ALTOONA – Westmont Hilltop has won the past four District 6 team tennis titles, but individual honors have eluded the Hilltoppers.
Lauren Criswell and Elle Goldblatt ended that drought on Saturday morning at the Leopold Center on the campus of Altoona Area High School, and made their own niche in the Westmont Hilltop history books.
The senior duo topped Central seniors Meggie Stern and Lauren Kensinger 6-2, 6-3 to claim the District 6 Class AA doubles crown.
“This is gratifying,” said Westmont Hilltop coach Dan Fregly after his twosome prevailed.
“We were just talking and I think for the girls, it’s been at least 10 years since somebody has won gold in district doubles. It’s been quite a while. It’s very satisfying.
“They play well as a team. I think they play off each others strengths. Lauren is tough at the net and Elle is good on the baseline and that’s the formula that we have. As seniors, they are experienced, they get along well together and they communicate with each other.”
The Hilltoppers rolled out to a 2-0 lead in the first set before the Scarlet Dragons fired back to tie it at 2.
Westmont Hilltop won the next four games to capture the first set.
“I think we really just wanted to win the first set and once we got the first set, we knew that we had it,” Goldblatt said.
The Hilltoppers dominated the second set by winning the first five games, but Westmont Hilltop struggled to close out the match, finally putting Central away in the ninth game of the set.
“We got a little tight but we just keep telling each other that we were fine and just needed one game,” Criswell said.
The duo is pleased to be representing the Hilltoppers at the PIAA championships Nov. 4-5 at the Hershey Racquet Club.
“It’s pretty cool,” Criswell said about winning the district title. “And since it’s senior year, we get to finish off on a good note.”
Added Goldblatt: “We’ve been together since we were in like kindergarten.”
Goldblatt said that the success came due to hard work.
“We are really serious about what we do. We really love tennis and want to try our hardest all the time and we never quit.”
Stern and Kensinger, seeded second, topped Westmont Hilltop’s Samantha Hong and Lindsey Pullen in the first round Thursday, Gretchen Marx and Maggie Willason of Richland in the quarters and Bishop Guilfoyle’s Alese Rinker and Emily Stevens in the three sets in the semifinals.
The top-seeded Criswell and Goldblatt advanced to the finals after straight set victories on Thursday over Maria Farabaugh and Elizabeth Brady of Central Cambria in the quarterfinals and a semifinal triumph over Tina Hollen and Winnie Grot of Tyrone.
“This is like icing on the cake for the girls,” Fregly said.