Berwick’s Lynn Takes 2nd Straight 3a Crown
Plains Township’s Alex Sebia, a Scranton Prep senior, doesn’t lose a game in winning 3rd 2A title in row.
Berwick sophomore Katie Lynn, the top seed, competes in the District 2 3A singles semifinals Tuesday at Birchwood Racquet Club in Clarks Summit.
Times Leader Staff Photo/Aimee dilger
CLARKS SUMMIT – Katie Lynn looked up from the tennis court and saw her family waving behind the glass windows. She couldn’t hear them cheering, but her huge smile and wave showed that she figured they were.
And if you were Lynn, you would assume you had a cheering section.
On Tuesday, at the Birchwood Racquet Club, the Berwick sophomore defeated second-seeded Brittany Ostrowski of Abington Heights 6-2, 6-3 to claim her second consecutive District 2 Class 3A title.
“It’s good,” she said. “I feel really glad.”
With the win, Lynn earns a berth into the PIAA Singles Tournament that starts on Friday, Nov. 3 at Hershey Racquet Club in Hershey. Scranton Prep’s Alex Sebia, who resides in Plains Township, claimed D2’s other berth by winning her third straight Class 2A title in historic fashion.
The Scranton Prep senior won all her matches by an identical 6-0, 6-0 score. She had a first-round bye, and then won 60 games straight.
According to Prep coach John Hubert, it was the first time in tournament history that a girl had won without dropping a game.
Sebia is the first girl since Crestwood’s Christine Kansky to win three or more straight titles. Kansky won from 2000-2003, her fourth and final title coming at the expense of Sebia. Kansky beat Sebia in the 2A final during Sebia’s freshman year.
Lynn, who is only a sophomore, can be the fourth player in D2 history to win four titles. Along with Kansky, only Abington Heights’ Eugina Mori (1976-80) and Scranton Prep’s Kelly Koch (1980-84) have achieved the feat.
After Lynn’s win on Tuesday, she was greeted by her high school coach, Trinell Bull, a few of her friends and some family members, including both her parents. Her father greeted her with an emotional hug, and she returned it with her own crying. They were just tears of excitement, nothing more, she said.
And she had plenty to be excited over.
The top-seeded Lynn breezed through the opening day of the tournament without dropping a game in her first two matches on Monday. In Tuesday’s semifinal, she easily defeated No. 4 Laura Sullivan of Delaware Valley 6-1, 6-1.
“I think the first match warmed me up,” Lynn said. “She was very consistent. I had to hit a lot of balls.”
Ostrowski advanced to the finals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 6 Cassie Bowman of Crestwood. Bowman pulled the only upset of the quarterfinal round with a win over third-seeded Rachel Wolyneic of Williamsport.
The Crestwood sophomore took a 3-0 lead after losing the first set to Ostrowski, but she couldn’t hold on and lost the next six games and the semifinal.
Sebia won the 2A title with a 6-0, 6-0 win over No. 2 Kristen Gensiak of Valley View in the final. She defeated fourth-seeded Ashley Bent of GAR in the semifinal. Gensiak had defeated No. 3 Annie Cognetti of Scranton Prep 7-5, 6-1 to advance.
“When I approached the tournament, like every match and every game, I think of every point as match point,” said Sebia, the top seed. “It gets me focused and helps me not lose my cool.”
Sebia was nearly flawless in Tuesday’s final. She admitted to making two errors, sending two balls just barely long. Other than those, she looked perfect.
But she’s not overconfident about her feat.
“There are some great girls coming up,” she said. “There may be someone who wins four years and doesn’t even drop a point.”
Maybe. But for now, there’s just Sebia and Lynn, both of whom earned another tournament gold medal to hang around their necks.
District 2 Singles Tournament
Birchwood Racquet Club, Clarks Summit
Class 2A
Semifinals: No. 1 Alex Sebia (Scranton Prep) d. No. 4 Ashley Bent (GAR) 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 Kristen Gensiak (Valley View) d. No. 3 Annie Cognetti (Scranton Prep) 7-5, 6-1
Final: No. 1 Sebia (Prep) d. No. 2 Gensiak (VV) 6-0, 6-0
Class 3A
Semifinals: No. 1 Katie Lynn (Berwick) d. No. 4 Laura Sullivan (Delaware Valley) 6-1, 6-1; No. 2 Brittany Ostrowski (Abington Heights) d. No. 6 Cassie Bowman (Crestwood) 6-3, 6-3
Final: No. 1 Lynn (Ber) d. No. 2 Ostrowski (AH) 6-2, 6-3
