The Shaler Area Varsity Girls Tennis team battled back and forth throughout their games and ended the 2023 season with a 4-5 record.
Senior day was especially strong for the team, as their match against Plum ended in a 5-0 victory for Shaler. Each of the 8 seniors that played won their match, which was a memorable moment for the players and head coach Mr. Brian Duermeyer.
“It was a bit bittersweet because we had another large senior class. It is tough seeing kids who have played for years move on but I am excited to forge relationships with our younger players,” Mr. Duermeyer said.
After playing for the boys team during his junior and senior years of high school, Mr. Duermeyer has always held a love for the sport. He became the head coach in 2016, and has always strived to push his players to be the best they can be.
“I love the fact that the players represent some of the best families the district has to offer. My kids are exceptional student athletes and they represent our district with pride,” he said.
One of the best highlights of the season was the upset victory the team scored against Mercyhurst Prep, a team who has won three of their more recent district championships. It was an extremely hard-fought victory in one of the closest games of the entire season, and the one most celebrated amongst the players.
Right at the end of the season, seniors and co-captains Josie Wilkins and Paige Sigmund were selected as Shaler’s representatives for the sectional tournament. They were the two top players of the season, and put on a phenomenal performance.
“We each had equally good matches getting games on our opponent but ended up losing the overall match we played together as a doubles team at section doubles. For not being true ‘doubles players’ or a doubles team, as we are singles players, we ended up finding our rhythm pretty quickly and started to get a lot of games keeping the overall match close in score, but we still ended up losing against Mars,” Wilkins explained.
Now that their games are over, the team is ready to come back even stronger next season. While their performances throughout the games are important to them, the players have always prioritized a positive sentiment and a strong sense of unity. As a four year veteran, Wilkins still remembers how the seniors encouraged her while she was an underclassman and hopes to pass that on to the new members.
“I enjoyed going to watch the underclassmen in their matches because I love them so much and love to support them as a team. They are a big part of why I love Shaler’s Girls Tennis team and I’m so sad I won’t be able to be with them next year.”
