To say there are high hopes around this year’s Peters Township girls’ tennis team would be an understatement.

Especially after winning the state championship last season and returning to defend the title with a lineup that – although minus their top player from last season – still remains deep enough and talented enough to win once again.

“We’re definitely optimistic,” said head coach Brandt Bowman, who is in his fourth season. “We lost two of our seniors and we lost junior Allie Riske, which is a big loss, but we gained a couple of freshmen and we still have a really good team.”

Bowman’s optimism was confirmed after his team defeated Fox Chapel, a traditional rival, to run their early season record to 5-0. They are the clear-cut favorite team to win in Section 5, which also includes Bethel Park, Canon McMillan, Fort Cherry, Moon, Trinity and West Mifflin. Although the sectional play is always important, the biggest rivalry might be Shady Side Academy, a team that defeated the Indians in the WPIAL finals, but were the team the Indians beat in state finals to win the Pennsylvania championship. “They are likely to be the team we’ll have to face again if we reach the WPIAL finals,” Bowman said.

The loss of Riske, who was last year’s WPIAL and PIAA champion and who advanced to the second round of the US Open Girls Junior Tournament, will create a tremendous void. She is ineligible to play this season because of missing four matches during her play at the US Open. “We tried to get the WPIAL to waive the rule, but they just wouldn’t budge,” said Bowman. “Hopefully, we can have her back next year, if she’s not on the pro tour. She’s just that good.”

Bowman hopes that others will be able to step up into more demanding roles. One of those is sophomore Julie Stroyne.

“Julie will definitely be our number-one single’s player,” Bowman said. “She had some big wins in the state playoffs last year, and she’s a legitimate and solid number-one player. She’s improved her level of play over last year, and I think she can compete with anybody out there.”

Emily Palko

Close behind is senior Emily Palko, who played in the PIAA double’s tournament “She will be a solid number-two single’s player, and with Allie gone, she’ll move up this season.”

Moving up to the third spot on the team will be junior Kaitlyn Stroyne, a sister of Julie’s, who was last year’s top double’s player. Bowman believes she has the experience from two previous seasons to step up. “I feel pretty comfortable with her there,” he said.

Double’s players will include senior Haylee Gardner, whose partner will be freshman Laura Stroyne, the third of the Stroyne sisters. Also playing double’s are junior Mackenzie Kennedy, freshman Emily Madalena, senior Lauren Lantinovich, sophomore Aly Ruschak, senior Carly Ellis and junior Heidi Eltschlager.

Although this season’s roster will make Peters Township a legitimate contender for a state championship once again, Bowman believes that the Indians can be contenders for many years to come. “We play our home matches at the Peters Township Tennis Center and it’s one of the premiere tennis centers in the region,” he said. “It got a lot of kids to start playing tennis and now we have some 200 of them in the program. Obviously when you have that kind of a program, it’s a feeder system and you just keep getting talent.

“I remember teaching Emily Palko to play when she was seven or eight years old, and now she’s one of the top players on the high school tennis team,” Bowman continued. “I think the girls’ tennis team is going to be pretty solid for many years to come.”