Emily Gordon

GROVE CITY — There was a time when Emily Gordon's name was not mentioned when it came to the top girls tennis players in District 10.

Those days are long gone.

Grove City's junior captured her third straight District 10 Class AA title Monday at Pennbriar Athletic Club in Erie, defeating Villa Maria's Sarah DeMarco in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.

“The coolest thing is that Emily is really humble about it,” said Eagles' coach Jared Henshaw. “She's self-motivated and I couldn't be more proud of her.”

Gordon defeated Villa Maria's Jennifer Kuhar (8-2) and Greenville's Grace O'Malley (8-0) in a pro-set scoring format to advance to the semifinals, where she took down Mercyhurst Prep's Sophia Dinicola 6-1, 6-2.

All three of those wins occurred last Saturday, which was the same day that Gordon noticed DeMarco playing ... left-handed.

“I didn't know she was left-handed,” she said. “That was a little concerning because I'm not used to playing someone who is left-handed.”

But Gordon knew what she had to do in Monday's title match.

“I had to flip my entire game around,” she said. “Shots that I normally hit to someone's forehand were going to be to her backhand (and vice versa). It was a bit of an adjustment.”

But not big enough to keep Gordon from being crowned a district champ once again.

“Her serve was on at districts,” said Henshaw. “She didn't double fault once and the only time she lost the serve, it went to deuce eight or nine times against DeMarco.

“Emily's serve is the strongest part of her game. It can knock the racket out of your hand.”

Every player in the district who hopes to make a deep run in the Class AA bracket knows who Gordon is.

“I felt a little more pressure this year,” she admitted. “I enjoy playing and competing, but I also enjoy winning. So the pressure I felt was from myself.”

Gordon was dealing with an injury to her right shoulder in August, which caused her to miss several of Grove City's matches.

“I'm used to minor injuries, it's part of the sport,” she said. “Plus, it came at the beginning of the season, so I had time to rehab and come back.”

It was at Buhl Day, during which a high school tennis tournament took place in Sharon Oct. 5, that Henshaw realized Gordon was primed to make a run at a third straight crown.

“She played four matches that day and didn't lose a game,” he said. “Her serve was on and that's when I knew she was ready.”

Gordon will compete in the PIAA tournament, which begins Nov. 4 at the Hershey Racquet Club.

In her two previous trips to states, Gordon had to withdraw due to injury as a freshman before losing in the quarterfinals last year.

“At states, everyone is good,” she said. “It depends on the draw and there's a bit of luck, but I'd like to place this year.”