Salisbury senior tennis player Henry Rothermel saw much improvement in his play over the course of the year. With a new head coach and a new attitude, Rothermel qualified for the AA singles District 11 tournament as a seeded player (eighth seed). Only the top eight players in each class are seeded.

"It was my goal all season to be seeded," Rothermel said. "It meant a lot to me. I read the e-mail and I was like 'Oh my god, I'm seeded.' It's awesome because some of the kids that I compete with are incredible. Just to be in the top eight is a huge honor for me."

The way he got to being a seeded player involved not his overall play, but his attitude. In the past, players and coaches would try to get into the head of Rothermel and take him off his game, but this year was different.

"I've just been keeping a positive attitude," noted Rothermel. "My temper has really simmered since last year. Coaches would just say to get me angry. Coach [Robert] Benson has helped me out a lot with this. He just tells me to go do my job."

Rothermel's improved attitude led him to a perfect first day at district singles last Thursday at West End Racquetball Club. He defeated David Mason of Saucon Valley in the opening round 6-2, 6-2, then beat Palmerton's Tyler Snyder 6-2, 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time as a singles player.

Falcon teammate Ben Heydt also had a successful day. Like Rothermel, Heydt improved from his freshman year at districts by advancing to a further round than the year before.

Heydt took down Lou Squillace of Jim Thorpe 6-0, 6-1 in the first round.

"I wanted to stay consistent and keep a level head," said Heydt. "Whether you're playing a good player or not, the first round is always going to be tough with nerves and everything. I worked on my serve a lot this year, and coach Benson was a lot of help with that. It feels good to get past the first round this year."

In the second round, Heydt was matched up against seventh seeded Francesco Mowery of Notre Dame Green Pond. The sophomore showed that he belonged by taking the first set to the wire, falling 7-5. He lost 6-2 in the second set.

Rothermel lost Saturday's match to eventual district champion Henry Paiste from Northwestern 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. Paiste won his third straight district title on Monday.

It was a great showing for the two Falcons, who both improved on their finishes from the year before.