Hawthorne High School’s varsity girls tennis team, coached by Jaclyn Peene, competed in the Passaic County Coach’s Association (PCCA) County Tennis Competition on Tuesday, September 30.  The team’s first singles player, second singles player, and second doubles players all made it to the second round, while the third singles player and first doubles players lost in the first round.

Up until the semi-finals of counties, teams play eight-game “pro-sets” that must be won by at least two games. The finals are played on a separate day after the beginning rounds; due to rain, the date for finals was pushed back from Wednesday October 1 to Monday October 6.

HHS senior Danielle Hampson played first singles for Hawthorne. Hampson soared through her first round against Kennedy High School in an 8-0 (games) victory, but lost to the Wayne Hills player 0-8 in the second round. It was a difficult match to play as Wayne Hills ranked as the top team at the end of the day,  according to the PCCA’s website, Passaiccountycoaches.org.

Second singles player Erika LaMonaca, an HHS junior, also defeated Kennedy 8-0 in the first round, but lost to Passaic Valley High School by 1-8 in the second round.

Nicole D’Ascoli, an HHS junior, played commendably as third singles in a challenging match against Passaic Valley, but lost 5-8.

Hawthorne’s first doubles team–Rachael Milbrook, an HHS senior, and Martina Rogers, a junior– lost to Passaic County Technical Institute 1-8 in the first round.

Second doubles team, senior Abigail Provencher and freshman Rachel Zuckerberg, won the first round 9-7 in a long, close match against DePaul Catholic High School, but lost the second round 1-8 against Pompton Lakes.

According to PCCA’s website, both Hampson’s opponent in first singles match and Provencher and Zuckerberg’s opponents in second doubles match made it to the final round of their respective positions.

Overall, the team is proud of its victories at counties and is excited to see how far they will make it next year.