The back-to-back District 3 champion Colonials lost more than half of their starting lineup to graduation, but they’re still the team to beat.
After reaching unprecedented heights in both of the last two seasons, New Oxford girls’ tennis knows it has a target on its back. The Colonials are ready for the fight.
New Oxford enters the 2024 campaign as a back-to-back York-Adams Division I and District 3 Class 3A team champion. Head coach Travis Martin’s squad went a combined 40-2 in 2022 and 2023, losing only in the state quarterfinals two years ago and the semifinals last year. And the team has piled up singles and doubles championships along the way.
At this time a year ago, the Colonials were a known quantity, with all of their varsity starters returning from the prior season. That’s not the case this time around, as the program graduated four of its top seven this spring. But New Oxford hopes to prove that turnover doesn’t equate to vulnerability.
“The team we had last year is irreplaceable, (and) what everybody thinks is that we’re gonna bring a team that’s a lot weaker,” Martin said at York-Adams League fall media days earlier this month. “I think a lot of people need to realize we’re a team to stay. Even though we’re gonna be replacing players in and out the next couple of years, we still have the depth that we can bring people up and be competitive.”
It helps, of course, to bring back Anya Rosenbach as a senior ace. Rosenbach is a three-time York-Adams League Class 3A singles champion who won her first District 3-3A title last fall. She also won the league doubles crown with teammate Kaelyn Balko, who then paired with graduate Allison Horick to repeat as a district doubles champ. Balko returns to give the Colonials the league’s toughest 1-2 singles punch.
Rosenbach, a 5-foot-6 right-hander, has grown from a shy freshman to a confident team leader and jokester. She’s been training year-round at Racquet Club West in Lancaster, and while she knows she’ll get everyone’s best shot on the court, she’s focused on making her senior season as fun as possible.
“I’m definitely more relaxed this year,” Rosenbach said. “It was tough (having a target on my back) because I did have a lot of expectations, but now that I’ve played in the league for three years, I kind of know what’s to come and I know what to expect. … Since it’s my last year, I’m just trying to play stress-free and have fun.”
While no York-Adams teams gave New Oxford a serious push in 2023, several Division I squads have their sights set on an expanded District 3 playoffs. Twelve teams apiece from Class 3A and 2A will qualify for the team tournaments, up from eight in the past. That’s welcome news for Northeastern and Red Lion, who finished ninth and 11th, respectively, in last year’s 3A power rankings. Dallastown will seek a postseason return after going one-and-done at districts.
The Wildcats, who bested New Oxford for the D-I title in 2021 and haven’t lost a division game to anyone else since 2019, will turn to senior Elizabeth Tony at first singles this season following Namya Jindal’s graduation. Dallastown returns four of its top seven, while Northeastern brings back five starters, including No. 1 singles standout Maaria Khan. Red Lion will be a younger team after losing state quarterfinalist Lexi Lakatosh, but the Lions still have playoff aspirations.
New Oxford counters all that with a senior core of Rosenbach, Balko, Anne Socks and Emory Millar-Kellner. Martin’s squad is at least nine deep with varsity lineup options, from senior Deliah Patterson and juniors Ava Garman and Olivia Zentgraf to freshmen Claire Lawrence and Maggie Socks.
“I think having a target does motivate us a lot,” Anne Socks said. “(Other players) have actually told some of us, ‘We think we can get you this year,’ and that’s a big motivator for us to be like, ‘No, that’s not happening.’ Just because four of our amazing players left, it doesn’t mean that four of our amazing JV players who could have been on varsity are not going to step up and also beat your varsity.”
The Division II chase, meanwhile, figures to still run through Delone Catholic, which went undefeated in the regular season and qualified for its first-ever state tournament in 2023. The two-time defending D-II champs lost 2A league singles runner-up Ella Knox but return semifinalist Baileigh Stetter, who’s only a sophomore. Senior Michalina Miller and sophomore Ashley Heacock could round out the singles lineup.
Biglerville’s Paytyn Plank was Division II’s best player as a freshman in 2023, winning the 2A league singles crown and taking a perfect record into districts. She also made the county doubles final with teammate Kiersten Englebert, now a junior. The Canners went just 2-11 (1-6) as a team last fall but could make a big leap this season.
Kennard-Dale, Bermudian Springs and West York finished in a three-way tie for second in D-II last year. All three squads hope to break out of the pack and challenge Delone for the top spot when the dust settles. The Rams return two of their three singles players in seniors Rhylinn Webb and Jadyn Davidson.
The season begins Monday afternoon with a Division I bout between York Suburban and Susquehannock. Seventeen of the league’s 18 teams will be in action between now and Friday.
Names to know: Rosenbach and Balko are the league’s two most decorated returning players, and they’ll be a force for New Oxford all season. Tony and Khan are the other two returning quarterfinalists from last year’s 3A league singles tourney, while Susquehannock’s Summer Antkowiak earned the No. 6 seed in that draw.
The 2A bracket also returns two semifinalists in Plank and Stetter, and Delone’s Heacock is the only other returning singles quarterfinalist. Webb reached the league doubles semifinals alongside Katie Heyward in 2023,
Calendar countdown: Most local teams are slated to conclude their regular seasons in late September. The postseason begins with the York-Adams League singles tournaments from Thursday, Oct. 3, to Saturday, Oct. 5, and the doubles brackets will follow on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 7-8. The top three finishers in all of those draws will earn spots at districts.
The expanded District 3 team tournaments begin Oct. 8, with top four seeds earning a bye to the Oct. 10 quarterfinals. The semifinals are set for Oct. 15, with championship matches Oct. 17 at Hershey Racquet Club. The district singles draw will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11-12, in Hershey. The D3 doubles tournament is the following weekend at the same venue. All Class 3A semifinalists and the top three 2A finishers will advance to states.
The PIAA team tournament is set for Oct. 25 and 26, with state singles and doubles champions to be crowned Nov. 1 and 2. Because those tournaments are concurrent, state singles qualifiers will be replaced by a teammate in the district doubles tournament if applicable.