Wyoming Seminary’s Ilana Rosenthal earned her third District 2 singles gold medal last month. On Saturday, she will go for a matching third straight gold in the PIAA singles tournament.
Times Leader file photo
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Ten career matches at the state tournament, 10 straight victories for Wyoming Seminary’s Ilana Rosenthal.
In her quest to win a third straight PIAA Class 2A girls tennis singles championship, Rosenthal turned in one of her most dominant performances on Friday, winning both of her matches without dropping a single game.
Rosenthal, a senior for the Blue Knights, opened state play with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Hampton senior Grace Stitt, then knocked off Pope John Paul II freshman Elliana DeCicco by the same score at Hershey Racquet Club.
Already with three District 2 gold medals in singles play in her trophy case, Rosenthal will go for a matching third PIAA gold on Saturday in Hershey. She will play District 3 champion Mia Gassert, a senior from Hamburg, in the semifinals at 8 a.m.
Another win would put Rosenthal back in the state finals, which will be held at 1 p.m. along with the third-place match in the bracket. The other semifinal pits Belle Vernon junior Gabriella Dusi against Erie Cathedral Prep sophomore Paige Patsy.
Saturday’s matchup against Gassert brings things full circle for Rosenthal. Her first trip to states came in 2022 and her first opponent on the big stage was Gassert when both players were sophomores.
Rosenthal went on to win that match 6-1, 6-1 to start her impressive streak, the first of 10 consecutive PIAA singles tournament wins.
She has yet to drop a set in state play in her career — the closest she came was in the 2022 semifinals when Rosenthal won 6-4, 6-2.
After Friday’s matches, Rosenthal has now won four of those 10 PIAA matches by a 6-0, 6-0 score, one of which came in the 2022 championship. Her first opponents this year were Stitt, who was the runner-up out of District 7 and DeCicco, who won the District 1 title in her first varsity season.
Gassert, meanwhile, played the closest match of Friday’s Class 2A action to advance. After a 6-3, 6-1 win over Beaver junior Anna Mrkonja, Gassert faced adversity in the quarterfinals against Allentown Central Catholic freshman Bernadette Gasser.
Both Gassert and Gasser had to have plenty in the tank in going three sets. Gasser, the District 11 champ, won the first set 6-2 and nearly put Gassert away before the veteran pulled out a 7-6 (7) win in the second set and sealed the victory with a 6-4 win in the third.
Rosenthal is the lone competitor left standing from District 2, which also had four champions from the Lackawanna League competing in singles and doubles on Friday.
In Class 3A singles, Abington Heights senior Susan Arp lost her opening match 6-0, 6-2 to Downingtown East freshman Brianna Lirvan.
In doubles play, Scranton Prep’s Lily Lengyel and Alyssa Wigley made it to the Class 2A quarterfinals. They beat North Catholic’s Brea Kelley and Katie Hardy before falling to Lower Moreland’s twin sister team of Hannah and Rebecca Kideckel.
Abington Heights’ Sona Hanumali and Mary Booth lost in the Class 3A doubles opener against Council Rock South’s Kim Chen and Ava Bograd.