Bethlehem Catholic’s girls tennis team kicked off its 2022 season with a 5-2 victory over Nazareth and currently holds a record of 4-1, losing only to Parkland after two weeks of play.

“[Nazareth] was a close match,” said Becahi head coach George Harmanos. “Cara (Magliochetti) won at number one easily. Madi (Lennert) was playing number two and she felt dizzy with the hot weather and that kind of thing, and she finished but lost. Lena (Windhagen) won in straight sets. At two doubles, we lost the first set, and came back and won the second and third sets pretty easily, and then we won at three and four doubles. One of those was pretty convincing, and the other was in a tiebreaker in the third set.

“So, we were happy with that because we have five experienced players, and they’re really solid. At three and four doubles, we have girls who are new to the sport, so we’re going to struggle [there] until we get more experience. We’ve been plagued by a lot of double faulting, and we want them to get a better sense of where to move and how to cover for each other.”

On Aug. 31, the Lady Hawks hosted Whitehall and won all matches except the match at number one doubles.

Magliochetti defeated Alexis Bundra, 6-0, 6-0, Windhagen, an exchange student from Germany, defeated Brenna Pangaio, 6-0, 6-0, and Lennert defeated Afaf Nazif, 6-1, 6-2.

“She hit some short balls that were hard to get to, so when she hit them crosscourt, it was a good thing for her, especially if I wasn’t expecting them to be so short. I think my first set was a bit better, being consistent and making sure I had spin on my shots,” said Lennert, a former doubles player. “The strategy’s a little different in singles. I did enjoy playing with a partner, but I think, when I play alone, it’s my responsibility to get all the balls so I don’t have to worry about someone else.”

In doubles play, Ava Burkart and Claire Zaza defeated Giovanna Yacoub and Olivia Toto, 6-0, 6-1,

Victoria Botek and Judy Pintor defeated Camila Araque and Kennosh Browne, 6-2, 4-6,10-8, and

Josie Fiorini and Elizabeth Schock defeated Aleksandra Niski and Jessica Lin, 6-1, 6-1.

Whitehall’s Enas Salloum and Izabellah Morales defeated Hannah Miskovich and Sophia Fiorini, 8-4.

Becahi is scheduled to host Easton on Sept. 8 before three road trips; then, the Lady Hawks will return home on Sept. 14 to host East Stroudsburg South.