BETHLEHEM - Jennifer Danzeisen wanted to celebrate what the Palmerton tennis team accomplished this season.

Something not even a little bit of rain – or a quarterfinal loss to top seed Moravian Academy – were about to change.

The Blue Bombers season came to an end with an abbreviated 3-0 loss to the Lions in the quarterfinals of the District 11 Class 2A team tournament on Monday.

Despite the setback and the weather that brought an end to the match and the season, the optimistic outlook Danzeisen has carried throughout the spring remained unchanged.

“They got better, they improved, they worked well together, their shots were awesome,” Danzeisen beamed. “They challenged all of these top schools, and that’s all I could ask for and I’m so proud of them. They challenged every one of them. It wasn’t easy, and the scores don’t show it. Even if you lose 6-0, 6-0, it doesn’t matter. These kids kept going back and forth and had rallies that lasted a long time. So I can’t be happier.”

Moravian, Colonial League regular season and tournament champions, won the three completed matches, sweeping both doubles contests and picking up a victory at No. 3 singles to secure the win before the match was halted due to weather.

“Our goal is every year, win Colonial League, win districts and go to Hershey,” said Lions coach Rick Brown. “So we’ve got a few more matches (to go).

“I just wanted them to work on things, some things I saw with the doubles. At second doubles, we switched one guy, they switched backhand and forehand, and I think that’s going to be more effective.”

Ford Koch was leading Palmerton’s Justin Sebelin 6-4, 3-0 at No. 1 singles when the match was stopped, and Aveer Chadha held a 6-0, 5-0 advantage on Riley Fallon at No. 2 singles.

Sebelin has played Koch tough this season, most recently falling 8-4 in the third-place match at the Colonial League tournament.

The senior led Koch 3-2 and 4-3 in the first set on Monday.

“It’s really tough, because this is our third time playing,” said Sebelin. “Each game has been really close, but he won all three, which is tough. But you just pick up on his tendencies to understand his weaknesses, his strengths and you try and capitalize on his weaknesses and stay away from his strengths.”

Sebelin has shown tremendous growth for the eighth-seeded Blue Bombers this season, reaching the quarterfinals of the singles tournament as the No. 8 seed.

Win or lose, that development can be seen in his matches against Koch.

“So much better, especially on the serves and then just attacking the net,” Sebelin said of his comfort level. “The first match, I was playing scared almost and staying back. But in this match, I attacked the net pretty well, and I was happy with how I played.”

Sebelin, who also played in the doubles tournament with Fallon last week, was thrilled to have teammates Tyler Hager and the doubles teams of Anderson Garcia-Escobar and Kaitlyn Heimbach and Emily Bollinger and Handlee Lake alongside him in the match.

“It’s really awesome, because last year we didn’t qualify as a team or have anyone in districts, so it’s been neat to play and then have my teammates along cheering,” said Sebelin, “and then today, having everyone playing and cheering for each other. So that was really awesome.”

It’s been that type of season for Palmerton. One the program hopes to build on in the future.

“They’ve had some tough matches, but they’re always respectful, and they always show great sportsmanship,” said Danzeisen. “They’re just good kids. I’m proud to be their coach.”

ON HOLD

... Moravian awaits the winner of the match between No. 5 Salisbury and No. 4 Lehighton. The contest was postponed to today due to the forecast on Monday.

BACK ON TOP?

... Moravian is seeking its first district championship since 2019, which was the last in a run of 11 straight team titles. Allentown Central Catholic has won the last two crowns after the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Moravian Acad. 3, Palmerton 0

SINGLES

Brian Yang (MA) def. Tyler Hager, 6-1, 6-2.

DOUBLES

Okezue Bell/Kendall Bolden (MA) def. Anderson Garcia-Escobar/Kaitlyn Heimbach, 6-0, 6-0; Harry Vicic/Hunter Zicherman (MA) def. Emily Bollinger/Handlee Lake 6-0, 6-1.