NORTHAMPTON - Pleasant Valley boys' tennis and success have gone hand-in-hand in recent years.

Last season, the Bears finished 13-3, qualifying for the District 11 Class AAA Team Championships where they advanced to the semifinals as the third seed.Pleasant Valley also had Jon White and Jon Walmach capture the District 11 AAA doubles title, which earned the duo a trip to the PIAA Championships in Hershey where they advanced to the quarterfinals.But Walmach, along with several other key contributors from last year's team, were lost to graduation, leaving head coach Mark Allison to wonder who would fill those vital positions as the team moved into its first year of play in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.If Monday afternoon's EPC opener against Northampton was any indication, Pleasant Valley should be just fine.The Bears dispatched the Konkrete Kids, 5-2, to start the season with a resounding victory."I was pleased. We lost a lot of players from last year, so we have a lot of new kids in a lot of new positions," said Pleasant Valley head coach Mark Allison. "I didn't really know what to expect due to the lack of practice time. But from what I saw, I was happy."While Pleasant Valley (1-0, 1-0) might be forced to shuffle much its lineup in 2015, Allison will have one constant in White, who returns for his senior year as the Bears' No. 1 singles player.White, who was a District 11 Class AAA semifinalist in the individual tournament last season, picked up where he left off, cruising past Northampton's Tom Reinhard 6-1, 6-0 for his first win of the year."Having him back at No. 1 is a big help because he sets the tone for us," Allison said of White. "He's a leader on the team and he's got a lot of experience, and that really helps us."There was little drop off behind White, as Pleasant Valley swept all three singles matches in dominating fashion.Erik Ammermann topped Carter Test 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 2 singles match, while Steven Nale defeated Nick Walker 6-3, 6-1 in the third singles contest.Despite limited court time so far this season, the victories have Allison optimistic that the Bears are on the right track moving forward."That was the first time they had played singles because they both had been doubles players for us," Allison said of Ammermann and Nale. "I was very happy with how they played. I think they're going to continue to improve as the season goes on."And I think Erik will be a good doubles partner with Jon (White) if we get down to a No. 1 doubles situation at the end of a match. I'm really happy with how he's come along."The Bears showed they still have plenty of depth behind their top three singles players, taking two of the four doubles matches.Pleasant Valley's No. 1 team of Patrick Flannery and Austin Williams earned an 8-1 pro set victory over Trey Adams and Ryan Folland, while Davis Reiss and Anthony Taldone won their No. 2 contest 6-0, 6-1 over Noah Neyer and Dominic Jackson.Though disappointed with the loss, Northampton (1-1, 1-1) head coach Kim Davis acknowledged that his team could still take quite a bit from playing a team the caliber of Pleasant Valley."It was a good match," Davis said afterwards. "It was a learning experience. Our singles players all faced good competition and most were able to win some games."We got a lot of kids out on the court and were able to play some quality tennis. That's very important for us."Pleasant Valley 5, Northampton 2SINGLESJon White (PV) def. Tom Reinhard 6-1, 6-0; Erik Ammermann (PV) def. Carter Test 6-2, 6-1; Steven Nale (PV) def. Nick Walker 6-3, 6-1.DOUBLESPatrick Flannery/Austin Williams (PV) def. Trey Adams/Ryan Folland 8-1; Davis Reiss/Anthony Taldone (PV) def. Noah Neyer/Dominic Jackson 6-0, 6-1; Ethan Schwartz/Kevin Trinkle (N) def. Jacob Rohrbach/Nick Vo 8-2; Cory Croll/James Marsh (N) def. Najja Francis/Tony Klapatch 6-3, 6-2.