By Brian Holtzapple
For The Daily Item
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SUNBURY — As a young and inexperienced team, there are plenty of things that Shikellamy needs to improve on in order to reach that next level.
In a Heartland Athletic Conference Division I matchup on Monday, Danville showed Shikellamy a thing or two that the Braves need to improve on as the Ironmen took a 5-0 victory.
“It was a tough match, and they were playing a tougher team,” said Shikellamy coach Mindy Hoffman, whose squad falls to 1-1 to start the season.
“They’re competitive and they’re improving constantly, so they hang in there. We’re only going to move up,” Hoffman added.
That competitiveness for Shikellamy showed in the first two singles matches as the Braves’ Jamie Simpson and Tiara Bartol were tough to shake for Danville’s Lili McKinley and Brittany Grubb.
The match of the day featured McKinley and Simpson battling back and forth at No. 1 singles.
Simpson held her serve to start the match, and after seven games she held a 4-3 lead. But McKinley stormed back and picked up a service break to help her win the next three games and take a 6-4 victory in the first set.
In the second set McKinley let a 3-1 lead slip away as Simpson quickly knotted the score at 3-all. However, McKinley had the answer once again and she won the final three games for a 6-3 win.
“Lili just stuck with it and kept her mind on the match. She had some good shots, and sometimes those shots didn’t do what she wanted them to do,” said Danville coach Mary Jo Baum.
“But she pulled through. (Simpson) was good too, and Lili did well considering her opponent was fairly evenly matched with her.”
At No. 2 singles Grubb took a 6-1, 6-3 win over Bartol after the latter fought back from a 2-1 hole to tie the second set at 3.
“Brittany got a little worn out, but she stayed focused and that kept her going,” said Baum.
“The points were long and they just have to learn to be more patient and finish them off,” said Hoffman. “I’ve seen a lot of improvement from the last week or two with them and I expect to continue that.
“They’re fighters. They don’t give up and that will benefit us also,” added Hoffman.
Elsewhere in the match, Shannon Sheridan breezed to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Jocelyn Schlegel at No. 3 singles; and both doubles teams also had easy days for the Ironmen (2-2).
At No. 1 doubles sisters Anna and Abby Schafer took a 6-2, 6-1 win over Alyssa Zerbe and Laura Herrold; while at No. 2 Montanah James and Katharine Baum won 6-2, 6-2 over Aly Hogan and Lindsay Johnson.
Against Shikellamy, Danville’s doubles teams clicked, but that wasn’t the case last week in which the Ironmen suffered tough losses to Jersey Shore and Montgomery.
“They weren’t used to playing together with just a week of practice,” said coach Baum. “We didn’t have enough together time, but now that they’re playing together on a regular basis they are meshing and getting used to working together and making shots.
“I was hoping it would be a solid win (against Shikellamy),” said coach Baum. “We needed it after losing to Jersey Shore and Montgomery. Jersey Shore was a tough one, because we’re always so close with them and it kind of hurts when we lose to them.”
