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Stephanie Mazurek
Junior, Hazleton Area
Mazurek had herself quite a season at No. 1 singles for the Cougars. Seeded No. 2 in the District 2-4 Class 3A singles tournament, she dropped only five games en route to the championship match where she lost a heartbreaker in three sets to Williamsport’s Amanda Southard. A few days later, though, she won the District 2 title with a victory over teammate Lily Nowak, 7-5, 6-3. She also teamed with Nowak to capture their second straight district doubles championship, losing just five games throughout the tournament.
Lily Nowak
Sophomore, Hazleton Area
Playing No. 2 as a sophomore, Nowak expanded on a highly successful freshman campaign in 2015. She won her second straight district doubles championship, teaming with Stephanie Mazurek to roll through the tournament. Nowak also made a nice run in the singles tournament. Unseeded, she defeated North Pocono’s Sarah Tofilska, the No. 4 seed, in the round of 16 before sweeping past Abington Heights’ Catherine Pusateri to earn a berth in the semifinals. She eventually lost to Williamsport’s Amanda Southard.
Nicole Joanlanne
Freshman, Wyoming Seminary
Joanlanne gave the the Blue Knights’ faithful a lot to cheer about in 2016. After a strong regular season that garnered her the No. 6 seed in the district singles tournament, Joanlanne picked up victories over Valley View’s Kiana DeJesus and Holy Redeemer’s Charlotte Maria to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. She also teamed up with Abbey Capin in doubles, advancing to the district semifinals.
Libby Pinto
Senior, MMI Prep
The lone senior on the Times Leader all-star team, the MMI Prepper finished her scholastic year on the strong note. She earned a No. 7 seed in the district 2A singles tournament, and picked up victories over Coughlin’s Diana Rodriguez and Berwick’s Isabella Arndt before losing to Scranton Prep’s Gabi Jakubek in the quarterfinals. Teaming up with Jessica Smith in the doubles bracket, the duo won matches over squads from Western Wayne and Montrose to reach the quarterfinals.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Kathryn Pavlick, Hazleton Area
The Cougars coach led her squad to a 12-1 record in the Wyoming Valley Conference and a league championship as Hazleton Area beat Holy Redeemer 3-2 in the all-season playoff. Individually, Hazleton Area was also highly successful. The duo of Mazurek and Nowak won the District 2 Class 3A doubles crown for the second straight season, while Mazurek captured the district’s 3A singles championship, defeating Nowak in the final.
