After Liberty junior Helena Lynn was crowned the District XI Class 3A singles tennis champion, Liberty head coach Chris Conrad wrote on Twitter, “I could not be prouder. Down a set, 90 degrees real feel, and three hours, and Helena Lynn repeats as a PIAA District XI girls singles champion.”

That accomplishment was not lost on the handful of spectators who outlasted the heat that chased others away on Oct. 3 at Freedom High School.

“It’s probably the most physical match I’ve seen between boys and girls ever in high school tennis,” said Conrad after the district final. “Helena just battled a girl that won’t stop fighting.”

Parkland sophomore Lexie Warsing took a first-set lead, 7-5, in the best-of-three match.

“[Helena’s] forehand is just one of the best, and it’s very frustrating, so I knew I had to hit to her backhand and just mix it up,” Warsing said. “I wanted to win this match, and I put a lot of effort into working for this, and after the first set, I was pretty excited, but I knew I had to come back and restart and not get too excited and lose my focus.”

Lynn and Warsing split the first two games that went to deuce, and Lynn positioned herself at a game away from taking the first set at 5-3, but Warsing came back to tie, 5-5, before winning the set after going to deuce four times in the last game.

“We didn’t execute, and when we didn’t execute, I had never seen Lexie play the way she did,” said Conrad. “She went on a four-game run, five-game run, actually, where she just made zero unforced errors and forced Helena into a lot of bad errors and played tremendous tennis that won her the set and the first game of the second set.”

But as the midday sun baked the court, the players had no choice but to rise above it.

“I felt myself, not deteriorating, but falling out,” Warsing said. “After every changeover, you get some ice, you feel good, and then once you play two points, it’s right back to that exhaustion.”

Lynn won five straight games for a 6-2 second-set win.

“We slowly kept calm and were able to adapt and make sure we weren’t expending too much energy on the court because we wanted to make sure we were spending it at the right times with this heat,” said Conrad. “Ultimately, Helena was calm and composed the entire time, and I think that’s what helped her in the second and third set.”

Lynn maintained a third-set lead, but Warsing gave a final push at 5-3.

“I knew I had to keep the ball deep because if I didn’t, she would attack it,” said Lynn. “My coaches told me to play really steady.”

Lynn stopped Warsing from a repeat comeback similar to the first set and won the third, 6-3.

“It feels great,” Lynn said. “This year, I was a bit more nervous because I won last year, and I felt more pressure, but I was happy to be able to pull it out, playing such a tough match and tough opponent.”

Parkland coach Mike Hingston had nothing but praise for Warsing.

“It was a tremendous performance and a valiant effort against a worthy opponent,” he said. “I just thought she battled hard. It was very difficult out there. Just this week alone, it was four matches in two days on the heels of 17 matches in a month in our regular season. It’s a lot of tennis in a condensed period, so there was really no choice but to grin and bear it and deal with the elements.”