HELLERTOWN - Pleasant Valley didn't just magically earn an 8-6 overall record in its first year of gritty Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tennis competition.

Two senior Bears fearlessly led Mark Allison's squad this season. Jon White has been one of the best players in the district for a few years and fellow senior Erik Ammermann has improved immensely during his time with the program.Both Pleasant Valley players earned berths in the District 11 Class AAA Singles Tournament on Wednesday.The third-seeded White took the court first against Nazareth's Mike Fischler. The swirling winds didn't seem to effect the stellar PV senior much as White seemed to coast to a 6-1, 6-1 victory in the round of 32."I have to take it into account but I'm pretty used to it by now," said White in regard to the wind in his first match. "I've had about four years of windy high school tennis. I had a tough loss against Parkland earlier this year, but I've been successful the rest of the season so I'm feeling pretty good in these type of conditions. I definitely feel confident."Ammermann took the court next, but came up short against Parkland's Nate Lyman, 6-1, 6-0."This has been Erik's first year playing singles for us," explained Pleasant Valley head coach Mark Allison. "He stepped in the number two spot and he's played well with a nice record and qualified for the district tournament. We couldn't have asked for anything more."Ammermann's game has expanded quite a bit since he joined the Bears' tennis program."I've had a great four years with Coach Allison," Ammermann said. "He's taught me so much and really helped develop me as a player. We've had such good team interaction over the years and I've learned a lot from the older players and especially Jon White. We've had a lot of fun."I definitely remember back to my freshman year and the improvments I've made since then. I think I've accomplished most of what I've wanted to do."White squared off against Freedom's Ross Sonnenblick about an hour later in the round of 16 and cruised to another impressive victory, 6-1, 6-2."I never want to lose, but I haven't been too worried about results," said White. "I just wanted to take it all in my senior year and have fun playing. I don't think the score reflected how close the match actually was. The wind was definitely a factor as you had to adjust your game on both sides of the court."I'm happy with the outcome. I just need to keep focusing on playing my game and not worrying about who my opponent is. As long as I keep doing that, I think I'll be fine."White will match up against sixth-seeded Will Kyaw of East Stroudsburg North on Friday. Both White and Ammermann will also compete in the PIAA class AAA District 11 doubles competition next week."Jon has been such a steady player since his freshman year," said Allison. "He did a nice job of taking care of business in both his matches today."The big news in the Class AAA Tournament was that defending District 11 champion and No. 1 seed Andrew Sinai of Bethlehem Freedom was forced to withdraw from tournament because of a concussion he sustained last week. Because of that, the tournament was re-seeded and Parkland's Nick Kshatri was moved up to the No. 1 seed.There were no major upsets on the opening day of the tournament as all eight seeded players advanced to Friday's quarterfinal round.