing," stated Krauss. "And we made it to states [the next] year so we were excited to do it again. That was our goal.”
“We seemed to have very good team chemistry; we play well together.”
Now, not only will the Falcons have to find a way to win without Rossi, they’ll have to do it without 12 other players who have since departed including Paige Deiner, Danielle Raftery and Corinne Hansen.
Deiner and Raftery were part of a No. 1 doubles team that made it to the district quarterfinals. Hansen was half of the No. 2 doubles team that helped Pennsbury past Lower Merion in the district team tournament.
Raftery and Deiner rebounded from a 6-4 loss in the district quarterfinals to outpace Emely Levyn and Xiun Liu, 6-3, 6-4. Then, Hansen and current sophomore Lauren Zawacki defeated Kara Silberthau and Rebecca Wahrman, 7-5, 6-2 to help seal the win for the Falcons.
Before last season, Hansen, now graduated, and Zawacki, then only a freshman, didn’t know one another. Nevertheless, Gebeau said the pair worked well together from the start.
“Despite them not knowing each other, fireworks went off; they clicked from the get-go,” Gebeau stated. “They complemented each other with very strong ground strokes, being able to come to the net together and put the ball away.
Despite the departures of so many, Krauss seems to think that Pennsbury can do well again this season.
“I think we’re going to do awesome this season,” she said. “I know the team has very high hopes.”
The team has such lofty expectations, says Krauss, because it currently has a group of incoming freshman and some others stepping up from junior varsity.
That group would include freshmen Katie Reilly and Nicole Raftery, sophomore Marisa Millenson as well as returning varsity sophomores Kathleen Raftery and Emily Nelson.
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