WAHS tennis finishes successful season

Significant early setbacks didn’t overwhelm the Wallenpaupack Area High School girls tennis program this recently ended season.

In fact, the Buckhorns stayed steadfast and united toward accomplishing their goals.

“When we started our season, we had a lot of injuries, but as the season progressed, we got healthier and improved a lot,’’ head coach Christopher Doty said. “A good example would be our matches with West Scranton. “The Lady Invaders were a really good team and when we played them in early September at West, they beat us 4 – 1. However, when we played them in the District 2 semifinals at Kirby Park in mid-October, we beat them 3 – 2, and we played much better. West Scranton had five returning starters and they are coached extremely well, so using those matches as a barometer for our season is a great example of how we improved.’’

Leaders on the roster helped keep the Buckhorns focused this year.

“We had two senior starters, and they were elected captains on day one: Abigail Cykosky - first doubles - and Victoria Latek - first singles,’’ Doty said. “We were really happy with their leadership because both are more leaders by example. They practiced hard every day, and they really bought into our program philosophy of ‘We will be a better team at 5:00 than we were at 3:00 and I will be a better player and teammate at 5:00 than I was at 3:00.’

“These two young ladies are prime examples of what we want our program to emulate. We strive to get better every day, not just on the tennis court, but also in the classroom and in everything we do. Our tennis program was very fortunate to have Abby and Victoria as our captains and we will miss their leadership next season. Both Abby and Victoria are honors students, and both are leaders in the classroom and our school community.’’

Several student athletes on the team continued got better as tennis players at every given opportunity.

“I would not say we were surprised by any of our players because we witnessed their commitment to getting better every day,’’ Doty said. “It would be hard to single out any of them, but our number two doubles team of junior Alexis Lopes-Torres and sophomore Jenna Petroski and our number three singles player, freshman Addy Ezzo, all were first year starters who really improved from day one.

“We had high expectations for all of them, but sometimes when new players get into varsity competition, they tend to not play as well. As the year progressed, we expected all three of these players not only to play well, but also to win most of their matches.’’

Wallenpaupack Area finished with an impressive overall record of 14-5, including a second place finish in District 2.

“I cannot stress enough how much our assistant coaches, Aimee Wentzell and George Pittsman, mean to this program. Both are excellent teachers of the game and both have earned the trust of our players. But most of all, both are excellent role models for our players and both are really good people, I am proud to have them on our staff.‘’

Excitement is prevalent regarding the future of Wallenpaupack Area girls tennis.

“We are losing two key seniors to our lineup, but we return five starters and another six players who earned varsity letters,’’ Doty said. “The competition for our starting seven will be as good as it ever has been next year and we cannot wait to see who earns the initial starting positions. Many of our returning players are already working out in local tennis clubs and in the weight room, so we are expecting a great preseason in 2026.’’