The fact that Towanda girls tennis had a season was celebration enough for the Lady Knights as their season last year was cancelled.

Towanda went winless on the season, but did have a few 3-2 losses - two of them to NP-Liberty - as the relatively inexperienced team improved as the season went on.

"Overall, I am very pleased with the season," said coach Sabrina Taylor. "We had only two returning players, both seniors, Nadia Alderfer and Dalila Vega. Our other five players were all first-time tennis players, one senior, Natalee Hicks, and four freshmen - Johna Miller, Olivia Masters, Keira McNeal, and Rilyn Bonavita. Even though we didn’t have a lot of depth, we had a lot of heart!"

Playing at second singles Vega went 3-4 on the season, while Alderfer was 2-6 playing at first singles.

In doubles action Vega and Alderfer went 2-0 while Hicks and McNeal, along with Alderfer and McNeal, both went 1-0.

"I was very impressed with the efforts of our new players," said Taylor. "I thought they all played with heart, soul and guts. We pretty much got beat up out there, especially by Wellsboro and South Williamsport. But the girls never really got discouraged or depressed. I kept reminding them how we all looked and played when we started. A lot of the girls picked things up quickly and have made great improvements in a short period of time. I am excited for next season!"

Alderfer moved into the number one spot after being the number player in 2024 as a sophomore, while Vega played on the boys team last season.

"(Nadia) held her own pretty well," Taylor said. "Dalila played with the boys last season and I think that helped her tremendously with skill, technique and confidence. Dalila was also hitting with us a lot over the summer. In the past, she had always played doubles, but this year jumped to #2 singles. That’s a big step and Dalila handled it with poise and grace."

Alderfer returned to District IV singles play, falling in the opening round.

"Nadia went to districts and played Elsa Kehrer from Montoursville," Taylor said. "It took Nadia a bit to warm up, but she played very well, much better than the scores indicated. She lost the first set 2-6. And even though she lost the second set, 0-6, Nadia played one of her best sets ever. Three or four of the games went to deuce and the others were close. She played a very aggressive style, going to the net a lot and winning many points that way. Only having seven games to play in the season didn't really give her enough preparation for the post-season competition."

Vega and Hicks went to the doubles tournament, and also fell in the first round.

"This was the first time either of them played in districts and they did very well," said Taylor. "Even though they didn't win a game, they didn't get shut out either. They faced Loyalsock's number one doubles team, which went on to win the championship and advance to States. So I was very impressed with their playing, confidence and attitudes. They both really enjoyed themselves and are glad they went."

For Taylor, this was almost like starting over from scratch.

"I think not having a girls’ season last year hurt us a bit," she said. "We had to

scramble to get seven players to commit to the season, which was rather difficult at times with other school commitments, work and illness. The other commitments and illness made it difficult to always have a full roster at practice or at some of the matches. It would have been nice to win at least one match, but given all the circumstances, I believe the girls did the best they could and we built a strong foundation for the team. Although we had a losing record, winning

games wasn’t as important as keeping the team together and to continue to have a tennis team at Towanda. Tennis is a very unique sport in many ways. We have had many, many students who never played sports before, but chose tennis to try. I’d say more than 90% of them loved it and stayed with it. Those who didn’t play until their junior or senior years regretted not starting earlier."

Taylor is hoping that she'll be able to hit the ground running with the youngsters next summer.

"So hopefully I’d like to get together with the girls during the off-season to hit as often as possible and work on conditioning," she said. "I’m also hoping they can find some friends and other girls interested in playing tennis so we can continue to build a strong team. I believe that we could bring another NTL Championship back to Towanda with these girls."