The two-time defending District 11 champion Parkland girls tennis team got off to a 2-0 start to the 2023 season, beating East Stroudsburg South and Whitehall in its first two matches.

The Trojans return their top singles player this season in sophomore Alexandria Warsing, but they team must replace two singles players and one doubles player from last year’s line up.

Two seniors graduated from last year’s team in singles player Leah Zolotareva and doubles player Anshika Gupta. Just as big of a loss for the team is one that came via injury as last year’s No. 3 singles player Gigi Leonzi suffered an ACL injury that will cause her to miss tennis season.

“That is a huge loss not only on the court, but also for her senior leadership and the intangibles,” said Parkland head coach Mike Hingston, adding that Leonzi hadn’t lost a singles match in the past two seasons.

Zolotareva and Gupta were also four-year members of the varsity line up and, like Leonzi, could be counted on to earn team points in their positions.

“Those three were almost automatic points every match,” said Hingston. “I don’t think any of them lost more than a couple matches in their career. They were great leaders and great role models.”

The Trojans have no shortage of players ready to step into new roles with the team this season.

One player who remains in the same position is Warsing, who beat everyone she faced last season except District 11 champ Helena Lynn of Liberty. Hingston said last year’s district singles finalists are two of the best girls players ever to play high school tennis in the Lehigh Valley.

The longtime head coach is excited to see what his top player can do during her second season of varsity competition.

“She’s a bona fide top level player,” he said of Warsing. “She has a great attitude. She’s a team leader. She’s a role model. And she’s humble. If you saw her around the team when she’s not playing, you wouldn’t know she’s the No. 1 player.”

Moving into the No. 2 singles position this season is junior Sophie Elijovich, who was undefeated at No. 3 doubles last season where. Sophia Petrocelli, the only senior in the Trojans’ starting line up, moves into the No. 3 singles position after playing at No. 2 doubles last year.

Junior Arohi Vaze, who played at No. 3 doubles, joins classmate Kiera Miles at No. 2 doubles this year. Miles played at No. 4 doubles last season. Her teammate last season, junior Ali Silman, will play No. 3 doubles this year along with freshman Kiana Miles.

Sophomore Kate Gilchrist and junior Riley Zangari will play in the fourth doubles position this year.

The rest of this year’s roster includes several players who will compete for time at alternates. They are junior Belle Mattson, senior Moriah Thomas, junior Sophie Mang, senior Vidhi Desai, junior Anika Vedantham, and freshman Ariana Tahir.

Parkland went 20-1 last season. The Trojans were 15-0 in the EPC before rolling through districts without losing a match. Warsing and Zolotareva won a District 11 doubles title last season and went on to finish third in the state. They gave the eventual state championship pairing from Methacton the closest match of anyone it came up against during the tournament as the Trojans fell 6-1, 3-4, 6-3 before that pairing won its state final by a 6-1, 6-2 score.

While last year’s success won’t be easy to repeat, the Trojans have the talent and depth to give it a shot again in 2023.