Bucktail tennis grabs 3 seed in District IV, will host playoff match Thursday
By Bees O’Brien
FARWELL, PA- The Bucktail tennis team will have to erase their 4-1 loss at Jersey Shore on Friday from their memory as quickly as possible. The Lady Bucks’ 16-1 finish was good enough to position them perfectly in the upcoming PIAA District 4 2A championships.
Bucktail will be a 3 seed in the tournament and will await a familiar foe in the quarterfinals, regardless of who wins the meeting between six seeded Cowanesque Valley (9-2) or 11 seed Montgomery (8-8). Bucktail already owns two victories against both schools in 2022.
The Lady Bucks downed Montgomery 4-1 and 4-1 in their previous meetings. They knocked off CV 4-1 and 4-0 in their meetings with the Lady Indians.
This will be the first meeting between Cowanesque Valley and Montgomery this season. CV, the higher seed will host the Lady Red Raiders on Tuesday.
If Bucktail wins their quarterfinal contest, they will advance to the district semifinals for the first time in school history. They’ve made the playoffs every season since 2007 and have yet to advance beyond the quarterfinals. If they do win on Thursday, they will have a huge task waiting for them.
Jersey Shore’s lone loss was to Central Mountain and was the HAC-I champions. They feature the number one singles player in the district, Peyton Dincher. They also have a 17-0 doubles tandem of Jaymison Stellfox and Anna Lanks. Jaymison is the daughter of Renovo native Jason Stellfox.
Hughesville (17-1) the second seed in the tournament could await the Lady Bucks. The Lady Spartans also received a bye and will play either South Williamsport (10-4) or Lewisburg (9-9).
The top half of the bracket is stacked. Jersey Shore (17-1) flexed their district might Friday night in their victory over Bucktail. They earned the top seed and await the 9 vs. 8 matchup when Danville (7-7) travels to Loyalsock (9-8).
Dangerous tournament sleepers could be lurking in 4 vs. 5 quarterfinal battle. Montoursville (13-5) travels to Central Columbia (11-2). The winner gets their shot at the top seeded Lady Bulldogs.
Bucktail’s singles lineup has been on fire. Senior Kayla Probert, Alexis Lowery and Bella English have come through for coach Dan Heiser and Allison Heiser’s squad. English was the only Bucktail player to score a victory against Jersey Shore.
Doubles has had success as well for Bucktail. The Lady Bucks have thrown a variety of combinations at opponents during 2022. Kori Prebble, Abby Miller, Gigi Balchun, Kendall Wagner, Eva Sockman, Giada Demarte, Mckenna Stone and Kedda Bissman have all seen time in the doubles lineup throughout the season.
Bucktail’s home playoff match on Thursday is set to begin at 4 p.m.
