Folks, in August, having a high school tennis season seemed very unlikely.

Not because competing in the sport couldn’t be accomplished while following safety guidelines and protocols in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, but because it appeared to be getting swallowed up by the real possibility that high school sports were going  to be canceled until January 2021.

But, the PIAA pushed ahead. The programs, coaches and players have done a great job of following their safety orders, and here we are heading into the final week of the regular season.

Good for the kids.

And Scranton Prep, the preseason favorite, is coming off its most challenging week in a long time in the Lackawanna League. The Classics, and their depth of talent, rose to the occasion, edging both No. 2 Abington Heights and No. 3 Riverside by 3-2 scores to remain undefeated and going full steam ahead toward the league title.

Carly Habeeb, a four-year starter for Scranton Prep, led the way with a pair of wins at No. 3 singles. It isn’t too often that a No. 3 player is both an All-Region and top-ranked at No. 3, but Habeeb is a No. 1 if she attends any other school in the Lackawanna League. Her career record is 57-4.

 

Classic Match

 

Habeeb

SCRANTON – Carly Habeeb has played steady, winning tennis throughout her career.
She has a calm, competitive approach that has served the Scranton Prep senior well in the Lackawanna League’s most intense tennis rivalry. And it’s in the yearly clash with Abington Heights where her unflappable demeanor has helped lift the Classics to three wins in four years in the series.
On Wednesday, on a blustery afternoon, Habeeb played another strong match and posted a win at No. 3 singles to highlight a 3-2 win by Scranton Prep over the Lady Comets.
“I feel like this is such a challenging match and we really prepare for it,” said Habeeb, who improved to 3-1 in her singles matches against Abington Heights. “It’s always so nice to get a win and this year since I am a senior, I am super happy and thrilled that we got a win and I got a win in my match, as well.
“I think everybody played great. We had great pairings for doubles.”

 

CLICK HERE TO READ STORY

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

Scranton Prep didn’t have much time to celebrate its win over rival Abington Heights.

The very next day, the Classics had to face Riverside, which is a really strong program with two of the top three singles players in District 2 at the top of the lineup. But, again, Habeeb’s strength at No. 3 and the doubles teams of Annie Johnson-Claire Kelly and Willa Farrell-Leelah Farrell impressed with a pair of wins to keep the Classics undefeated.

Let’s look at Scranton Prep’s recent run of dominance in the Lackawanna League: 

 

Year	League Record
2011	12-0
2012	14-1
2013	15-0
2014	14-1
2015	15-0
2016	13-1
2017	14-0
2018	13-1
2019	14-0
2020	12-0
Total	136-4

 

TOP 5 TEAM RANKING

 

Scranton Prep is the solid No. 1 after its two wins last week. Abington Heights is a sliver better than Riverside, which is followed by Holy Cross and North Pocono.

No.		SCHOOL	RECORD	LAST RANK
1		Scranton Prep Classics	12-0	1
2		Abington Heights Lady Comets	11-1	2
3		Riverside Lady Vikes	9-3	3
4		Holy Cross Lady Crusaders	10-3	4
5		North Pocono Lady Trojans	9-3	5

 

TEAM TO WATCH: West Scranton (9-3).

 

LACKAWANNA LEAGUE STANDINGS

 

 

---

 

Singles Spotlight

 

So Scranton Prep has established itself as the best team.

There is also no doubt who the best player is. Riverside’s Karissa Ghigiarelli is storming through the Lackawanna League. She is 12-0, which is expected as the defending PIAA Class 2A Champion.

There is also an interesting development on the state stage.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, and a reduced bracket to district champions only, the PIAA shuffled the pairings the District 2 champion opens the state tournament against the District 4 champion in Class 2A.

That’s intriguing because Ghigiarelli is on the fast track to repeat as District 2 champion. South Williamsport’s Olivia Dorner won last year’s District 4 championship.

