An unpreferable situation presented itself for Madelyn Conrad and Samantha Peterson, Liberty teammates who had to face each other in the quarterfinal round of the District XI Class AAA Girls Singles Tennis Tournament last Thursday at Parkland High School in which Conrad won 6-4, 6-3.

As for Liberty coach Leo Schnalzer, there was nothing much he could do except let them play.

“In my mind, I was thinking, she could have done this or she should have done that, but I had to just let them play,” Schnalzer said. “It was a really good match. They’ve been competitive all year. Madelyn was on as good as I’ve seen her.”

Conrad won her first round match against Elsie VanOrmer from Emmaus 6-1, 7-5, and her second round match against Leticia Melendez from William Allen 6-3, 6-0.

Peterson also won her first two matches, defeating Kaitlin Grogg from Easton 6-1, 6-1, and Alison Smith from Nazareth 6-2, 6-0.

Those victories set up the Conrad and Peterson match.

Conrad said, “You kind of just had to play your game. I didn’t want to think about who was on the other side. I wanted to play my game, but she’s my best friend.”

Conrad then moved on to the semifinal and lost to Elessa Jacobs from Easton 0-6, 0-6, but the Hurricane senior earned the district bronze medal.

“I’m really proud of myself, especially for being a number two singles player. I went into my matches and gave it my best,” said Conrad.

Conrad’s match against VanOrmer was more difficult in the sense that it was a come-from-behind victory.

“She was up 5-1 in the second set, and I came back. Honestly, I just focused on every point. I was being more consistent and staying in it. Once it was 5 all, I thought, let’s just put it away,” Conrad said.

Coach Schnalzer expressed pride about both of his players.

“They are both very good players, probably the best tandem players I’ve coached,” he said.

Now, Conrad is looking forward to playing on the same side as Peterson in the District 11 Class AAA Girls Doubles Tournament this week. Last year, the Hurricane duo won the silver medal.

“I think Sam and I will do well. We want to come back and win this time,” said Conrad.