HERSHEY — It was yet another matchup between Lancaster-Lebanon League rivals Hempfield and Manheim Township.
It just wasn’t for as many marbles.
The Blue Streaks’ Abby Martin and Leighanne Chiong defeated the Black Knights’ Rose Wendel and Rose Durrett 6-0, 6-2 in the District 3 girls tennis doubles Class 3A third-place match Saturday at Hershey Racquet Club to earn a a berth in states.
In team matches this season, Township and Hempfield already have met three times, with Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1, L-L and district team titles on the line.
Martin and Hempfield’s Olivia Kickery met in the semifinals of the L-L 3A flight tournament singles while Sophea Hafez of Township and Elisha Yan of Hempfield met in the district semifinals.
It looked quite likely that some L-L doubles team, in 3A or 2A, would play for a district title, but Martin and Chiong, who were seeded fourth, fell to Chambersburg’s Leah Wadel and Charley Kalathas, who were unseeded, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in the semifinals while Wendel and Durrett lost to eventual champs Emma Teunissen and Katie Gergal of Central Dauphin 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Manheim Township’s Leighanne Chiong returns a shot Hempfield’s Kiana Nguyen during the L-L League girls team tennis championships at Conestoga Valley High School in Witmer on Tuesday Oct. 6, 2026.
CHRIS KNIGHT | Staff Photographer
“I was getting nervous and angry,” said Chiong, just a freshman, of the semifinals. “I’m happy (to reach states). I’m grateful.”
The Township pair put together a dominant performance to take the third and final 3A spot in the PIAA tournament, scheduled for Nov. 6-7 at HRC.
“I think we played well together,” said Martin, who teamed with Maya Lamachane to place second a year ago. “I think we would have liked to win, but we’re both really happy we get to go to states.”
Wendel, who won the district 3A crown with Alex Gregory in 2024, and Durrett breezed through the first two rounds Friday, losing just three games. That included a 6-1, 6-0 win over Conestoga Valley’s Havyn Robinson and Kaylee Eby, who surprised the No. 3 seeds 6-3, 6-3 in the first round.
Also having a shot at both a district title and a berth in the state tournament was Lancaster Catholic’s Abby Milay-Stipe and Paityn Gerz in Class 2A. The unseeded pair surprised Wyomissing’s second-seeded team of Payton Carlson and Bella Karchevsky 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round and coasted by Bishop McDevitt’s Teagan Pardo and Savannah Wheeler 6-2, 6-4 in the second. But they lost 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 to York Catholic’s third-seeded team of Kylie Althoff and Katelynn Baker in the semifinals, then to Trinity’s Olivia Malinoski and Leanna Tran 6-0, 6-3 in the third-place match.
Top-seeded Juliet Perkins and Natalie Nelson of Conrad Weiser routed Althoff and Baker 6-2, 6-0 for the 2A title. Althoff had teamed with another partner to win last year’s 2A crown.
Back in 3A, Martin, just a sophomore, and Chiong will be back in action in the PIAA team tournament Tuesday before the doubles competition in two weeks.
“I think the first match they were a little nervous,” said Township coach Earle Cornelius of his duo’s performance Saturday. “In doubles, it can cascade. When they got behind, they started to press.
“But I think in the second match, they played up to their capabilities. I thought we had a really tough draw.”
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