EASTON - Lehighton’s tennis team has built something special this spring.

After a 1-3 start, the Indians closed out the regular season by winning their final 10 matches.

Lehighton’s run was rewarded with the fifth-seed in the District 11 Class 2A team tournament.

While the Tribe fell to fourth-seeded Notre Dame Green Pond 4-1 in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, their appearance in the tournament was another highlight in an already memorable season.

“And for the first time for Lehighton in a long while,” head coach Cody Schuler said of qualifying for team districts. “It was good for them to be out here, and be able to see the caliber of players that are out there also.”

Aaron Miller, the Indians’ top singles player, has been stellar this spring.

Miller was undefeated during the regular season, and earned the No. 3 seed for the District 11 Class 2A individual tournament last week.

The reigning Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Boys Tennis Player of the Year, Miller was impressive Tuesday, posting a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Lucas Ammolsingh.

“He’s a beautiful player,” said Bill Lahouchak, who was filling in for Notre Dame coach Gene Wakeman. “He really did a nice job. He frustrated Lucas today, and really was able to control the match.”

While he already earned postseason experience this year, Tuesday’s match was an opportunity for the rest of the squad to take part in a district event. And with the rest of the lineup set to return next season, the additional court time in such an environment is invaluable as the players continue to grow and develop.

“Usually Aaron would see that at districts, but not all of them get to go to districts,” said Schuler. “In this case, it was good for them to be able to see that, too, and it’s something to work hard towards for next year.

“It pushes them harder to be able to want to keep up with that. It definitely helps that whole team push a little bit harder when you see a couple doing really well.”

The Crusaders got singles victories from Ryan Miller and Brendan Boyle. Miller topped Bayto Cokrlija 6-1, 6-1, while Boyle - also an all-state basketball player - defeated Daniel Hoppes 6-0, 6-1.

Notre Dame swept doubles play. Luke Gubernot and Lucas Altmire defeated Lehighton’s Luke Blauch and Zane Smith 6-0, 6-1, and Jayden Becker and Antonio Caiazzo topped Lucas Schatz and Owen Kovach 6-0, 6-1.

“Gene’s team is comprised of a lot of basketball and soccer players,” said Lahouchak. “That’s pretty much the whole team. But they do a really good job.”

The same could be said for the Indians. Miller will play golf at Indiana Wesleyan next year.

“It was definitely nice to keep his season going,” Schuler said of Miller. “There’s not much left in the official tennis career for him, so it was good to keep it going a little bit longer.”

While Miller starts to look ahead to the next chapter in his athletic career, Lehighton’s roster features a mix of underclassmen who will look to keep the program moving in the right direction with juniors Hoppes, Blauch, Schatz, Smith and Kovach, and a freshman in Cokrlija.

“They just played really well,” said Schuler. “And to see where they were at the beginning of the year to now, they’ve come a long way; everyone’s come a really long way. And that’s something for them to be proud of, and something that I’m proud of. I’m looking forward to next year, and seeing how the team is next year.

“One of the goals I had for them was just to have a better record than we did last year, and we certainly did that.”

MORE TO COME

... Miller and Cokrlija earned the No. 7 seed for next week’s District 11 Class 2A doubles tournament, which begins Monday at Lehigh University. The first round and quarterfinals will take place Monday, followed by the semis and finals Wednesday at Parkland.

UP NEXT

... Notre Dame will face top seed Moravian Academy today in the semifinals. The Lions defeated No. 8 seed Bethlehem Catholic 4-1 in their quarterfinal match on Monday.

HELPING HAND

... Lahouchak previously coached Notre Dame tennis and retired a few years ago for health reasons, but stepped in for Wakeman, who had a doctor’s appointment. “I know them from school because I teach here, so it’s all good,” said Lahouchak. “It was cool. It was good.” Lahouchak coached the boys’ and girls’ tennis teams at Notre Dame for over 10 years each.

BAD TIMING

... Miller broke a string on his racket during warm-ups, and had to play with a different one for the first time all season.

Notre Dame-GP 4, Lehighton 1

SINGLES

Aaron Miller (L) def. Lucas Ammolsingh 6-3, 6-2; Ryan Miller (ND) def. Bayto Cokrlija 6-1, 6-1; Brendan Boyle (ND) def. Daniel Hoppes 6-0, 6-1.

DOUBLES

Luke Gubernot/Lucas Altmire (ND) def. Luke Blauch/Zane Smith 6-0, 6-1; Jayden Becker/Antonio Caiazzo (ND) def. Lucas Schatz/Owen Kovach 6-0, 6-1.