It's So Hard To Say Goodbye.... The Lady Vikings bonded this season and fought hard every match. Coach David did a excellent job of having the girls prepared for every match. The girls will continue to improve during the offseason. Well wishes to the senior Lady Vikings.. Match point for the 2016 season.

                                         PAC 12 SINGLES TOURNAMENT Congratulations to Amy Phanthavog, Minali Tare and Sahar Islam qualifying for the PAC 12 girls tennis singles tournament. 

                           Despite Great Rally Play,  Not enough to Rally past Phoenixville   Singles: Julia Gumieniak, Phx, def. Amy Phanthavong 6-0, 6-0;  Amy fought hard and had some good rally play against a very game opponent Julia Gumieniak.  "Julia was a tough opponent. I gave my all, no shame for losing to such a great player." Gina Brown, Phx, def. Minali Tare 6-4, 7-5;  Minali consistency and focus kept her in the match until the end. Gina Brown won a very close match that could have went either way. "It's tough when you fight to the very end and come up just that short. I have great teammates that encouraged me. I am thankful for that. " Sahar Islam, UM, def. Alex Rieg 6-3, 6-2; Two childhood friends Sahar Islam and Alex Reig squared off in a great back and forth match. Sahar's cross-court slices and hard volleys earned her the only win for the Lady Vikings 6-1 defeat. "Alex and I met at The Villanova Adidas tennis camp and became friends.  She's a really good player so I knew this would be a tough match.  It's bitter sweet because my team lost. I'm glad we have two matches remaining to try and redeem ourselves." Doubles:  Jess Eldridge and Ashlyn Duda, Phx, def. Marlena Ruser and Sophie Gomez 6-4, 6-2;  Elyse Langan and Megan O'Neill, Phx, def. Gabrielle Margulies and Ava Rosato 6-3, 6-2; Susan Duncan and Amanda Monachelli, Phx, def. Emily Reid and Hali Shin 7-5, 6-3; Jillian Absher and Jess Kramer, Phx, def. Kristen Galban and Raizel Alli 6-2, 6-1

              LADY VIKINGS ROW THEIR WAY BACK INTO THE WIN COLUMN   Singles:  Amy Phanthavong (UM) def. Carly Bernhardt 6-0, 6-0;  Amy was dialed in from the very first serve. Four years of high school tennis experience were on full display. Minali Tare (UM) def. Emily Brandt 6-7, 6-1, 6-4;  Minali fought hard earning her a victory in a tiebreaker set. This was a great "dig deep" character type of victory she will forever cherish.  Sahar Islam (UM) def. Maddy Gochnauer 6-0, 6-1;  Sahar showed a great deal of poise and composure against a player who could really drive the ball into the ground. Doubles:    Emily Moll/Abby Clifford (UP) def. Kristen Gal/Marlena Ruser 6-0, 6-3; Despite the score, Kristen and Marlena earned their opponents respect with strong rallies.   Ava Rosato/Gabrielle Margoles (UM) def. Allison Herbst/Cassidy Wright 6-2, 6-0; Ava and Gabby controlled both sets with good cross-court play and hard volleys.    Hali Shin/Emily Reid (UM) def. Olivia Dick/Kelsey Cummings 6-2, 6-3; Hali and Emily strong net-play and volley assured their victory.   Claire Becker/Raizel Alli (UM) def. Sanjana Patel/Sophie Jago 2-6, 6-3, 6-4; Very competitive match, Raizel and Claire took control in their third set tiebreaker.

        DESPITE TOUGH LOSS... LADY VIKINGS HEADS HELD HIGH         Match Recap: Singles: Jasmine Morris (PV) defeated Amy Phanthavong (UM)  6-4, 6-1; Allison Newman (PV) defeated Minali Tare (UM)  6-0, 6-0; Nadja Townsend (PV) defeated Sahar Islam (UM)  6-2, 6-0 Doubles: Sabina Brzozowski / Angelina Gizzio (PV) def. Sophie Shucter-Gomez/Marlena Ruser (UM)  6-3, 6-1; Sana Kewalramani / Vee Mishra (PV) def.  Ava Rosato / Gabrielle Mergulies (UM)  6-3, 6-2; Irina Koleva / Brooke Ozer (PV) def.  Hali Shin / Emily Reid (UM)  6-2, 6-3; Gabby Timoteo / Kay Mahon (PV) def. Claire Becker / Raizel Alli (UM)  6-1, 6-2