In last year’s state final, Ghigiarelli defeated Dorner in three sets in the state FINAL.

Right now, tennisrecruiting.net has Dorner ranked No. 1 in the state for the Class of 2022. Ghigiarelli is No. 4 in that ranking. This list is compiled by the website and is focused mostly on the USTA schedule these talented players compete in during the summer and into the fall.

According to the data, Ghigiarelli is ranked No. 15 in the Mid-Atlantic Poll and 120th nationally.

Then, as you navigate down, Riverside’s No. 2 player, Madeline DeFaber-Schumacher is at No. 8 in the ranking. And, as you continue to search this list, Abington Heights junior Bella Peters appears at No. 14. .

 

TOP 8 SINGLES RANKING

So what does all of this mean? Well, Ghigiarelli is No. 1 in the ON THE BLOG poll. We will keep Peters at No. 2. She is the reigning two-time District 2 Class 3A champion and she plays at No. 1. DeFaber-Schumacher is a solid No. 3. There is not a huge negative in losing to Ghigiarelli and Peters for Scranton Prep’s Megan McDonald. Habeeb had a big week, as did Abington Heights’ Rina Hanumali, who defeated Scranton Prep’s Camilla Rinaldi to make her debut in the ranking at No. 6. She is followed by Rinaldi and Holy Cross’ Gisele Falzone.

 

No.	PLAYER	SCHOOL	RECORD	LAST RANK
1	Karissa Ghigiarelli	Riverside	12-0	1
2	Bella Peters	Abington Heights	11-1	2
3	Madeline DeFaber-Schumacher	Riverside	7-0	3
4	Megan McDonald	Scranton Prep	10-2	4
5	Carly Habeeb	Scranton Prep	12-0	5
6	Rina Hanumali	Abington Heights	10-1	NR
7	Camilla Rinaldi	Scranton Prep	10-2	6
8	Gisele Falzone	Holy Cross	10-3	7

 

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Katie Glinsky (MV); Faith Bennett (AH); Bella Aniska (RIV).

 

 

SINGLES RECORDS

 

 

FEATURE

 

Mid Valley’s Glinsky raises her tennis game

 

As she moved into junior high school, Katie Glinsky looked for a new challenge in her athletic journey.
Already a competitor in basketball and a sprinter in track, she decided to take up tennis. In three short years, the Mid Valley junior went from being a frustrated novice to one of the top singles players in the Lackawanna League.
With difficult challenges ahead this season, Glinsky is pleased with her rise to the upper echelon, but is mostly looking forward to continued success.
“I am very happy with the way I have played so far,” Glinsky, 16, said. “I did not expect to do this well. I really feel like I have improved every single match, which was my goal.
“I am just looking to do my best through my tough matches. I want to try to win a couple of games and am really looking forward to districts and to do better than I did last year.”

 

CLICK TO READ STORY

 

 

---

 

 

DISTRICT 2 REMINDER

 

 

DISTRICT 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS

In this delayed and day-by-day schedule while dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, right now, there is a tentative plan in place to hold the District 2 Championships.

That is good news.

Here’s what we know based on what tennis authorities John Coyle and Mike Ognosky have released on piaad2.org.

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

DATES

• Friday, October 9th (First Round if necessary) at Higher Seeded Team
• Tuesday, October 13th (Quarterfinals) at Higher Seeded Team
• Thursday, October 15th (Semifinals and Finals) at Kirby Park, Wilkes-Barre

NOTE: First Round on Friday, October 9th (if necessary – only if more than 8 qualify)

Class 3A Semifinals begin at 11 AM Class 2A Semifinals begin at 12:30 PM

 

SEEDING MEETING: Singles & Doubles Wednesday, October 14th at Dunmore High School, 7 PM.

 

SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP

DATES

• Saturday, October 17th
  • Class 2A – First three rounds 8:30 AM at Kirby Park, WIlkes-Barre
  • Class 3A – First three rounds at North Pocono Middle School
• Monday, October 19 (Semifinals and Finals) at Kirby Park, Wilkes-Barre, 1 PM.

