But most teams aren’t Jersey Shore.

With Gerst outside the playing field cheering her team on, the Bulldogs rallied in response, as Peyton Dincher and Addison Koch erased early set deficits and duos Jaymison Stellfox & Julia Herman and Ava Lanks & Kendall Bubb bolstered early leads. On Thursday afternoon at Williamsport Area High School, Jersey Shore put together a strong, across-the-board showing, defeating Hughesville 4-1 to defend its 2023 title.

The back-to-back champions finished their run through districts undefeated, winning 20 straight matches from late August to the present day. Following Dincher’s match-clinching victory, her teammates gathered around her and half an hour of celebration ensued.

“I’m just so proud of this team for being 20-0,” said Peyton Dincher. “We are the best team to go down in Jersey Shore tennis history, and I’m just so proud of them.”

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Corrsponden Jersey Shore's Peyton Dincher returns a hit from Hughesville's Sarah Buck in the #1 singles at Williamsport Thursday.

“These girls deserved it. They played hard, Peyton finished it off for us with a big win against her biggest rival, Sarah Buck, who’s a tremendous player,” emphasized Jersey Shore head coach Ann-Marie Dincher. “This is the cherry on top. To have an undefeated season with a two-time district champion, it is the greatest feeling ever.”

After falling to Buck twice in the month of October, Dincher faced a 4-1 first-set deficit in their third match of the season. But rather than let things fall apart, she was able to find momentum in the latter half of the set. One win turned into two wins, and she kept up the pressure, winning five straight games to take the set, 6-4.

“Mentally, I just never give up, whether I’m down or up,” said Dincher on the effort. “So that’s like my motto basically.”

When the going got tough in the second set, as Buck worked her way back from a 3-1 deficit of her own and turned it into a 5-4 lead, Dincher never blinked.

She’d battle through a tough Game 10 that featured three deuces, forcing Buck to make back-to-back mistakes to even the set before taking a 6-5 lead. Buck evened the set score again, but Dincher shook off the pressure in tiebreakers. There, she’d make it 5-2 with a well-placed drop shot and seal it at 7-5 with another, winning the match 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) and effectively ending the match.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Corrsponden Hughesville's Talia Saka returns a hit in the #2 doubles against Jersey Shore at Williamsport Thursday.

“I definitely came out more loose today,” said Dincher. “I was able to hit down-the-shots, and everything was working for me today. It just went really well.”

“She’s a true champion. She’s not gonna back down, and she’s a true fighter,” said Ann-Marie Dincher on Dincher. “She fought and she knew what she had to do.”

That emphatic win came off the heels of multiple dominant wins on the right side of the playing field. Jersey Shore’s doubles duos dropped just seven games combined on Thursday, with Jaymison Stellfox and Julia Herman winning 6-1, 6-3 and Ava Lanks and Kendall Bubb winning 6-2, 6-1.

“Doubles owned it today,” said Dincher. “They came out, played some solid tennis and put us in the right position, where we just needed one more win.”

Stellfox and Herman came out the gate swinging, winning five straight to start and holding firm once Hughesville’s Rebecca Roberts and Maya Snyder were able to respond. Though things started closer in the second, with the duos trading games through its first half, Stellfox and Herman remained smooth in their communication and powerful in their volleys, rattling off three straight wins to clinch the team’s second point.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Corrsponden Hughesville's Gracie Buddman returs a hit in the #2 doubles against Jersey Shore at Williamsport Thursday.

With Lanks and Bubb rattling off five straight wins in their second set to give the Bulldogs their first point and Stellfox and Herman quickly following suit, the duos were able provide their singles players additional support, a factor that motivated them.

“In a match this important, it was nice to be the first team to take the lead, then having our other doubles team get the first win, because it kind of gave us the edge early,” said Herman.

“I think that’s what helped our singles girls,” said Stellfox. “Like that was Peyton’s motivator. I believe us coming off the court quick and coming to support her, that helped pushed her and helped everyone relax.”

Though Hughesville fell just short of a title for a second straight season, finishing as back-to-back district runners-up, the team showed tremendous fight in the closing stretch of Thursday’s match.

At Singles Court One, Buck battled sickness and came one point away from extending her match against Dincher in the process. And after falling behind 6-3, 5-4 on Singles Court Three, Georgia Randall won three straight to extend not just her match, but the team’s shot at a title. It was an effort head coach Craig Weaver took pride in, as the team looks forward to district doubles and states.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Corrsponden Hughesville's Sarah Buck returns a hit from Jersey Shore's Peyton Dincher in the #1 singles at Williamsport Thursday.

“I think it just shows what kind of kids they really are. They dug deep. People are going to look at this match and see that we lost 1-4 but this match was much closer than that,” said Weaver. “Sarah at No. 1, Georgia at No. 3 and our doubles, they battled. This was a dig-deep time, and the kids really dug. And you know, the sun’s still gonna come up tomorrow.”

Both teams look forward to states, which are set to begin next Tuesday. With its No. 1 goal of the season now conquered, Jersey Shore will enjoy the win for now before shifting its focus to what’s ahead.

“This was definitely the main priority, to win districts, but we’re definitely looking forward to states and we should be ready,” said Peyton Dincher.

“While coming off this high, hopefully we can keep it going,” said Ann-Marie Dincher.

Jersey Shore 3, Hughesville 1

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Corrsponden Hughesville's Sarah Buck returns a hit from Jersey Shore's Peyton Dincher in the #1 singles at Williamsport Thursday.

SINGLES

Peyton Dincher (JS) def. Sarah Buck (H) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). 2. Annaka Bruder (H) def. Josie Gerst (JS) by default. 3. Addison Koch (JS) led Georgia Randall (H) 6-3, 5-7, 3-2.

DOUBLES

Jaymison Stellfox/Julia Herman (JS) def. Rebecca Roberts/Maya Snyder (H) 6-1, 6-3. 2. Ava Lanks/Kendall Bubb (JS) def. Gracie Budman/Talia Saka (H) 6-2, 6-1.