Despite a similar amount of playing experience throughout the Lehighton and Pleasant Valley tennis lineups, the Bears used some consistent play and solid strategy to defeat the Tribe 6-0 a nonleague matchup on Monday.

The warm temperatures and blustery breezes had both good and bad effects on play as the wind altered balls' paths all day. In order to deal with the affected flight path, players needed to make last-second adjustments throughout points, wreaking havoc on the game plans of most."We've played them before this season and they're definitely a stronger team than us," Lehighton head coach Dave Sherry said. "We lost about six starters from last year, so it's tough, but I'm happy with the kids and the improvements they're making. But Pleasant Valley is definitely stronger."Sophomore Jake Ammerman didn't yield a single game to senior Michael Pados at the number one singles slot, as the Bear tried to be the aggressor throughout."With it being only my second year, to get some wins at No. 1 is always nice," Ammerman said. "I try not to be too intimidated against some of the older guys because to play against the better players, that's only going to make me better in the long run."Junior Najja Francis defeated Indian junior Maura Phelan at the No. 2 spot, displaying his ability to adjust last second, mix up his style and drive through the ball from both wings."I just tried to stay focused, get the ball back and not make the mistake first," Francis said. "With the wind, I tried to keep the ball lower so it wouldn't move as much."At No. 3 singles, the Bears' sport a freshman in Josh Schaffner, who took out Elise Johnston without giving up a sole game. The talented frosh is now at 6-4 on the season."It always feels good to get a comfortable win," Schaffner said. "We both had to deal with the windy conditions today, so we can't really complain about it because it's the same for everyone."In the doubles' action, the Bears got similar results as they combined to lose just two games total against the Indians."The kids have really been improving thus far and I'm hoping they can continue to do so," Pleasant Valley coach Mark Allison said. "We hope to keep moving along and getting better with each day that passes."POST-SEASON GOAL ... The victory was another step in the right direction for the Bears. "It's really nice to get the win, because we're in the hunt to get a spot in team districts and that's always a big goal of ours," Allison said.JUST DROP IT ... Pleasant Valley normally plays a format of three singles matches and four doubles matches. The Bears' facility has six courts to play on which normally means waiting for the completion of one match before the final match (No. 4 doubles) can get started. But since the Bears acquired the necessary four individual match wins and had already clinched the team win, the final match was never played.Pleasant Valley 6, Lehighton 0SINGLESJake Ammerman (PV) def. Michael Pados 6-0, 6-0; Najja Francis (PV) def. Maura Phelan 6-0, 6-1; Josh Schaffner (PV) def. Elise Johnston 6-0, 6-0.DOUBLESNick Vo/Jason Allesch (PV) def. Olivia Frendt/Michael Bongiorno 6-0, 6-0; Tyler Fahrenkopf/Brian Kagel (PV) def. Stephen Heery/Mark Solt 6-0, 6-1; John Berry/Mike Tauer (PV) def. Cheyenne Pettit/Miranda Pettit 6-0, 6-1.