This season Eileen Carbone watched her girls simply have fun.

The veteran head tennis coach at Northampton realized her team is in the initial stage of a rebuilding project after losing a core that produced consecutive successful 15-win seasons for the Kids the past two years

Instead, Carbone was left with a group of relatively inexperienced varsity players, all of whom have been working to establish themselves in the always competitive Lehigh Valley Conference.

The Kids recently defated Easton 5-2.

"We did have a nice win over Easton," said Carbone.

Carbone initially believed her club would be in the middle of the pack in the conference, but a small, young squad has temporarily detour her designed route.

"We only have 12 girls," she stated. "We continually looked to fill some spots. It has been a work in progress."

Yet, Carbone has been pleased with the development of number one player senior Leah Hodge, whose sister Brittany was the team's top player two years ago.

"Leah (Hodge) has been coming around," said Carbone. "She has been doing well and certainly has potential to be as productive as some of our other number on players."

Carbone also has been pleased with the development of the Kids' number two doubles team of junior Mary Angle and senior Georgia Weaver. Freshman Emma Angle, Mary's sister, also blossomed at the Kids' number three singles slot.

Juniors Jolene Stearns and Delaney Haggerty also made progress at the team's number-three doubles team.

Carbone worked to keep the team patient.

"It has been difficult for a number of them because they are basically beginners at most of the positions," stated Carbone. "But when you look around, you don't see many girls coming out for sports. We have more than a few sports in the fall.

"But we have potential and we're learning. In the meantime, we'll have fun moving along."