                                     We Must Protect This House   Some good back and forth play between the two teams. However The Lady Vikings took control of their sets with decent net play and ground strokes.  Match Recap: Singles: Amy Phanthvong (UM) def. Rebekah Lilliendal 6-1, 6-0;  Amy crushing ground-strokes allowed for her to be in full control of her sets.     Minali Tare (UM) def. Zoe Birch 6-3, 6-1;  Minali demonstrated great concentration and aggressive strokes as she dictated the pace of her match.     Sahar Islam (UM) def. Mya Krueger 7-5, 8-6  Sahar fought from behind (both sets) and showed resilience with clutch play down the stretch earning her the victory.     Doubles: Sophie Gomez/Marlena Ruser (UM) def. Samme Marazas/Alex Harvey 6-0, 6-3;  Sophie and Marlena displayed great net play and teamwork working together.    Ava Rosato/Gabriella Margulies (UM) def. Alexis Youse/Ashley Livezey 6-1, 6-4; Ava and Gabriella showed a great display of  "gets" and volleys. Their second set showed their willingness and toughness to fight off a late rally by Pottsgrove.   Hali Shin/Emily Reid (UM) def. Sabrina Gleason/Makenzie Murphy 6-0, 6-3;  Hali and Emily were in full control of their sets. Although the second set was a bit closer. The girls stayed the course.    Ashley Lessig/Alyssa Wehr (P) def. Claire Beeker/Raizel Alli 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Claire and Raizel fought hard and forced a tiebreaker. Despite coming up just a hair short of the win, they fought to the end.

Lady Vikings on the road held serve against a very GAME Pottstown Trojan team. Coach David had his team well prepared coming off back to back losses.   Singles Recap: Amy Phanthavong (UM) def. Gianna Epps 6-4, 6-1;  Amy was able to drive the ball into the ground really well against a game opponent. Amy showed her 4 years of experience in the second set by taking full control of the match.   Minali Tare (UM) def. Alivia Lopez 7-6, 6-0;   Great back and forth match between these two singles players (applauds) Minali dug deep and pulled out the victory by taking full control of the second set.    Sahar Islam (UM) def. Sierra Everett 6-3, 6-2: Power shots were put on display by both players. Sahar was able to put the ball in some tough spots therefore earning her the victory.   Doubles Recap:   Sophie and Marlena-Gomez/Marlena Ruser (UM) def. Jaelyn Kennedy/Ashley Adams 6-0,6-0; Sophie and Marlena showed great strength and conditioning as they controlled both sets.   Ava Rosato and Hali Shin (UM) def. Abigail Richter/Zoe Wallace 6-1, 6-1; Ava Rosato and Hali Shin demonstrated great chemistry and strategy as they controlled both sets.

Another Lost Doesn't Phase the LV's   The Lady Vikings came out with hopes of victory but unfortunately there power shots and high confidence were no match to their opponents, but they're not stressing over it because they still have several matches to try again.  

The girls tennis team continued its strong start to the season with a 5-2 win over a strong Boyertown team. Any Phanthavong and Minali Tare fought back to win their singles matches in 3 sets and Sahar Islam also won a tight match at third singles. Gabby Margulies and Ava Rosato looks very strong at second doubles. Hali Shin and Emily Reid also picked up a clutch win at third doubles. 

The Lady Vikings Fought Hard but, Couldn't ROW in a WIN

Lady Vikings in For the Win    Norristown came in with great confidence and powerful rallies but, Upper Merion took charge with their relentless ground strokes and hard-volleys  Highlights Upper Merion 7, Norristown 0 At King of Prussia Singles: Amy Phanthavong, UM, def. Hannah Markley, 6-0, 6-0; Minali Tare, UM, def. Taylor Walker, 6-0, 6-0; Sahar Islam, UM, def. Naomi Dillan, 6-1, 6-0. Doubles: Marlena Ruser, Sophie Gomez, UM, win by forfeit; Gabrielle Margulies, Ava Rosato, UM, win by forfeit; Emily Reid, Hali Shin, UM, win by forfeit; Kristen Galban, Raizel Alli, UM, win by forfeit.   Records: Upper Merion 1-0, 1-0; Norristown 0-1, 0-1.   

The UM girls had a great opportunity to practice playing matches against Hatboro-Horsham. Amy Phanthavong, Minali Tare and Sahar Islam all played well at singles. Hali Shin and Ava Rosato had a great match at second doubles as well.