Mallory Conner took another huge step this past season.

With two years of high school tennis still ahead of her, the Northwestern Lehigh sophomore has her sights set on continuing a climb to the top.

If dedication and determination have anything to say about it, Conner’s goals of reaching the pinnacle of District 11 tennis and competing against the best in the state of Pennsylvania will be the next plateau she scales.

Competing as an independent tennis player at districts because Northwestern doesn’t have a high school team hasn’t been a problem for Conner.

As a freshman, she burst onto the district scene by reaching the Class 2A semifinals before a loss ended her bronze-medal season.

This past season, Conner’s improvement helped her reach the District 11 final. A straight-set loss to Moravian Academy’s Francesca Bartolacci left her with a silver medal.

Conner’s run through the 16-player Class 2A bracket earned her the 2023 Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Girls Tennis Player of the Year award.

“My goal is always to play the best I can and to win,” said Conner. “So I went into districts with the goal of winning it all.

“Not quite reaching my ultimate goal was definitely a little disappointing. But looking back on the big picture, I thought I played pretty well throughout the district tournament. I came up a little short in the final, but that just provides me with even more motivation for next season.”

Conner said playing as an independent provides both advantages and disadvantages in her preparation for the District 11 tournament.

“It would be nice to be part of a team and have individual wins to celebrate with your teammates and team victories to celebrate with a group,” said Conner. “But at the same time, tennis is primarily an individual sport, so you need to find motivation and enjoyment from within.

“I have no problem with finding that on my own. The loss in the district final this year has already added fuel to my fire as I work on my game in preparation for next season.”

While a lot of the top tennis players in the district play tennis year round thanks to several indoor and outdoor tennis facilities in the Lehigh Valley, that isn’t quite as easy for Conner to do.

A three-sport athlete at Northwestern, Conner has to work in her time on the tennis court around basketball season in the winter and track and field season in the spring.

“I play tennis at least six days a week during the summer and during the fall season,” said Conner. “But with basketball and track, it’s not possible to play that much during those seasons. But I try to do weekend tournaments when I can, and I try to get together with my coach Brian Bleam whenever possible.”

Although Conner said she enjoys all three sports, she calls tennis her No. 1 love.

“I probably started playing tennis when I was about four years old,” said Conner. “My dad played tennis in school and my grandmother is a big tennis player. They are the ones who got me started in the sport.

“My grandmother plays at the Oakmont Tennis Club, and used to take me with her when I was young. I just loved the sport from the first time I ever played.

“I guess I showed some promise when I was young, so my parents got coach Bleam to start working with me when I was probably about 9 or 10 years old. He’s been working with me ever since and I owe a lot of my success to him.”

That success has led to Conner to playing in USTA (United States Tennis Association) tournaments throughout the region where she competes against the top players from across the Lehigh Valley and the state.

“My freshman year, I had a little trouble adjusting during the District 11 tournament because even though I had seen and played against most of the girls at districts during USTA play, districts was something totally new to me,” said Conner. “This past season, I knew what to expect at districts, and I think I played much better because of that. I only advanced one round further, but my level of play was definitely much better this past season.”

Now that she is comfortable at the district level, Conner knows the next big test is finding out what it feels like to compete at the PIAA State Championships. To do that, she needs to be a district champion.

With Bartolacci graduating, Conner knows districts is wide open.

“That’s a goal I’m working toward and thinking about every time I pick up my racquet,” said Conner. “There are already so many other great players across the district, and who knows if a talented freshman or two will be part of the bracket next year as well.

“So even though I finished second this year, I’m not taking anything for granted. I’m working on areas of my game that I feel like I need improvement in, and trying to strengthen the areas that I feel confident in. I’m entering the season with a goal to return to the district finals and this time win it.”

It’s the next step on Conner’s climb to the top of the tennis mountain.