OREFIELD — Pleasant Valley head tennis coach Laura Ammerman had some different expectations for her team Monday in the District 11 Class 3A Team Championships at Parkland.

Her eighth-seeded squad met No. 1 seed and perennial power Parkland, who just crowned an individual district champion, a doubles champion, and took the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference crown.

Looking at the big picture, Ammerman had to realize the likely outcome of the situation, as her unit fell, 5-0, to the Trojans.

For the Bears, it proved to be an afternoon of playing the game as well as they could. Despite the apparent mismatch, Ammerman saw her team play relatively loose against an opponent that brought an 18-0 overall record into the match.

“When they don’t sense the pressure, they play extremely well,” stressed Ammerman. “They get themselves in trouble when they think too much about who they are playing. They always look really good in practice.”

To open the regular season, the Bears dropped a 7-0 decision to the Trojans.

“Our guys were confident coming into the match, but they knew what kind of lineup Parkland has. We were able to get some games from them. We played them at the start of the season, and we were rusty and couldn’t score.

Junior Jon Hargrove, the Bears’ No.1 singles’ player, suffered a 6-0, 6-0 defeat, and fellow junior Issac Kline, No. 2, was beaten 6-2, 6-1. Senior Liam Angell, at No. 3, was downed 6-2, 6-1.

In doubles’ play, senior Logan Krock and junior Noah Conklin lost 6-0, 6-0, and junior Gavin Tonkey and senior Ben Jochen dropped a 6-0, 6-2 decision.

Hargrove was pleased with his play.

“I felt I played pretty good,” said Hargrave. “I thought my ground strokes were good. But I knew I could be in a tough spot facing the No. 1 kid around.”

Klein, who posted a regular-season best 11-4 record, had a similar outlook.

“I thought I played well,” said Klein. “I was able to get a couple of games on him, and I thought I was able to play my game. I was happy with the way I was hitting my shots.”

To their credit and the team’s, both Hargrave and Klein have given up other sports to focus on tennis. Hargrave has spent the last couple of summers playing at the Northwood Racquet Club, while Klein has played on the UTR youth tennis circuit.

Over the season, Ammerman has watched both of them improve. They will be part of a five-junior contingent that will return next season. Four freshmen also will return for the Bears.

“Absolutely,” beamed Ammerman. “You can see the difference in how they played since the start of the year. We were rusty when we started, but they and the other players really brought it together throughout the year.”

Ammerman also cited the team’s overall 10-8 record, as well as their climb during the season to lock up the No. 8 seed.

“It’s really hard for a No. 8 seed to go up against a No. 1 seed,” said Ammerman. “But we were the only Pocono-are team to get here, and that says a lot about these guys.”

The third-year head coach also understands the deck she is shuffling.

“We usually get a whole different type of kid that usually plays tennis,” noted Ammerman. “Our kids may not have the chances to go to camps and clinics, and I am always telling them about clinics.

“But they made it to districts, and I am proud of them.”

Parkland 5, Pleasant Valley 0

SINGLES

Derek Yao (P) def. John Hargrave, 6-0, 6-0; Manav Patel (P) def. Issac Klein, 6-1. 6-2; and Jacky Zhang (P) def. Liam Angell, 6-2, 6-1.

DOUBLES

Doyoon Kim and Tyson Noto (P) def. Logan Krock and Noah Conklin, 6-0, 6-0; Noah Elijovich and Pranav Senhilkumar (P) def. Gavin Tonkay and Ben Jochen, 6-0, 6-2.

Records: Pleasant Valley (10-9); Parkland (19-0).