JEFFERSON TWP — The competition last season was tough. That only made the Knoch girls tennis team tougher.

Playing in Class AAA, the Knights failed to win a section match, losing all 12 decisions.

After dropping to Class AA for 2010, the Knights took that experience and ran with it.

The Knights went 11-1 in Section 3 and tied Ellis School for the section championship.

"We knew we were a better team last year and we should have won three (section) matches," said Knoch second-year coach Kenny Nieser.

"Even though AA had some easier matches, there are some very good teams. I thought we had a decent chance," Nieser added.

"Going in, we didn't want to be too confident," said senior co-captain Kiki Gordon.

"We set the bar pretty high for ourselves," said senior co-captain Kassie Fissore. "We worked hard in the offseason and it was a good experience."

Entering this season, the Knights did possess a great deal of depth, which allowed Nieser to find the right fit for his squad.

"If you asked me at the beginning of the year who our number 1, 2 and 3 singles players were, I didn't know," Nieser said. "Our top five were close and our No. 6 was up there, too. I just had to figure out how the makeup of the team was the best."

As it turned out, Brooke Ross, Abby Conlon and Alyssa King were the top three singles, while Katie Conlon and Peggy Kanterman were the No. 1 doubles pair, and Gordon and Kassie Fissore were at No. 2 doubles. Alex Muck also played some at that spot.

Gordon and Fissore are the lone seniors while Muck is a sophomore. The rest of the starters are juniors.

Others on the Knoch roster are sophomore Spencer Bateman, and freshmen Emily Ortiz, Melissa Stearns and Hannah Pfeiffer

When Knoch dropped a 4-1 nonsection match to Mars Wednesday, that was only the Knights' second loss of the season (13-2). The other loss was a 3-2 decision to Ellis School Sept. 15.

Knoch had defeated Ellis 4-1 Aug. 25.

"It became real when we beat Ellis School the first time," said Gordon. "It was a cool experience. It gave us confidence when we beat them for the first time."

Nieser said his idea of a strong team comes from having a strong No. 1 doubles pair because two really strong players can win that spot instead of having them go against a another team's No. 1 singles player, which could be, as Nieser said, "a world beater."

"If they're good enough and confident enough, they could beat the other team's No. 1 doubles," Nieser noted.

"You try to make No. 1 doubles as close to a sure thing to a win. Our top five, though, are really close," Nieser added.

At the section doubles championship, Katie Conlon and Kanterman reached the finals, only to fall to Ellis School's Maeve McAllister and Tessa McArdle 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Abby Conlon and King were the Knights' other doubles team, but they lost in the quarterfinals to McAllister and McArdle 11-10 (7-4).

At the section singles championships, Ross lost in the semifinals to eventual champion McAllister 6-0, 6-1 while Katie Conlon fell in the quarterfinals.

Now, the Knights look ahead to the team playoffs Friday, when they host Thomas Jefferson at 3 p.m.

"Everyone in the playoffs is going to be good," said Fissore. "We need to stay completely focused and try our best."