BATTLE-TESTED
BLOOMSBURG — Bloomsburg’s Dana Lee may not have had the best record heading into the District 4 tournament, but she put in the best performance.
For her efforts this season, Lee has been named the Press Enterprise’s girls tennis MVP.
Lee went the furthest of any individual player, advancing to the semifinals. She, along with teammate Brooke Keister, also advanced to the doubles semifinals.
Her 8-4 overall record may not look the best and got her seeded fifth in districts, but playing No. 1 allowed her to prepare for districts.
“The difficulty of schedule we faced with the likes of Montoursville, Loyalsock and Central Columbia really gave her a leg up,” Bloomsburg coach Erik Coyne said. “The losses she took through the season were acceptable and spoke to the strength of opponent. It really spoke for her, too, when it came to district seeding.”
Lee defeated Milton’s Alanna Stamm and Selinsgrove’s Fionna Finnerty before falling to eventual state champion Olivia Dorner of South Williamsport.
“I think what got me prepared was sheer grit,” Lee said. “I knew going in that I wasn’t going to be the highest seed. I knew there were going to be a lot of close matches and great competitors.
“I’ve been in the district tournament three times before and used what I learned over the years to prepare.”
It also helps that Lee got all the support she needed when friends and family showed up to cheer her on at districts, especially when nothing was given at the start of the season due to the pandemic.
“It definitely was a challenge just thinking nobody knew what was going to happen (with the season),” she said “I wasn’t anticipating a season. When it did happen, it was a turn-on switch for me. I felt like I was a little behind and took on everything tossed my way.
“I made sure to take time to have fun and enjoy myself this season because it was my senior year. It was great to have friends there to support me, too.”
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