SALISBURY - Jim Thorpe opened play in the District 11 2A tennis tournament on Tuesday as the tournament’s sixth seed.

The host Falcons, the No. 3 seed, got off to a fast start and the Olympians were unable to overcome the early deficit and fell 4-1, eliminating them from the team competition.

Looking across the five matches early in the competition, Salisbury had leads on every court.

In No. 3 singles, however, Thorpe’s Trista Gehris came back to take a 6-4 win over Mackenzie Hankee, and then finished out the match with a 6-1 win in the second set.

“That was definitely one of my better matches, and maybe the best I’ve ever played,” said Gehris. “I think it’s because I was in a better head space. My mind was clear, and I wasn’t thinking about anything other than the match.”

In No. 1 singles, Bryn Kubinsky defeated Christy McLean in straight sets to start the day for the Falcons.

But the match of the day came in No. 2 singles as the Olympians’ Gabby Nunez battled Paige Gibbons for over two hours, with the match going to a 10-point tiebreaker in the third set after each of the first two sets also went to tiebreakers.

After an early lead by Gibbons, Nunez battled back and went to a tiebreaker, where she fell 8-6. The second set swung wildly back-and-forth, before a 7-4 tiebreaker win tied the match at one set apiece. The two played a 10-point tiebreaker to decide the match. Gibbons, who appeared to be wearing down late in the second set, was able to rally some energy in the third and won the tiebreaker 10-3.

Ironically, the team match had already been decided well before Nunez and Gibbons were finished, but the two battled as if their match would decide the outcome.

“That was a fantastic match,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Norb Lienhard. “I think it was kind of indicative of how we battled today, and all season really. We fought hard in every match, and I’m very proud of my team.”

In doubles, Salisbury won both matches in straight sets with Tara McLean and Sophia Samoleski falling in straight sets 6-3 and 6-4, and Kaylinn Trine and Hailey Trine going down 6-0 and 7-5.

Lienhard was proud of the effort his girls put into the match, and believes the outcome may have been a little different had Salisbury not taken its early lead.

“My No. 2 doubles [Kaylinn and Hailey Trine] started off 6-0, and one of my girls said that she wasn’t playing well, but they played much better in the second set. It was the same way with No. 1 singles. [Christy McLean] lost 6-3 and then came back and played better,” said Lienhard.

DOUBLING UP … The District 11 doubles tournament takes place next week. Tara McLean will team with Samoleski to play a team from Moravian Academy in the opening round, while Christy McLean will team with Gehris against a tandem from Central Catholic.

REVENGE … While Gehris played one of the best matches of her career on Tuesday, the last time that she played at Salisbury was nothing close to her best. That match stuck in Gehris’ head for almost a month before she had an opportunity to redeem herself. “I really wanted this win today to prove that I can be a better player, and especially better than when we played here during the season,” said Gehris. “Playing so well today kind of takes that old memory away.”

Salisbury 4, Jim Thorpe 1

SINGLES

Bryn Kubinsky (S) def. Christy McLean 6-1, 6-1; Paige Gibbons (S) def. Gabby Nunez 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (7-4), 10-3; Trista Gehris (JT) def. Mackenzee Hankee 6-4, 6-1.

DOUBLES

Krista Bonge/Marcie Silberman (S) def. Tara McLean/Sophie Samoleski 6-3, 6-4; Anna Bitar/Maisie Oliver (S) def. Kaylan Trine/Hailey Trine 6-0, 7-5.