S. Jersey Girls | Salem reaches finals with an upset in tennis

Julie Mahoney's marathon victory at second singles, which lasted over five hours and was played at two sites, highlighted

Salem

's 3-2 win over top-seeded

Pitman

yesterday in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 1 girls' tennis semifinals.

Mahoney outlasted Bethanne O'Donnell, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, in a match that began on Pitman's courts and ended at Atkinson Park in Washington Township. The effort sent the fourth-seeded Rams to Friday's title match.

The other key for Salem came at third singles, with Megan Merritt battling past Melissa Hudock, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.

South Jersey Non-Public B. Sarah Connell provided the deciding win at first singles, and top-seeded Moorestown Friends got a gutsy performance at second doubles to defeat Sacred Heart, 31/2-11/2.

Ari Taormina and Jessica Walker of Moorestown Friends dropped the first set and trailed, 0-3, before rallying to win, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, at second doubles over Katy Read and Leslie Laguna. The Foxes (10-1) advance to the championship against No. 3 seed Bishop Eustace (13-8), which upset second-seeded Holy Cross, 4-1.

South Jersey Group 2. Lora Moore of Gateway recorded her 100th victory in a losing effort, as the third-seeded Gators fell, 4-1, to No. 2 seed Haddon Township in the semifinal round.

After Moore's victory at first singles - which inched her closer to the 107-win total of Randy Coin, the Gateway school record holder - Haddon Township got on track with Jessica Scarpello's 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 triumph at second singles.

The Hawks (15-2) will meet top-seeded Haddonfield, which continued its domination with a 5-0 sweep of Sterling. The Bulldogs (23-2) lost just four games and saw Meghan Burns and Cara Masullo cruise at first doubles, 6-0, 6-0.

South Jersey Group 4. Amanda Kaufman's 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ashley Boyd at first singles proved the difference, as top-seeded Cherry Hill East scratched past No. 4 seed Millville, 3-2, to gain a berth in the sectional final.

Meghan McConnell provided a highlight for the Thunderbolts, claiming her 100th career victory with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win at third singles.

Second-seeded Washington Township (11-1) also advanced, taking a 3-2 decision over Atlantic City, thanks to a 7-6 (10-8), 6-3 win at first doubles by Amanda Cole and Kristen Abdallah.

South Jersey Non-Public A. Paige Frost's 6-0, 6-1 win at first singles set the tone for second-seeded Holy Spirit, which ousted No. 3 seed Red Bank Catholic, 4-1.

Holy Spirit will face fourth-seeded Notre Dame in the final on Friday.

Callie Emel recorded a hat trick and Christina Moore chipped in a pair of goals, as

Salem

(8-0-1) moved to within a win of capturing the Tri-County Conference Classic Division title with an 8-0 pounding of visiting

Penns Grove

.

Jackie Leafey put Gloucester on the scoreboard in the first half and Marci Hutchinson made the lead stand up, as the host Lions pulled away from Clayton, 3-0.

Freshman Courtney Branco fired in a pair of second-half goals to steer host Clearview over Highland, 4-0.

Olympic. In avenging a 4-1 loss earlier this season, Timber Creek got first-half goals by Ashley Adams and Candie Kolbe and held on for a 2-1 triumph at Bishop Eustace.

Camden Catholic is 11-0 after beating visiting Paul VI, 5-0, behind two goals by Maggie Fallon.

Colonial. Kirstin Snyder and Michalla Devlin broke through for goals in the second half, and Emily Richings made four saves as Haddonfield defeated host Haddon Township, 2-0, in a battle of division leaders.

Jamie Anderson scored twice and Jenna Grady and Marlee Schramm each added a goal to make West Deptford a 4-0 winner at Paulsboro.

Burlington County. Katelyn Green, Carly Kindbom, Lauren Hadam and Erica Swider came through with goals for Holy Cross in a 4-1 win at Riverside.

Cape-Atlantic. Aimee Reilert's second goal of the game, with 10 minutes remaining in the second half, rallied host Atlantic City into a 3-3 tie with Millville. Jessica Atkinson, Jessica Cox and Danielle Tombleson had staked the Thunderbolts to a 3-1 halftime lead.

Ocean City moved a step closer to its 11th consecutive division title by rolling over visiting Mainland, 5-0. The Red Raiders were led by Danielle McNally with two goals and shutout goaltending by Devon Seifert.

Victoria Paolise scored twice and set up a pair of goals by Morgan Costa as host Hammonton buried Buena, 4-0.

Tori Fama's second-half goal, coupled with Jess Figueroa's shutout goaltending, made

Mainland

a 1-0 winner over visiting

Ocean City

, and guaranteed the Mustangs of at least a share of the Cape-Atlantic League American Conference Division II crown.

Behind goals by Stephanie Carpenter, Katelyn McFadden and Nikki Kuhar, host Holy Spirit blitzed Buena, 3-0, and clinched at least a share of the National Conference Division I title.

Olympic. Laura Minkoff made seven saves and Carrie Vuong's goal with 2 minutes, 40 seconds to go in regulation allowed host Cherry Hill East (1-5-2) to pull off a shocking 1-1 draw with Eastern (10-2-1).

National Division leader Bishop Eustace needed Sara Keane's eighth shutout and a goal by Gwen Conte late in the first half to escape with a 1-0 win over last-place Timber Creek.

Barbara Previ collected two goals as Shawnee toppled host Triton, 4-0, to solidify its hold on the Patriot Division lead.

Jenny Smierciak, Laura Sharp and Heathers Santos supplied the scoring for Cherry Hill West in a 3-1 win at Pennsauken. Goalie Danielle Meng kept the Indians close by turning aside 20 shots.

Colonial. Frances Picoletti made seven saves in recording her 11th shutout and Maggie Lupinski's two goals keyed the attack, as host Haddonfield improved to 13-0 by thumping Haddon Township, 6-0.

West Deptford kept the heat on Haddonfield in the Liberty Division race with an 8-2 romp at Paulsboro. Jenna Lindsay had two goals to pace the Eagles (11-1-1).

Tri-County. Alyssa DiVirgilio's goal lifted host Williamstown over Clearview, 1-0, and gave the Braves sole possession of the Royal Division lead.

Classic Division-leading Pennsville (8-0) received two goals from Dawn Curry and a goal and an assist by Alexandra Smith in a 3-1 win at Gloucester.

Kate Bianco dribbled through a handful of defenders and shot the ball into the upper-left corner of the net with seven minutes remaining in regulation, giving host Clayton a 1-0 win over Pitman.

Emily Sheridan's direct free kick from 20 yards out highlighted host Glassboro's 4-0 win over Penns Grove.

Burlington County. Victoria Vasapolli ended the scoring drought in overtime, lifting Burlington City to a 1-0 decision at Pemberton.

Nonleague. Five players scored and Lauren Cicatiello and Gina Mansi combined on a shutout, carrying host Washington Township (11-0-1) past Absegami, 5-0.