Heading into the district final, Liberty senior Finn Brown had a good feeling playing against Parkland despite them being undefeated during the regular season and also winning the East Penn Conference (EPC) tournament.

Parkland’s 4-3 victory in the four match - their lone regular-season defeat - stuck in Brown’s craw as well as his teammates. It served to be enough of a motivator to help the Hurricanes when they recently defeated Parkland, 3-2, to capture their fifth-straight district title.

“I think a match that changed the season was when our team lost to Parkland in the middle of the season,” said Brown. “It was definitely motivation to get better and lock in for the rest of the season.”

Brown and fellow senior Thomas Horvath, Liberty’s first doubles’ team, proved to be the difference with their 6-3, 6-3 victory. Liberty beat Parkland, 3-2 to win last year’s title.

Still, Brown and Horvath had some anxiety.

“Me and Thomas were confident we could beat Parkland again,” beamed Brown. “After EPCs and losing to them in the regular season, it was a little nerve-wracking, But I had faith in my teammates, and I’m glad they pulled through with the win.”

Aside from Brown and Horvath, other Hurricanes who were successful were second singles’ player sophomore Erik Peterson by a 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 score, and third singles’ player Liam Bulman, who won 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

Horvath believed the difference again for the Hurricanes, who also won their eighth title in the last nine years, was their concentrated effort and approach.

“Overall I thought we had a pretty good season,” said Horvath. We really locked in when the pressure was high, which made a big difference. The match that I felt turned the season for us was when me and Finn took down Parkland’s doubles team. That was a big moment for us.

I definitely felt like everyone was focused this season. The team brought a great attitude all year.”

Brown agreed with his teammate. He also wanted to make the most of this season.

“I saw this season as my most important, my senior year,” said Brown. “I wanted to accomplish as much as possible, and I believe I did that.

“I think we were pretty focused as a group. Of course there’s joking around, but overall we all wanted to win and be a five-time team district champs.”

Heading into the district final, Horvath and his teammates didn’t see an end to their streak ahead.

“Going into the Parkland match, we were confident and loose,” boasted Horvath. “We knew we were going to win.”

Head coach Chris Conrad cited a team dinner before the match that followed a different form than usual as a key to their latest title.

“The previous dinners lasted for about an hour or just over,” said Conrad. “This one was different. They talked about tennis and other topics for about three hours. We watched the Sixers’ game and really came together. They were pretty loose and came into the match with an underdog mentality.”

Conrad also noted how the championship was the result of a long-term commitment.

“We had a lot of players working out just about every day during the summer,” said Conrad. “These guys weren’t taking private lessons, but they all worked together.

“We had a blue-collar mindset, and we wanted to get better every day.”