Tennis: Lady Cardinals Defeat Germantown Academy, 6-1

The domination continues for the Upper Dublin girls’ tennis team, as they defeated cross-town rivals Germantown Academy, 6-1, on Wednesday afternoon.

Head coach Carol Hackenbracht cruised up and down the seven varsity courts as she watched her squad roll easily to a 5-1 record (2-0 SOL American).

“We’re doing very well so far,” said Hackenbracht. “We still have some stiff competition ahead, so we’ll take it one match at a time.”

Wednesday saw the Cardinals sweep all four of their doubles matches as the pair of Nikki Dion and Laynie Dratch took center stage. They made quick work of Kelli Stack and Kirby Begley by sets of 6-4 and 6-3. The pairings of Heather Begley and Andrea Jin, and Bria Bowman and Amber Zhang, also won in straight sets. Jess Dion and Iris Chan were pushed into a third set by their GA opponents, but ultimately won the match 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

The singles portion of Wednesday held a shaky start for Upper Dublin as junior Megan Klosterman and senior Sophia Zhang both lost their first sets, 1-6 and 4-6, respectively. Klosterman was able to keep her composure and battle back to win her last two frames by the same score of 6-3. Zhang was able to sweep out the second game of her match, but was ultimately responsible for Upper Dublin’s only blemish on the day. Zhang fought until the end, but was downed by a score of 6-3 in her final set.

The number one singles player for the Lady Cardinals held true to her position, as sophomore Alyssa Bergman was able to hold down her court and win in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-3.

“(Alyssa) has excellent strokes,” said Hackenbracht. “She is very consistent and has taken great strides in her game. She is excellent in adapting to all aspects of the game.”

Bergman was ranked third in her freshman year and was impressive in her jump to the top spot on the Cardinal roster.  

Coach Hackenbracht knows what lies ahead for this young team, but welcomes the challenges.

“We have Wissahickon coming up next week and they’re usually at the top of the conference so that’s something we’re all looking forward.”

Besides perennial rivals Wissahickon, they’ll have to face Upper Moreland away on Thursday in their third straight night in competition. They’ll also face Hatboro-Horsham on Monday before they faceing the Trojans on Tuesday.