With the Whitehall girls tennis season coming to a close at last month’s District 11 AAA doubles tournament, the focus will now be on the future for a team that’s looking to ascend the ladder in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

The Zephyrs had two representatives in this year’s district tournament. One of those teams featured Emily Yenser and Nicole Peluso.

Yenser was the team’s No. 1 singles player this season, while Peluso occupied the No. 2 slot. They drew Parkland’s Joanna Wu and Jess Marks who came into the tourney as the eighth seed. Wu and Marks were one of three Parkland doubles teams competing for a title.

The match went three sets, with Wu and Marks eventually prevailing in a tiebreaker.

Peluso said that they won the first set in a tiebreaker (6-7, 7-1), and then dropped the second set 6-3. That forced a pivotal third set which the Trojan duo eventually won, 10-7.

Pushing the Parkland combo of Wu and Marks to the brink of elimination was a result of capitalizing on their weaknesses as a doubles team.

“We saw what they were struggling with and used that to our advantage,” said Peluso.

It was the first time Yenser and Peluso had played doubles together all season, and Peluso said that there was a bit of an adjustment needed in order for their games to mesh. That prevented them from being as smooth as they would have liked, she said.

It was also the first time they played Wu and Marks, and Peluso believed they would fare well against Parkland’s No. 3 doubles team heading into the match. They nearly advanced to the next round, but had to watch as Wu and Marks made it to the quarterfinals before defaulting to eventual champs Sophia and Ireland Amato.

While the loss ended their season, the Whitehall tandem put together a strong front against a ranked team.

“I was happy with the effort,” said Peluso.

Also at the doubles tourney was Maria Tran and Teresa Nappo, Whitehall’s No. 2 doubles team. Their opponents were Pocono Mountain East’s Camille Famularo and Cassidy Marzzaco. It was another three set match, with the Zephyr pair losing a tiebreaker in the third set to end their bid for a crown. They lost 6-3, 3-6, 10-3.

With both teams eliminated, the Zephyrs 2016 season came to an end. They wound up 6-9 this season.

The Zephs will lose their top two singles players as both Yenser and Peluso graduate, while Tran also leaves the program. Still, they have a strong cast returning and will look to make some waves in 2017.

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Overall, it was a busy postseason for the team, competing in both the league and district tournaments.

It began with the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Tennis Championships at Freedom High School. That’s where No. 2 singles player Nicole Peluso shined, winning her match 8-7 over Allentown Central Catholic’s Madison Hess.

The win was significant because it not only avenged an earlier loss to Hess, but also in the manner in which it was accomplished. Head coach Sean Devine said that Hess and Peluso had met just s few weeks prior, and the outcome was much different. Peluso didn’t win a game against Hess, losing 6-0, 6-0.

This time Peluso turned the tables and won in a tiebreaker.

“That’s a big turnaround,” said Devine. “It was pretty amazing.”

The Zephyrs failed to qualify for the District 11 3A team tournament, but they had two representatives at the D-11 3A Girls Singles Tournament.

No. 1 singles player Emily Yenser drew Easton’s Ireland Amato, the No. 3 seed, while Peluso, playing again at No. 2 singles was facing Ireland’s twin sister Sophia Amato, the No. 2 seed.

Both players lost their matches 6-0, 6-0.

Devine said that both players had a pretty good showing, they just happened to run into two very talented players, one of whom made it all the way to the finals. Ireland Amato defeated Sophia in the semifinals 6-1, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 to earn a trip to the championship match. That’s where she faced Red Rover teammate Elessa Jacobs. Jacobs won the EPC singles title, 6-3, 6-0.