When he discovered last year that all of his team’s matches would be on the road due to the refurbishment of the tennis courts at Palmerton, Anderson Garcia didn’t know what to expect.

What he discovered was a great experience as the Blue Bombers co-ed team turned what could have been a negative into a positive.

“Playing every match on the road last year was quite an experience,” said Garcia. “But it helped create some great memories. Singing songs and all the jokes ... it was a lot of fun. The van rides to every match really helped with team bonding. My teammates were like family to me.

“Our coach (Jen Danzeisen) was amazing as well. Not only did she let us stop to get food on the way home all the time, but she even paid for everyone after one match when we swept our opponent.”

Like Garcia, senior Kaitlyn Heimbach took last season in stride.

“Though not having our own finished courts was inconvenient, especially for practice, having all our matches away was interesting,” she said. “It definitely made it a fun experience. We’d sing, talk, and laugh the entire ride. It helped me become very close with all my teammates.

“We would always ask each other “pre-game” and “post-game” interview questions to predict how we were going to play against a team. There was never a dull moment on the many van rides.”

Heimbach has truly appreciated all of the situations and scenarios.

“As for stopping for food, we pretty much never stopped at the same place twice,” she added. “We were always trying out different places to eat with the team. The team would always make fun of coach Danzeisen for waiting until everyone ordered to decide what she wanted to eat.

“Though I love having games on our home court this season, I wouldn’t have wished it any other way last season.”

Danzeisen said that the team did hold some practices last season on the new courts that were partially done, but didn’t have any lines. She improvised and drew chalk lines for her players. On rainy days, the team practiced at S.S. Palmer Elementary School in town.

“The one thing that I remember the most was that the parents would come to all of the away matches,” said Danzeisen. “Justin Sebelin was our No. 1 singles player last season, had his parents and his aunts come to all of our matches. But it wasn’t just his family. We had a great support group among our players’ families.”

Danzeisen logged her own share of miles. Along with some lengthy rides to matches, she had a roughly 45-minute ride to her home in Drums (near Hazleton) afterwards.

“There were some long days,” she remembered. “Sometimes, the matches would go for two or three hours, and then we would stop for food. When we got back to school, I had a good ride home.

“But it has been worth it. I took the job when the previous tennis coach quit, and I figured I would try it. I love these kids, and it has been a great ride.”

Despite the inconvenience of playing their entire schedule on the road a year ago, Palmerton managed to produce a 6-6 overall record and a 4-5 Colonial League mark.

Danzeisen wasn’t surprised by her team’s reaction.

“They’re really good kids,” said Danzeisen, who is in her seventh year at the helm of the program. “They really adapted well and had fun. They always came ready to play and pulled it all together.

“They learned a lot last season, mainly about adapting and it carried over.”

This season, the Blue Bombers have a 3-2 slate, and are currently ranked No. 8 in the District 11 Class 2A ratings.

In addition to having a winning record through the early-season matches, Palmerton’s tennis team now has a new acrylic surface, new fencing, and four brand new courts to practice and play on.

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UNSTOPPABLE

… The Pleasant Valley girls’ lacrosse team is a perfect six-for-six on the season, as the Bears sit at 6-0. Pleasant Valley has outscored opponents 94-25 so far, with an average a margin of victory of 11.5 goals per game – topping their opponents by double digits in four of their six contests. Devon Bush, Rylee Rath and Olivia Iandoli have accounted for 72 of the team’s goals this season. Bush leads with 32, while Rath and Iandoli follow with 24 and 16, respectively.

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SCORING MACHINE

… The Marian Fillies are off to a 3-0 start. In those three games, the Fillies have scored 19, 19 and 15 runs over the three wins, and have outscored the opposition 53-10 in the early going. Freshman Emily Upanavage leads them with nine runs scored, while both senior pitching phenom Morgan Kelly and sophomore Malina Letcher have eight runs scored. Danica Karlick, DeAnna Pugh and Gracie Sendatch follow with seven, six and five runs scored, respectively.

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CENTURY MARK IN K’S

…. It didn’t take long for Emma Smith to record a career milestone in her very first game of her senior campaign. The Northern Lehigh starting pitcher recorded her 100th-career strikeout in the season opener against Lehighton, with the Bulldogs posting an 11-10 non-conference win over the Indians. Smith also secured her first pitching win in her senior year.

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ONE-MAN WRECKING CREW

… Devon Hildebrand scored nine goals in Northwestern’s 21-7 win over Pleasant Valley on March 27. He added three assists in the win.

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DOUBLE THE PLEASURE

… Mason Ligenza had a big day at the plate in a Schuylkill League showdown against Lehighton on March 30. With two swings of the bat over the weekend, Ligenza accounted for two of the Blue Raiders’ six runs in a 6-4 win over the Indians with two home runs. Ligenza finished with two solo blasts – one in the fourth inning and another in the sixth inning.

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SIMPLY PERFECT

… Morgan Kelly stepped into the pitching circle for the Marian Fillies against host Weatherly on March 26, and recorded a five-inning perfect game in a 15-0 win over the Wreckers. Kelly struck out 13 of the 15 Weatherly batters she faced.

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MARATHON MATCH

… Baseball games take time to finish, sometimes up to two-and-a-half hours. But on March 25, the No. 3 singles’ contest of the Lehighton-Palmerton tennis match took quite some time to finish – 150 minutes to be exact. The Indians’ Isaac Carpenter and the Bombers’ Jared Reinhard treated those in attendance with a hard-fought tennis match that saw Carpenter walk off with a 6-3, 5-7, 10-5 win over Reinhard. Lehighton topped Palmerton 4-1.

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HELPING HERSELF

… Emma Freeman had a big day in the circle and at the plate in Northwestern’s 4-2 win over Hamburg on March 25. Freeman finished with two hits and four RBIs, including a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Freeman also recorded 11 strikeouts in the contest.

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STILL PERFECT

… The Tamaqua baseball, Pleasant Valley girls’ lacrosse, Marian softball, Panther Valley softball and Palmerton softball are all off to undefeated starts to the season. The teams are a combined 17-0 on the season. The Pleasant Valley girls’ lacrosse team is 6-0 overall. Tamaqua baseball is 4-0 on the season. Marian and Palmerton softball are both a perfect 3-0, while the Panther Valley softball team is 1-0.