Liberty’s girls tennis team hosted Bethlehem Catholic in their first of two city rivalry matches and shut out the Golden Hawks, 6-0, on Sept. 10.

In the only three-set match of the day, Liberty’s No. 3 singles player Polina Dorman came back from losing the first set, 3-6, to winning the next two sets, 6-2, 6-3, against Sasha Mathew.

“I noticed that my form on my forehands and backhands was really loose, and I wasn’t moving my feet very much, so after talking with my coach a little and hyping myself up, I started listening to my practice, and my form, and moving my feet, and that seemed to have cinched it,” Dorman said. “When I hit the ball harder, I noticed she could hit it back, so I had to adjust my strategy, which was a challenge.”

Dorman’s win was a rebound for the Hurricane junior after a three-set loss two days earlier.

“I played against Easton, went into a third set, lost in a tiebreak, and it was so close, and I felt down, and coming here today, and winning on a third set made me feel like I can do that, and I have the endurance to play that long, and it made me feel very confident,” she said. “I tried to [move her around]. I speak from experience because I hate moving around. Going side-to-side tires me out, it hurts my legs, and doing that to another player is a better way to get the point finished and win. I felt really strong. I know my practice pays off and being able to see it pay off makes me feel very accomplished.”

At No. 2 singles, Sarah Wang defeated Louisa Robinson, 6-1, 6-4, and at No. 1 singles, Corinne Mumma topped Elizabeth Schock, 6-0, 6-4.

“In the first set, I was able to keep a rally with her, and then I started to hit lines, so it was easier to get points, and I was hitting clear winners,” said Mumma. “[In the second set], she beat me consistency-wise, and I was trying to overcompensate for it and started hitting balls out.”

This is Mumma’s first season at No. 1 singles, having played at No. 3 singles last year.

“It’s a difficult position, moving up to trying to hit power and good serves, but playing singles before I came up to No. 1 was nice because it allowed me to build up my consistency and then I could build my power off that consistency,” she said.

In doubles matches, Abby Mayes and Eliana Episcopio won, 7-5, 6-1, over Brooke Mayer and Ruby Robinson, Paulina Veraschaga and Alayna Issa topped Caroline Dunn and Madison Araniego, 6-1, 6-0, and Iris Cantelmi and Naomi Domina were 6-2, 6-0 winners against Kiley Parkes and Sophia Fiorini.

During the match, Liberty coach Sarah Lazarchak concentrated on No. 3 singles and doubles.

“Third singles is a tough position. It’s a lot of girls that are very consistent with getting the ball back, and it’s like, whoever can win the point first, so I’ve been watching that with Polina over the last couple of matches. Also, making sure we’re winning in doubles, we have a lead, and can win overall in the end,” Coach Lazarchak said. “Last week, we faced the top three teams in the district (Allentown Central Catholic, Nazareth, Emmaus), and it was very tough for us. We had some very close matches. The next few leading up to EPCs shouldn’t be as difficult as those.”