The Palmerton boys tennis team continued their great start to the 2013 season, getting their fifth win of the year. The Bombers took four out of five from Jim Thorpe to earn the non-league victory.

The Bombers (5-2) made quick work of the Olympians, but it wasn't easy for any of the competitors to consistently get the ball over the net. Cold temperatures and gusty winds once again affected local competition as it has the past few weeks, but the Bombers were able to adapt best to the inconvenient weather conditions.Palmerton dominated in singles action on the afternoon with Tyler Snyder starting things off with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Thorpe's Kyle Bacher."Obviously the weather wasn't great for tennis today, but this is the area we live in," said Snyder. "Our first couple matches there was still snow on the ground, so our team is pretty used to it. Last season, we didn't adjust very well to the cold and because of that we lost some matches. We're definitely doing a better job of adapting this season."Palmerton's number two singles competitor Spencer Shigo also played a nice match on the day, using the wind to his advantage."I just did a better job of playing with the wind than my opponent did," said Shigo. "I also always try and dictate what my opponent does on the court and I was able to do a pretty good job of that today. Also, despite all the wind I was actually able to hit the ball pretty well and I was able to come away with the win."The Palmerton boys tennis program has never made it to team districts in the history of the program, which is something Snyder and Shigo are trying to change in 2013."One of our goals before the season was to definitely make team districts, which is something our program hasn't been able to do," said Snyder. "We're off to a pretty good start this season, so we need to continue to focus, work hard, and keep winning matches."It's obvious the Palmerton players are dead set on reaching team districts, but Palmerton Coach Alex Knoll doesn't want his guys looking too far ahead into the season."I'm happy with the way we're playing, but it's important that none of our guys look too far down the road," said Knoll. "We need to take it one match at a time. This program has not established any type of winning pedigree, so we need to worry about the present rather than the future. That being said, I am encouraged with the way we're playing. Next week we really get into the meat of our schedule and we'll find out how good we really are."On the flip side of things The Jim Thorpe boys tennis squad (1-6) has not gotten out to the start they've wanted this season."We just have to be more consistent getting the ball over the net," said Leinhard. "We also need to adjust our play better. If we're not playing well in a particular match we tend to keep playing the same way rather than try and change things up. This game is all about making changes mid-match if things aren't going the way you want them to go and right now we're not doing that."Palmerton 4, Jim Thorpe 1SINGLESTyler Snyder (P) def. Kyle Bacher (JT) 6-0, 6-1; Spencer Shigo (P) def. Dalton Becker (JT) 6-0, 6-1; Ty Green (P) def. Brandon Hoffman (JT) 6-1, 6-0.DOUBLESKevin Dayton/Tony Gardo (P) def. Kyle Lawrence/Shane Bleicher-Otto (JT) 6-4, 6-2; Lou Squillace/Matt Miller (JT) def. Rich Roselli/Hunter Roberts (P) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6).