Bucktail tennis set to make 18-straight District IV Playoffs at Central Columbia today
By Bees O’Brien
FARWELL- Bucktail tennis will once again be headed to the postseason. It’s become a habit for the Farwell netters, as they are gearing up for their eighteenth straight trip to the postseason. Their preliminary round opponent is a foe from their past, Central Columbia.
The Lady Bucks fell in the quarterfinals to the PHAC squad by a 3-0 count in 2023.
Coach Dan Heiser feels confident entering Tuesday afternoon’s trip to Bloomsburg to meet the 8-seeded Lady Blue Jays.
“Central Columbia is a good team. They have good and experienced players. We are coming into this match as a young team that has been gaining confidence.” Heiser said of the impending match “One thing Alison and I have been impressed with is this team’s resiliency. We have had so many come from behind matches this season. These girls are not afraid of competition and I think this is going to be a good matchup.”
If the Lady Bucks would pull off the road upset, it would be the program’s first victory over a team out of the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference.
The reward for knocking off Central Columbia would be a date against defending D4 2A Champions Jersey Shore in Jersey Shore on Thursday. The Lady Bulldogs, the top seed in the bracket enter postseason play with an undefeated 17-0 record.
Central Columbia finished regular season at 10-6, while the Lady Bucks had a 7-5 record.
Jersey Shore swept Central Columbia during the regular season with a 5-0 win and a 4-1 victory. Bucktail did not face Jersey Shore during the regular season.
The Lady Bucks and Lady Blue Jays do share a common opponent in South Williamsport. Central lost to the Lady Mounties 3-2. Bucktail was swept in both meetings with Mid Penn Conference rivals South by 5-0 counts in both meetings. South Williamsport is the 3 seed in the 2A playoffs and will await the Towanda vs Lewisburg matchup.
Match time is set for 4pm in Bloomsburg at Central Columbia High School.
It’s already been a remarkable year for Bucktail tennis. At the start of the season, there were doubts that the Lady Bucks would be able to fill a lineup. Senior Matti Mason, Lola English and freshman Carrie Ditty would join the likes of Eva Sockman, Kedda Bissman and Kendall Wagner to ensure that the tennis program would carry on and see yet another trip to the postseason.
