HELLERTOWN — After an impressive showing in Monday’s first two rounds of District 11 doubles, Jake Ammermann and Josh Schaffner looked to repeat their performance Tuesday against even tougher competition.

They both played well, but ran into possibly the hottest doubles team in the area in the semifinals and fell 6-0, 6-0 to end their quest for a spot in the district finals.

In the quarterfinals, the duo played a marathon match against Quin Erk and Aiden Springs from Emmaus. While Pleasant Valley won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, the games seemed to last an eternity as most of the other matches were nearing completion before they had even completed their first set.

“It wasn’t the first time that we were the last ones on the court, so we’re kind of used to that,” joked Ammermann of being behind the other matches. As it turned out, the match was the last to be completed — by far — in the quarterfinal round.

In the second set, Ammermann and Schaffner showed just why they went from being the No. 8 seed last season to the No. 3 seed this season. Erk and Springs completely changed up their strategy for the second set, with both players playing back at the baseline. Admittedly, it caught the Pleasant Valley team off guard.

Emmaus found the strategy to be to its liking and rattled off wins in the first four games of the second set.

Eventually, Pleasant Valley adjusted. They won a game, and then another to move to 4-2. Then another, and another — and just kept on winning. When all was said and done, they had won six straight games to reach the semifinals.

“We just had to stay in there mentally. We didn’t want the run to be over yet, so we just had to stay in there and win a couple games and start to battle back,” said Ammermann of the two-set win.

“It’s different, because all season long you don’t play out the ad-points and then you come into districts, and you play them out and have games that go 15 or 20 minutes. It’s hard, but both sides have to deal with it,” said Schaffner of the marathon match.

The weather turned rather warm during their match and was even warmer when they took to the court against Gabe Knowles and Andrew Nicolae of Nazareth for the semis. Nazareth came in as the No. 2 seed and put on an impressive display. Knowles and Nicolae took turns making big shots and turning balls that seemed destined to be Pleasant Valley points into points for themselves.

“We expect them to probably win the whole thing. They’re both terrific in singles and in doubles,” predicted Schaffner after the 6-0, 6-0 loss.

As a senior, Ammerman will leave high school with a district doubles medal from this year’s performance. Schaffner reached the semifinals in both singles and doubles this season, capping a big junior season.

“To go from third singles as a freshman to two district medals in my junior year is pretty cool,” said Schaffner. “I’m pretty happy and it goes a long way for my confidence.”

Bears’ coach Mark Allison watched the match with a look of pride as his two players took to the court against teams from schools that are known for churning out top-notch tennis players and are used to playing for district medals.

“When you look out there and see Parkland and Liberty and Nazareth and then Pleasant Valley, you feel really proud of them and happy for the kids,” said Allison. “They’re great kids and they’ve worked really hard.

“It’s a rarity that a player gets medals in singles and doubles. Josh is a hard worker, and he worked hard during the offseason and it definitely showed. He’ll be an even better player next year, most likely right up there at the top.”

FEELING THE HEAT

... As the day went on, the temperature rose to turn what started as a breezy, cool quarterfinal round into a much warmer day as the matches went on. While the match against Emmaus was somewhat grueling and dragged on, neither Ammermann nor Schaffner used that as an excuse for their loss to Nazareth, preferring instead to point out how well their opponents played.

JUST LIKE WE EXPECTED

... After 30 matches over two days, the District 11 Doubles Tournament played out pretty much like expected. The semis consisted of the four teams seeded one through four and the finals match No. 1 seed Liberty against No. 2 seed Nazareth. The only upset of the tournament came in the opening round when No. 8 seed Whitehall lost to unseeded Southern Lehigh.