After going 5-3 in the first half of the season, Emmaus now enters a stretch of tough matches against opponents like Stroudsburg, Nazareth, Parkland and Central Catholic. Actually, the streak started this past Monday when Emmaus faced Northampton and had to do so without number-one singles player Elise VanOrmer.

Even though they dropped their one and two singles matches, the Lady Hornets still played well enough to beat the Konkrete Kids 4-3.

The 6-3 start (6-2 in the EPC) is a step up from how the team played last season, when it finished 2-9 in the EPC and 2-12 overall. Younger players are showing development and the team has a strong bond that is helping the players gain confidence.

Against Northampton, Sonya Boukengolts had to step in to play number-one singles and she was cheered on by teammates who gathered to watch the match and never let down with their encouragement.

“We’re sticking together as a team, which is good, and just trying to get better and trying to get some decent wins under our belt,” said head coach Dmitri Diamandopoulos. “I told the girls, ‘there are teams that aren’t going to beat us, but if we can get some wins that are kind of either way, a 50-50 split, then that will be a big push for us.’”

Number-two player Kennedy Spencer, a senior, is relatively new to the sport and struggled through last season. This season, she’s shown good development in her game, and although she still feels a little over-matched at times, she has fought her way to a 5-4 record after winning just two matches last season.

“It’s definitely fun,” said Spencer. “My record isn’t the best, but I haven’t been playing tennis for that long. I’m out here to have fun. Our team is really a great community, probably the best one in the school because we’re a smaller team compared to all the other sports. There’s a good sense of community and bonding.

“I do like the challenge and I can definitely say that I’ve improved from last year. My backhand is definitely a lot better.”

The team has already shown improvement over last season and it’s likely that many of the players, especially the younger ones, will continue developing over the remaining matches. Spencer believes the team will continue to get better thanks to the hard work that it is putting in to get better.

“We’re definitely better than last year,” said Spencer. “I would say that a lot of us matured from last year. Some people really stepped up, especially our number-one singles player [Elise VanOnmer]. A couple of the sophomores and juniors stepped up to higher positions.

“We lost a couple of our best players, but people have stepped up and we’re doing a lot better than last year.”

Diamandopoulos has a group of players who are working hard to get better and have committed themselves to improving personally, and helping the team to get better overall.

“They’re definitely all showing improvement, even the younger kids are showing improvement and they want to be here,” said Diamondopoulos. “They want to get better, and that’s the battle. When you have a team that says ‘hey, I want to play and I want to get better,’ that’s what you want to have as a coach.”

As for Spencer, she’s enjoying her senior year as she plans for college. Right now, she’s attempting to figure out how to combine two of her main interests for a possible double-major, which isn’t easy considering they’re very different fields.

“I’m thinking something in biological science, possibly physical therapy, but also vocal performance, which is the other end of the spectrum,” said Spencer with a big smile.

“Those two are almost impossible majors to double-major in, but I’m trying to finagle something in there, with science and music. I’m in six choirs along with tennis and I do plays, too. It’s all a lot of fun and I’m enjoying my senior year.”