Harriton High School’s Nina Hoog followed up her impressive run in the Central League individual singles tournament last week with an even more impressive run in the PIAA District One Class AAA individual singles tournament by advancing to the semi-finals before falling to Meredith Lee, the No. 2 seed from Owen J. Roberts.
By advancing to the semi-finals, Hoog qualified for the PIAA Class AAA individual state singles tournament which will be held Friday November 6 and Saturday November 7 at the Hershey Racquet Club.
“It means a lot to me to represent Harriton in the upcoming state singles tournament,” said Hoog. “All of the district level matches were tough although I enjoyed the competition. I look forward to the playoff at the end of October and hope to represent Harriton at the state level in Hershey to the best of my ability.”
“Nina’s tennis has improved during this fall season, so I’m not surprised to see her win the Central League singles championship, nor to qualify for the PIAA Class AAA individual states singles tournament,” said first-year coach David Broida. “Her shot-making is sharp and her serves are placed with precision.”
Hoog opened the tournament on Thursday with a 6-2, 6-2 straight win over Pennsbury’s Libby Bryson before returning to the court almost two hours later to face Upper Dublin’s Ksenjia Tasich. After Hoog won the opening set 6-0, Kasich was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury. Hoog returned on Saturday for her quarterfinal match against Downingtown West’s Jordan Bradley. Hoog continued with her power from the baseline combined with her deft touch from the net registering a 6-1, 6-3 victory that earned her a trip to Hershey.
In the semi-finals, Hoog mustered up everything she had left but unfortunately it was not enough as Lee earned the hard fought win. Despite the loss, Hoog will report to Legacy Youth Tennis and Education Center on October 28 to play Peyton Bradley and determine the No.3 and No. 4 seed in the state tournament.
Hoog said, “My experience in the district tournament was very valuable to me. Many of the players in the later stages of the tournament were older and more experienced than I was and I was happy to get through the quarter finals.”
Hoog’s teammate Connie Richards also advanced to the quarterfinals but fell to Peyton Bradley, the top seed 6-1, 6-3. Richards opened the tournament upsetting Alyssa Skulsky from Council Rock South 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 before defeating Conestoga’s Cassidy Landau 6-1, 7-6(4) in the second round. Landau advanced by virtue of her 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 opening round victory over Central Bucks West’s Anna Sukharev.
Simon Burde from Lower Merion along with the Radnor High School pair of Grace Hederick and Jessica Lin advanced to the district tournament but fell in the opening round matches. Burde lost to Sydney Lund from C. B. East while Hederick fell to Jordan Bradley and Lin dropped a tough match against West Chester Henderson’s Emma Clark.
