Category: Sports

By Ayza Ali ‘28

Throughout new beginnings and matches that just couldn’t seem to end, Wyoming Seminary’s Girls’ Tennis had a very successful season, with the team demonstrating valuable partnership, dedication, and a competitive spirit. The fall season ended amazingly for the team, when two of the doubles pairings impressively ended in second place. 

The team began their hardworking season long before the academic year began, ensuring that they were prepared for the intense matches ahead of them. With a new coach, Coach Fred Hockenbury, the girls had concerns that it would take time for the team to feel comfortable and connected with one another on the courts. However, Coach Hockenbury immediately helped the girls feel at ease, and he helped them become better tennis players each day. 

Not long after preseason, the girls already felt prepared for their matches, and proved this after being left undefeated, leading them to the district matches. Despite the success, like all teams, the girls faced difficulties. Some matches were harder than others, lasting two or more hours. However, the girls were able to work through the challenges due to their strong and unwavering teamwork. The girls worked hard everyday to perfect their techniques and keep their competitive spark lit.

While the team remained focused on their goals, they were still able to make memories during practices and matches, making the 2026 season the most memorable one yet. Anisa Mohyuddin ‘27 says “My favorite memory from this year’s tennis season was definitely our senior night! The team did such a great job putting it together and we had lots of fun celebrating each other. I’m going to miss the team so much and all the memories we’ve made!” This year, the tennis team had a total of six seniors, and it’s safe to say that the team will not be the same without them next year. The team expressed their appreciation of their seniors by giving them personalized gifts on their senior night, creating a special memory for the team to share.

Despite all the wins throughout the season, the performances of the two doubles teams at the semi-finals became the highlight. The results from the match indicated the hard work the girls had put into the season and it gave the team a memorable achievement to celebrate. The two doubles pairings, Kathleen Minella with Katie Zhang and Cece Pons with Elizabeth Weaver, worked with such dedication to their sport, making them most deserving of their success. Kathleen Minella ‘28 says “The win felt like a redemption from last season since my partner and I didn’t make it that far last year. It also felt like a great accomplishment since we had such a hard match before the semis the day before.” Kate and Katie ended in third place, receiving individual bronze medals, and Cece and Lizzy ended in second place, receiving individual silver medals. Combined, they successfully won second place as a team in the semi finals.

With the fall season at a close, the girls tennis team is now able to look back on a strong year of competition and accomplishments. Congratulations to Wyoming Seminary’s girls’ tennis team, and we look forward to seeing your success in the next year!

by Kate Minella ’28

During the middle of the summer the girls tennis team received an email, expressing that the old coach had decided to leave the program. With preseason starting in less than a month Wyoming Seminary was in desperate need of a tennis coach, or the season could have been canceled. 2 weeks before the season started Fred Hockenbury was announced to be the girls tennis coach for the 2026 season. Fred was automatically a good fit for the program since he worked with most of the girls on the team before. Fred has 21 years of experience working with beginner players all the way to WTA players on tour. He was the assistant tennis coach at Misericordia College, tennis professional at Newberry Estate Country Club, and operates a tennis program at Odyssey. 

Coaching High School tennis was a different kind of environment then Coach Hockenbury was used to. He said, “I felt the new year wasn’t just a season for me but a new standard for the team. It was the next chapter for both myself and the team’s future.” Coach Hockenbury was determined to win not only districts but the state championship too, but more importantly he wanted to make sure the whole team was seen. Previous years not everyone was paid attention to, so they never gained the knowledge to get better at the sport. He changed that by focusing on the starters but the other players who weren’t in the starting line up. Many improved so much that they were able to be in the lineup during some matches to give starters a break. “Fred was great at making JV feel like we were a part of the team just as much as varsity. When I met him on the first day of practice he automatically wanted to get to know me, and he did this with all my teammates that he had not yet met. Fred made the team feel more like a family than just a team, which made for the best and most fun year of tennis I had in my highschool career,” Brianna Falacone, 27. 

Coach Hockenbury had a very successful season this year with the team being the Wyoming Valley Conference finalist going 13-0 during regular season matches. During the district tournament, the team faced Scranton Prep for the 3rd year in a row. Even though the team wasn’t able to pull off the win, Coach Hockenbury expressed, “coaching was more than teaching tennis, it was teaching life. Just like a match, there are ups and downs, momentum shifts, tough points, and moments of confidence. What matters is learning how to respond, how to stay steady, and how to keep playing with a purpose.” He was able to bring the teams of Lizzie Waever and Cece Pons, and Kate Minella and Katie Zhang to semis and finals of the double district earning a bronze and silver medal. That’s the furthest Sem girls have made it in the doubles tournament. “I’m so glad Fred was the one to take the role, he put in the effort to make the team super fun this year” Lizzie Weaver, ’27. 

By Abby Ryu ‘26

While still only a club, Wyoming Seminary track and field has quickly ballooned into one of the most popular new sports on campus. The team has significantly grown from around 10-15 people last year to around 50 this year. When asked about what might’ve caused this new influx in members, veteran runner Imane Sabir ‘26 theorized “I think we had a really good group of first years come up who were already committed to track”. Coinciding with this influx in participation, the team has also participated in more competitions this year, both invitationals as well as dual meets against schools in the area like Lake Lehman and Tunkhannock. So far, the team has been very successful at meets; running-wise, many students have consistently dropped time and achieved personal bests. Notably, the team has also placed in several meets for throwing thanks to twins Kaeleen and Sloane Dougherty ‘28. 

These impressive results were not achieved by chance; they reflect hours of training and hard work. Since the school does not have an actual track, the team uses its environment to their advantage, hosting the bulk of their practices in Kirby Park. However, unlike most sports where the entire team practices together, the track team runs (haha!) multiple separate practices. Students are separated in these practices based on their event – sprinting, long distance, throwing, and jumping. The only track and field events that no SEM student participated in are pole vaulting and javelin throwing, as those are both very specialized and technical events that need specific coaches. 

The team is a very eclectic group of people, from those who have been doing track seriously their whole lives, cross country runners running track for the first time, other athletes trying to stay fit, as well as people who just want to fulfill their PE credit. When asked about the team culture this year compared to last year, Aiden Benetos ‘26 gushed, “As someone who has been involved with the club for 4 years, it’s been incredible to see the club grow, and I hope that the accrued interest will motivate the school to be a full varsity team!” Regardless of what might become of Wyoming Seminary track and field, it is awesome to see different groups of people coming together to pursue a similar passion, and certainly reflective of the larger SEM experience!