The Mars girls tennis team had never won a section title entering this season.

The Planets can now cross one more thing off their to-do list.

With last Monday's 5-0 win over rival Knoch, Mars (11-4, 7-1) claimed the Section 3-AA crown and awaits its seeding for the team playoffs, which begin Monday.

"Since we won our section, we're hoping for a home match to begin the playoffs," said Planets coach Mark Varlotta.

"All the other sports at our school have banners hanging in the gym," said No. 2 singles player Christine Clark. "Now, we'll have a banner too."

Mars' only section defeat was a 3-2 loss to Knoch earlier this season. Other section opponents include Vincentian, St. Joseph's and Highlands.

The team has a solid lineup, including freshman Katrina Erdahl, who has opened eyes with her play at the top singles spot.

"At the beginning of the season, she was initially intimidated by the whole scene," said Varlotta. "But as the year went on, she grew stronger and got to the point where it wasn't affecting her play."

"We weren't sure what we were capable of at first," said Clark. "But after seeing (Erdahl) play, we figured we'd be better."

Clark and fellow senior Brittany Barnes have been solid as the No. 2 and 3 players.

Not to be outdone, the doubles teams have put up some impressive numbers as well.

The No. 1 doubles team of senior Lauren Ludwik and sophomore Erin Flynn were undefeated in section play and 9-2 overall.

The second tandem of junior Christie Hansen and senior Amanda Charles have posted a perfect 10-0 overall record. The girls joined forces to take first place among second doubles teams at the MAC Tournament recently.

The event, which included 17 other teams, also saw the Ludwik-Flynn duo make it to the semifinals, as did Clark and Barnes in singles play.

Erdahl went 1-1 at the WPIAL Class AA individual finals earlier this month. She also teamed with Clark and won a doubles match before being ousted.

For the Planets, the section title is the product of a steady improvement the team has been making ever since Varlotta took over before the 2001 season.

"My first year we finished 4-11," he said. "Then in 2002, we were a few games under .500 and a few game over .500 last year.

"And every player on the team has started a varsity match," said Varlotta. "Not many teams can say that, and I think it's a feather in our cap."

Rounding out the Planets' roster are seniors Mary Beth Grossman and Ashley Geyer, junior Hannah Taggart, sophomores MacKenzie Meese, Christine Banfield, Carly Andrascik, Staci Moeller, Kelsey Sowers, Amanda Summers and freshman Brooke Barnes.

"We're hoping that this can turn into a string of success for the program," said Varlotta. "The number of girls interested in playing has grown every year, and that stems from the success our players have had."