<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4JHwg9_0w3bk9xi00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4JHwg9_0w3bk9xi00" width="1280" height="881" ><figcaption>District 11 2A girls tennis team finals on Oct. 10, 2024</figcaption></figure><a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/school/allentown-allentown-central-catholic/girlstennis/season/2024-2025">Allentown Central Catholic girls tennis</a> coach Jared Smith was in high school the last time the Vikettes won a District 11 team championship. But with all the winning Central Catholic has done this season on tennis courts, it’s fitting the Vikettes snapped that championship streak on Thursday afternoon at Lehigh University. The Vikettes posted a 3-1 victory over five-time defending champion <a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/school/bethlehem-township-moravian-academy/girlstennis/season/2024-2025">Moravian Academy</a> to win the District 11 Class 2A team title. Thursday’s championship completed the D-11 title sweep for Allentown Central Catholic, which had freshman <a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/player/bernadette-gasser/girlstennis/season/2024-2025">Bernadette Gasser</a> win the singles tournament and sophomores <a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/player/madelyn-groff/girlstennis/season/2024-2025">Maddie Groff</a> and <a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/player/valentina-munoz/girlstennis/season/2024-2025">Valentina Munoz</a> earn the doubles championship last week. It’s the first time in school history that a girls or boys tennis team has swept the singles, doubles and team championships in a season. “It’s absolutely awesome," Smith said. “We have a young team. Out of those seven starters, six are sophomores or freshmen. We plan on making some runs here in the next couple years.” Gasser won a forfeit at No. 1 singles for the Vikettes. Groff made it a 2-0 lead for Allentown Central Catholic with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Moravian Academy senior Emily Reynolds at No. 2 singles. “I think I played really well,” Groff said. “I knew I had a tough opponent coming. I played her at doubles districts. So, to be able to come out and get a good enough lead that I did, I think it really helped me. I really just relied on my coaches and my training and all my family members who have helped me in the past. I really just have to give my credit to them.” The top-seeded Lions cut into the deficit with a 6-0, 6-2 victory by sophomores Anika Mehta and Penelope Blomfield over Vikettes senior Noemi Quiros and sophomore Julia Janis. However, sophomores <a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/player/giada-montone/girlstennis/season/2024-2025">Giada Montone</a> and <a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/player/carly-eisenhard/girlstennis/season/2024-2025">Carly Eisenhard</a> answered for the Vikettes with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Moravian Academy sophomore Emma Cassady and junior Sophie Wandall at No. 2 doubles to clinch the championship. “It was exciting and scary at the same time,” Montone said. “We were tie, then we came back and stayed strong and confident.” “We really support each other,” Eisenhard said of the team. “We work really hard at practice and work really hard in matches. And just stay positive all the time.” “They did as freshmen. They didn’t start varsity. They got some playing time in exhibitions here and there," Smith said of the No. 2 doubles team. “They’ve improved tremendously over the course of the season. They worked hard all offseason. Then, to win the first set 7-5 and just to keep your foot on the gas and win the second set 6-0." “We had a strategy,” the Vikettes coach said of the second set. “Make those Moravian girls hit three, four balls deep with this wind. And our net players just be aggressive to net, look for opportunities to pick the balls off and that’s exactly what they did." Munoz led Lions freshman Kimi Kiuchi 7-5, 4-1 as the Vikettes clinched the team championship. Moravian Academy finished the season with a 12-2 record. Alletown Central Catholic, the second seed in the tournament, improved to 17-3 on the season. The Vikettes will play the District 2 champion in the first round of the state tourney on Oct. 22. For Groff, it was another championship moment after her family has already experienced plenty of tennis titles. She’s the sister of Mason Groff, who teamed with their cousin John Yurconic to win a state doubles title for Salisbury in 2016. Groff’s mother Monica Yurconic-Groff won District 11 tennis gold in 1987 and her uncle John Yurconic won a district championship in 1985. “I was there when he won states,” Maddie Groff said of her brother. “It just really inspired me to do what my family has done in the past.” Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a subscription.Josh Folck may be reached at <a href="mailto:jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com">jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com</a>.</div></body>

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Central Catholic girls tennis beats Moravian Academy for 1st D-11 title in 19 years

Allentown Central Catholic girls tennis coach Jared Smith was in high school the last time the Vikettes won a District 11 team championship. But with all the winning Central Catholic has done this season on tennis courts, it’s fitting the Vikettes snapped that championship streak on Thursday afternoon at Lehigh University.

Central Catholic girls tennis beats Moravian Academy for 1st D-11 title in 19 years

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