With the full intention of ending her high school tennis career on a high note, Hamburg senior Mia Gassert won the 2024 BCIAA Flight 1 singles championship Tuesday afternoon at Laureldale. Gassert defeated Wilson junior Jin Len Chen 6-2, 6-2 to earn the victory and claim her first BCIAA Flight 1 singles title.
Hamburg’s Mia Gassert after winning the 2024 BCIAA Flight 1 singles title in girls tennis. (ANDREW HELLER – READING EAGLE)
“It’s like my last hurrah,” Gassert said. “It’s my senior year and I’m going to go full out. I can do it, I just have to believe in myself.”
Mia Gassert of Hamburg competes against Jin Lin Chen from Wilson in the BCIAA girls’ tennis finals on Tuesday at Muhlenberg. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
After earning runner-up finishes in both the 2022 and 2023 Flight 1 singles finals, Gassert said she believes that becoming an all-court player helped her achieve heightened success this season. Gassert was also the District 3 Class 2A runner-up as both a freshman and sophomore.
“It’s surreal,” Gassert said. “It took me four years, but I don’t know. I don’t even have any words, I was ready, but it’s still nerve wracking. There’s no way you can explain it.
“I think last year I was just a very baseline player, and my coach, Will, from Hillcrest (Racquet Club), we worked on volleying a lot. So he wanted me to become an all-court player and as my volleys improved, I got more confident, and that made me win a lot more points.”
In addition, Gassert’s BCIAA Flight 1 singles title is believed to be the first by any player from Hamburg. A three-sport athlete who also plays basketball and softball, Gassert has developed a winning mentality and focus that drives her in every sport.
Mia Gassert of Hamburg competes against Jin Lin Chen from Wilson in the BCIAA girls’ tennis finals on Tuesday at Muhlenberg. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
“Coming from other sports, like softball, we (Hamburg) were the first women’s’ sports winning at districts,” Gassert said. “So it just feels so nice, like you just feel important. You go around school and people are like, ‘Oh, congrats,’ ‘Oh, good job,’ ‘You got this,’ and they have so much support.
“It (being a multi-sport athlete) helps so much. You can tell who plays more than one sport, and it’s so nice. You’re an athlete. You know how to move. You know how it is to be losing, and then you know how it is to be able to come back. And you have that mentality along with the physical attributes.”
Also earning medals, in the Flight 2 championship, Exeter sophomore Maira McCartin defeated Berks Catholic senior Sarah Schnatz 6-2, 6-4. In Flight 3, Wilson’s Emily Tippin defeated Exeter freshman Lily Jordan 6-3, 6-1, and in Flight 4, Berks Catholic senior Francesca Ditsky defeated Wilson senior Victoria Sheehan 6-2, 7-5. Rounding out the first place medalists, Berks Catholic senior Maddie Gordos defeated Wilson’s Lucy Lamparella 7-5, 6-2.
In the Flight 1 doubles championship, Chen and Brooke Mengel defeated Gassert and Shayna Morales 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to claim the Flight 1 doubles title.
Jin Lin Chen from Wilson backhands a return against Mia Gassert of Hamburg in the BCIAA girls’ tennis finals on Tuesday at Muhlenberg. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The BCIAA team tournament begins on Friday with the quarterfinals starting at 4 p.m. On Saturday for the semifinals, the higher seeds will host the lower remaining seeds starting at 2 p.m. On Monday, a neutral site will be decided for the team finals that begin at 4 p.m. Wilson (top seed from Berks I, quarterfinal bye), Gov. Mifflin (third seed Berks I), Berks Catholic (second seed from Berks II), Wyomissing (top seed from Berks II, quarterfinal bye), Exeter (second seed from District 1) and Kutztown (third seed from Berks II) have all qualified for the team tournament.
