The Emmaus girls tennis team was undefeated until it ran into a buzz saw in the form of the Parkland Trojans.

The Lady Hornets were unable to take a match against the visiting Trojans and lost for the first time this season. The good news is that they didn't allow that loss to bring them down and they quickly rebounded and beat Bethlehem Catholic 4-0 in a rain-shortened match and then downed Southern Lehigh 3-2 in a non-conference match.

The loss to Parkland also saw senior Victoria Chan suffer her first loss of the season after jumping out to a 6-0 start. Like her team, Chan rebounded and picked up wins in the next two matches and stands at 8-1 on the season. After playing doubles last season, Chan was able to capture the number three singles spot on the team thanks to improved play.

"There is a big difference in Victoria," said Emmaus head coach Kelly Musselman. "She's much more level-headed this season and her consistency has been great. She worked really hard over the summer and she showed that she was ready to play as a singles player this year."

Chan credits her summer training with making her a much better player and she can feel a big difference in her game.

"I went to a camp at DeSales and played three times a week and had a lesson once a week," Chan said. "And with my new coach, I really improved. I feel like I'm a much more consistent player now and don't make as many mistakes."

As a senior, Chan is one of the players who made it through the lean years of Emmaus tennis and is still around to enjoy playing on a much-improved team. Chan credits the atmosphere around the team with being a big part of why its playing better. She also believes the players are more dedicated to winning and helping each other improve.

"The team has been so much closer and everyone likes each other," She said. "We've been communicating a lot more and having lots of get togethers like pasta dinners and parties. We've definitely bonded a lot better than we have in previous years.

"I'm surprised, even though I really shouldn't be because we have a very good team with four seniors and a couple of very experienced underclassmen. Things are looking great for us this year."

While there's no denying the improvement in Chan's game, she hasn't stopped working to get better both physically and mentally. One of the things that she's working on is improving her strategies against her opponents to help her get an edge.

After high school, Chan wants to study nursing and is looking at some impressive schools. "I'm looking at Pitt and West Chester as my top choices and I'm also applying to Bloomsburg and I'm accepted into Indiana University of Pennsylvania."

Musselman found positives in the loss to Parkland and used the loss as an opportunity to help her team prepare for tough competition down the road. She was impressed with how her team came back to life and didn't allow the loss to hurt its play.

"We were definitely the underdog in that contest," Musselman said. "So what mattered to us was whether or not we played well. I think we played well and I think we learned a lot from that match. Every year we look forward to Parkland because they are so talented and it is traditionally great match competition."

The regular season is already winding down. Next week, Emmaus plays Stroudsburg, Central Catholic and Moravian Academy, who are all good teams, as the regular season comes to an end.

"That week will be a tough one as all three of those matches are very competitive," said Musselman. "Fortunately, I think last Friday's tough win against Southern Lehigh taught the girls the importance of winning under pressure. Despite the challenging week, we look forward to closing out our regular season in a positive manner, and hopefully, our overall record will reflect how hard the girls have worked."