BETHLEHEM - Six Times News area tennis players competed at the District 11 Singles Tournament on Monday at Lehigh University.

The original plan was to play the first and second rounds in both Class 2A and Class 3A on Monday, but Mother Nature had other ideas.Before the rain came in the afternoon, five of the six local players were able to get their matches finished on the outside playing surfaces of the Ulrich Varsity Tennis Courts.One of those early matches was between Jim Thorpe's Sean DiCostanzo and Palmerton's Nate Andress, who both play No. 1 singles for their respective programs.Andress got the best of DiCostanzo in a regular season match a few weeks ago, winning in straight sets. Monday wasn't much different for the Bombers' sophomore, as he earned a 6-1, 6-3 victory over DiCostanzo in the first round."Playing him earlier in the season helped," said Andress. "I had to get him moving a little. I knew he'd make some errors, but he's a good player. Having some experience from last year helps, and so does knowing your opponent."Also in 2A, the last local match of the day featured Palmerton's Marc Roselli against sixth-seeded Chris Alvarez from Allentown Central Catholic. With rain already falling, the competition was moved into the Lewis Indoor Tennis Center. The change of scenery didn't seem to effect Alvarez, as he defeated Roselli, 6-0, 6-2."We have fun," Andress said of his Bombers' tennis team. "We're out there to win, but the bottom line is that we have fun."Class 3A featured a trio of Pleasant Valley Bears, who all got their matches in before the rain came.Jake Ammerman, PV's No. 1 singles player, was paired up with No. 8 seed Brycen Butz from Stroudsburg. Butz earned the win against his fellow Eastern Pennsylvania Conference competitor, 6-3, 6-1."Jake went from the No. 3 singles as a freshman, to No. 1 singles as a sophomore," said Bears' coach Mark Allison. "He's had a great year. I'm really, really pleased with how well he played. His game has gotten a lot better and he's getting more confidence. He's going to be a tough player for the next two years."PV's Najia Francis also faced a seeded opponent in the opening round, taking on No. 5 seed Aneesh Kapoor of Parkland. Kapoor posted a 6-1, 6-0 win."Najia is one kid that has improved so much as the season went on," Allison said. "He's very athletic and he gets to everything, but his groundstrokes got better, particularly his back-hand. I'm really happy with how much he improved this year."The Bears' Josh Schaffner was also in action against Freedom's Jonathan Fiorentino. The PV frosh came up just short to Fiorentino, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4."He's a pleasant surprise, as a freshman to step in and play singles," said Allison. "It's a tough thing to do, but he did a great job."SCHEDULE CHANGES ... The second round will be held again at Lehigh University beginning at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played Thursday at Parkland High School, while the championship will be on Friday at Winning Touch in Allentown. Andress will take on No. 5 seed Kyle Rich of Blue Mountain's in the second round on Wednesday.AWKWARD RIDE HOME ... Caleb Secor and Michael Irlbeck squared off in the first round. Oddly enough, both competitors are teammates from Stroudsburg. Irlbeck was victorious, 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 10-6.ANY ROOM FOR DESSERT? ... Although Allison's Bears came up short in singles, he's happy to have team districts to look forward to. "This stuff is the icing on the cake," Allison said about postseason play. " The tough part is the regular season. You want to get to team districts and all that. You want to go out, play hard, and relax. If you're not seeded, there's no pressure."THE SET UP ... Lehigh has 18 outdoor courts, and four indoor courts. According to the website, it's a 30,000 square foot facility.