 

DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP

• Saturday, October 24th
  • Class 2A  – First three rounds 8:30 AM at Kirby Park, Wilkes-Barre
  • Class 3A – First three rounds at North Pocono Middle School
• Monday, October 26th (Semifinals and Finals at Kirby Park, Wilkes-Barre, 1 PM

 

PIAA TOURNAMENT DATES

• TEAM: Tuesday, October 27; Friday October 30th and Saturday 31st.
• SINGLES and DOUBLES: Friday November 6th and Saturday November 7th

 

DISTRICT 2 POWER RATINGS

CLASS 2A

School	W-L-T	Rating	TWP	OWP	Games (Left)
Scranton Preparatory School	12-0-0	0.78	1.000000	0.46	14(2)
Wyoming Seminary College Prep	11-0-0	0.78	1.000000	0.46	11(0)
Holy Redeemer	8-1-0	0.7	0.885246	0.43	11(2)
Tunkhannock	9-2-0	0.67	0.811659	0.47	11(0)
Dallas	6-2-0	0.65	0.743902	0.51	11(3)
Riverside (2)	9-3-0	0.65	0.750000	0.49	14(2)
Holy Cross	10-3-0	0.64	0.764479	0.45	14(1)
Berwick Area	6-3-0	0.58	0.663102	0.46	11(2)
Valley View	6-6-0	0.5	0.495798	0.51	14(2)
Hanover Area (2)	3-5-1	0.43	0.394137	0.48	11(2)
Honesdale	3-9-0	0.35	0.239496	0.51	14(2)
Mid Valley Secondary Center	3-9-0	0.33	0.241525	0.46	14(2)
Montrose	2-10-0	0.31	0.161017	0.52	14(2)
Wyoming Area	1-9-1	0.3	0.137714	0.54	11(0)
Dunmore	0-11-1	0.25	0.040134	0.56	14(2)
Western Wayne	0-11-1	0.24	0.039474	0.54	14(2)
MMI Preparatory School	0-0-0	0	0.000000	0	0(0)

piaad2.org

 

CLASS 3A

	School	W	L	T	Rating	TWP	OWP	Games Sch(Left)
1	Abington Heights	11-	1-	0	0.738267	0.911765	0.488599	14(2)
2	North Pocono	9-	3-	0	0.643056	0.745833	0.495156	14(2)
3	West Scranton	9-	3-	0	0.609759	0.750000	0.407949	14(2)
4	Hazleton Area	8-	5-	0	0.548517	0.603774	0.469001	13(0)
5	Delaware Valley	6-	6-	0	0.502580	0.495726	0.512443	14(2)
6	SCRANTON	5-	7-	0	0.448018	0.407563	0.506234	14(2)
7	Wallenpaupack	5-	8-	0	0.437634	0.377432	0.524266	14(1)
8	Crestwood	4-	7-	0	0.425854	0.361233	0.518844	11(0)
9	Wyoming Valley West	3-	7-	0	0.405574	0.292079	0.568895	11(1)
10	Pittston Area	2-	9-	0	0.325800	0.179372	0.536514	11(0)
11	Wilkes-Barre	0-	9-	0	0.227160	0.000000	0.554050	11(2)

piaad2.org

 

What’s ahead

Final week of the regular season in the Lackawanna League

Monday
Dunmore at Valley View
West Scranton at Holy Cross
Abington Heights at Mid Valley
Honesdale at North Pocono
Scranton at Western Wayne
Riverside at Delaware Valley
Scranton Prep at Montrose

Wednesday
North Pocono at Valley View
Western Wayne at Delaware Valley
Montrose at Dunmore
Scranton Prep at West Scranton
Scranton at Abington Heights
Mid Valley at Riverside
Wallenpaupack at Honesdale

 

---

---