Two-time defending district tennis champion Henry Paiste has earned the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament, scheduled to start Thursday.

Paiste, who lives in the Northwestern school district, is one of 10 TIMES NEWS area players who will be participating in districts.Joining Paiste in Class AA are six unseeded players. They include Palmerton's Tyler Snyder, Spencer Shigo and Kevin Dayton, along with Jim Thorpe's Kyle Bacher, Dalton Becker and Lou Squillace.Paiste begins defense of his titles by facing Michael Biffen of Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg in the opening round.In Class AAA, Pleasant Valley's top two players have both earned seeds.No. 1 Bears singles player Jon White, who is undefeated this season, earned the No. 2 seed. White opens district play on Friday when he faces Dave Rutvij of Emmaus in the first round. White's teammate and PV's No. 2 player, Jon Walmach, also gained a seed at least night's district meeting. Walmach enters the tourney as the No. 7 seed and will take on Parkland's Pete Harrison on Friday.The first two rounds of the Class AA tournament will be held Thursday with the quarterfinals and semifinals slated for Saturday. Class AAA will hold their opening rounds on Friday with quarters and semis also on Saturday. Both finals will take place on Monday.