Middle tennis team again finding ways to compete in difficult conference

Posted: October 9th 2025

Pictured in the above photo are (from left): front row - Zaina Vahora, Gabby Apolinar, Valeria Baldo-Cruz, Dailey Durrows, Alex Grier, Maria Sakoulas, Lyndsey McDevitt; middle row - Desirae Senec, Ava Miller, Emma Ratchford, Alex Palumbo, Sasha Atalia, Morgan Sharpe, Julianna Sittineri; back row - Katlyn Murtaugh, Paige Peters, Rachel Tzorfas, Emelia Barrow, Dakotah Velli, Elle Markle, Ava Hope, Ella Leahy, Casey Day, McKenzie Ortman.

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

It’s been a very competitive season for the Middle Township High School girls tennis team despite the challenges of competing in a difficult conference.

The Lady Panthers take a very respectable record of 12-7 into Thursday’s South Jersey Group II Tournament semifinal against Cedar Creek.

This despite facing many much larger schools as members of the Cape-Atlantic League’s American Conference, which also consists of first place Egg Harbor Township, Vineland, Mainland, Ocean City and Lower Cape May. Middle has split its two matches with Ocean City and Mainland and also has a win over Lower Cape May, with another match against Lower still to come. All of the team’s other victories have come in non-conference matches.

“As a smaller school than a lot of the others in the conference, we’re happy with how we’re competing,” Middle coach Jeanne Donohue said. “It definitely gets us battle tested for the state tournament, which is the main focus.

""It helps to have someone in the program like my assistant, John Leahy, who really does a good job focusing on the development of our young players, similar to what he does with coaching the girls basketball program."

Middle is hoping to get back to the sectional title match for the second straight year. Last fall, the Lady Panthers lost to Haddonfield, one of the state’s best programs. Haddonfield will most likely be the competition for the Middle-Cedar Creek winner.

Middle is seeded second and Cedar Creek third in the tournament. But the Pirates are formidable, bringing a record of 14-3 into the match. Middle reached the semifinal with a 5-0 win over Oakcrest in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.

“It’ll definitely be a tougher match,” Donohue said of the match with Cedar Creek. “We’re looking at matchups and we can’t be overconfident. But we think if we play our best we’ll have a good chance of beating them. Anything can happen, but we’ll need to play well.”

Middle has found success despite fielding a young team. First singles player Maria Sakoulas, the team’s lone senior, is a four-year varsity player who won her 50th career match earlier this season.

“Maria has been very strong and she’s a super leader who’s really matured over the last four years,” Donohue said. “I can’t say enough about how important she is to the team. We count on her example and for her to compete against the best players in the Cape-Atlantic League, which she has.”

Second singles player Ella Leahy, a junior, also won her 50th career match a couple of weeks ago.

“Ella is a player who very often just finds a way to win,” Donohue said. “She just won her 50th, and we’re looking forward to her winning several more before she graduates.”

Sophomore Morgan Sharpe competes at third singles.

“Morgan, as a sophomore, is coming along very well,” Donohue said. “We’re happy with how she’s developed. Third singles can be a tough spot and she’s hung in there. Her matches have all been competitive.”

Juniors Lyndsey McDevitt and Julianna Sittineri are at first doubles.

“They’re good athletes,” Donohue said. “They compete. They’ve done well.”

Freshman Casey Day and sophomore Alex Grier are at second doubles.

“Casey is new to tennis but she’s a super athlete who’s very competitive. She’s getting better with every match,” Donohue said. “Alex wasn’t even close to being in the (varsity) lineup last year but she worked super hard all summer. She didn’t miss any of our workouts. She was determined to make it into the varsity seven and there she is.”

Middle’s program is 24 players strong and, despite the loss of its first singles player after this season, appears in a very good place moving forward.

“We’ll miss Maria next year,” Donohue said. “She’ll be impossible to replace. But we had a great summer. We started July 7 with workouts twice a week and so many of the girls were committed to it. It’s such a nice group of girls. We’re having a lot of fun.

(Photos courtesy Jeanne Donohue, MTHS girls tennis coach)

The Middle Township High School girls tennis team has put together a solid season despite competing in the extremely difficult Cape-Atlantic American Conference.