JEFFERSON TWP — Maggie Blair didn’t pick up a tennis racket until she was a freshman.

Emma Zinsky never played until she was a sophomore.

Carly Burdett and Sharyn Sefton also began their tennis careers when they were entering high school.

Now as seniors, they and the rest of the Knights’ roster has enjoyed historic success with the Knoch girls tennis team.

“I played soccer since I was little. But it wasn’t the sport for me,” Blair said. “Going into freshman year, Carly also played soccer and I asked her if she was playing and she said, no, she was going to try tennis.”

The two jumped head first into the sport. Four years later, they are key doubles players for the Knights.

“It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Blair said. “I got to know myself in ways I can’t even describe. I go to camps now and help little kids learn the sport. It’s had the greatest impact on my life.”

And Knoch has had a big impact on area tennis this season.

The Knights finished the season 12-3 and won the section title outright for the first time in school history, capturing the Section 3-AA crown.

This year’s team also became the first in the program to win a WPIAL team playoff match, a victory over Winchester Thurston.

The Knights’ team postseason run came to an end last week in a loss to Neshannock.

“It’s pretty amazing that we made history,” Burdett said. “It felt so great. We were just screaming on the bus. I don’t think we expected to win the section, but I think we believed we could.”

“I knew we were going to be competitive in our section,” said Knoch fourth-year coach Nancy Conlon. “But I didn’t realize we’d be that good.”

Moving out of a section with the likes of North Allegheny and Pine-Richland this year certainly helped.

Knoch ran into those two tennis juggernauts in years past and struggled.

“I’m really proud of the girls and the way they competed and fought through those matches,” Conlon said. “Against those teams, you’re really playing defensive tennis. This year, we refocused and were able to play a more offensive strategy.”

It also helped the top of the singles lineup was solidified by freshman Elle Santora and sophomore Emma West.

Santora and West will compete in the WPIAL section singles Monday.

No. 3 singles player Alex Jaksec was also a sophomore.

“We’re set up for the next few years,” Conlon said. “No one likes to play first singles because typically you’re running up against a tournament player. (Santora) is a tournament player and she allowed everyone to shift down into other slots.”

It showed. Knoch routinely won section matches 5-0 or 4-1.

Conlon was careful, though, to make the non-section schedule challenging with teams like Mars, North Hills and Hampton.

For Conlon, this season has been particularly satisfying because the seniors entered the program as freshmen at the same time she took the job.

“I told them and the parents that,” Conlon said. “I told them you don’t know how good it feels to have a winning season like this. In the past when they struggled, they played with class and played their hearts out.”

Blair credits Conlon for much of the team’s success and the fact the players who just picked up the sport a few short years ago learned and excelled so quickly.

“She’s the most encouraging coach,” Blair said. “She never puts any players down.”