Upper Perk girls tennis has a plan for improvement after a close loss to  Boyertown last week.

        On Aug. 29 the girls were defeated by Boyertown, 4-3. It was a close game and the team knows what to work on in the future.

        “Some players that had struggled this year played great matches on Thursday,” said Head Coach John Williamson. “Overall, it was a good performance, but there is plenty of room for improvement still.”

        Upper Perk was tied with Boyertown until the final set, in which Boyertown managed to win three sets.

        “We need all 11 varsity players to play well to win matches,” Williamson said. “Our players have learned a lot from our first few matches, and are figuring out what it takes to win.”

        The match started off with a game of singles between Boyertown’s Amanda Loar and Upper Perk’s Mandie Tyrpak, resulting in a close loss for Upper Perk of 6-2 and 6-3.

        The next singles were played between Boyertown’s Sarah Bouffard and Upper Perk’s Eleanor King, ending in another win for Boyertown of 6-4 and 6-0.

        The final singles match was between Upper Perk’s Sarah Kramer and Boyertown’s Sam Usavage, resulting in Upper Perk’s first win of the day at 6-1 and 6-2.

        Doubles matches began with another close loss for Upper Perk’s Meagan Quinn and Jamie Dennis against Boyertown’s Caitlin Young and Tori Merritt, with scores of 3-6, 6-4 and 6-4.

        The second doubles match brought in a win for Upper Perk by Ali Licopoli and Jess Crilley defeating Boyertown’s Abby Levengood and Kailey Troxel, with scores of 6-3 and 6-2.

        The final doubles match of the night was between Boyertown’s Molly Kulp and Madison Mitchell and Upper Perk’s Amanda Hanshew and Hanna Supplee, ending in a win for Boyertown of 6-3, 6-7 and 6-3.

        “It was a really good match,” Hanshew said. “The scores were constantly going back and forth and it was very competitive!”

        The tennis team is growing stronger each match, consisting of five seniors who have played tennis all throughout high school, four freshmen who are new to the game, and some underclassmen in between.

        “Coach Williamson is an awesome coach,” said Hanshew. “He really encourages us to do our best and always helps us stay positive.”

        The girls go into their next match in high hopes for a good result.

        “Everyone has improvements to make,” said Williamson, “but we are now starting to play with more energy and more confidence.”