SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT– The past few years of District 4 singles tennis during the playoffs have looked pretty similar. In particular, Jersey Shore and Hughesville have put together quite the storied rivalry over the years with strong individuals and teams. That didn’t change Monday afternoon when first-seeded Sarah Buck of Hughesville and second-seeded Peyton Dincher of Jersey Shore headlined another D4 Championship.

After defeating their semi-final opponents in straight sets, Buck and Dincher met up for a third consecutive season with dibs for who would claim the second title in three seasons. Buck came out firing on all cylinders with an unmatched serve. And while Dincher bounced back with some nice rally shots, especially in the second set, she didn’t come close enough to force a third set, allowing Buck to win her second straight District 4 singles title in three years.

Buck won 6-3, 6-4, the first time she has beaten Dincher in straight sets after playing a three-setter on the same court last year.

“I think I played pretty well. I was fairly consistent and my shots were fairly good,” Buck said with a grin after claiming another medal. “It’s very exciting.”

It’s a remarkable feat for Buck, who essentially smiled off and downplayed the fact that she completed something not many tennis players come near in their high school career–especially against the caliber opponent of Dincher. The Hughesville standout gave up just four points coming into the finals matchup with Dincher. She had been rolling throughout the tournament and found a sweet-spot rhythm throughout the match that paid dividends down the stretch.

Dincher, who came into the final giving up just six games, gave it all she had. When Buck delivered some hard-hitting serves, when it was Dincher’s time to shine, she did just that. She played Buck close when the match was on the line. Her serves matched the volleys and rallies she put together, helping her mount what looked like a possible comeback, but Buck found just a little bit more edge.

Both Dincher and Buck rallied and volleyed tremendously, but the key difference was the serves. Buck found ways to consistently keep Dincher off-balanced. And even if Dincher returned the initial serve, it was the second or third return from Dincher that gave Buck hope.

“I think my first serves were really good today,” Buck said. “They were hard and hit a lot of corners.”

In a first set filled with much excitement and nifty play, the first game went to deuce as both Dincher and Buck competed hard with speedy serves but Buck took the opening game. Dincher came back and tied it at one game apiece but back came Buck, who continued her lethal serves, to make it 2-1. She rode that momentum to a 4-1 commanding lead.

In the fifth game, Dincher and Buck went to another deuce. With the first set on the line, Dincher hit some key spots on the court on her serves that Buck wasn’t able to return. Dincher’s lob balls set up her aggressive-hitting returns as the two went back-and-forth with deuce points. Dincher took a much-needed split of the next two games, cutting her deficit to 5-2. Dincher quickly stole another game, getting ahead early with confident serves and seeming to find a good pace but Buck rallied from down 15-30 in game nine to force a third deuce in the opening set. She then took advantage and won the first set, 6-3.

Buck began the second set by keeping the fire on her serve and took a two-game lead. But Dincher wasn’t going down that fast. She quickly took the third game with pretty rally shots. As Dincher got going, it seemed to fire up Buck, and back-and-forth the two would go in the second set. As the fourth game of the set went deuce, Dincher brought the game to a 2-2 game in the set after taking an advantage point, losing it, then scoring on two consecutive points.

The next game followed with deuce, but this time Buck took slight control by picking up the next game, but Buck and Dincher split the following two, making it a 4-3 set.

Dincher did a solid job of rallying hard with her back against the wall and everything on the line. She cut the deficit to 5-4, coming close to forcing a third set but Buck finished it off with immaculate serving that put the match away.

The match was won in straight sets, the first time Dincher and Buck had been in straight sets during the postseason since the 2022 season. Dincher may have lost, but she put up a good fight and didn’t make it easy on Buck.

“I was expecting a very difficult match so I’m glad that I ended up winning.”

Buck completed a tall task, defeating Dincher for not only the second consecutive time in the District 4 Singles Finals, but for the second consecutive time this season. Dincher and Buck squared off in singles no. 1 in Hughesville-Jersey Shore’s matchup that Shore came out on top in, 4-1.

Dincher got off to a stronger start in that one but winning the first set and dropping the next two, but Dincher has always made it a competitive match with Buck. It may not have been the outcome she wanted, but Dincher rushed the net well when she needed to catch Buck off guard, made savvy plays at the service line on returns and rallied well when put in difficult spots.

The loss will sting for a little while but Dincher put on a remarkable show having defeated Buck for the title back in 2022, which happened to also be in straight sets.

SEMIFINALS

In typical fashion as it has been all season, Dincher dropped the first set. After that, it didn’t take long for her to get going as she took the next two games to take a 2-1 lead and then exchanged games with Josie Bendle of Danville in the next two, taking a 4-3 lead. Bendle found a groove and kept up with Dincher’s pace, but then Dincher unleashed lethal speed on her serves and played many balls difficult for Bendle to quite handle. Dincher took the first set in a 6-3 opener.

Dincher grabbed initial control in the first game of the second set as she grabbed a 3-0 lead and increased that to 5-0, eventually shutting out Bendle to advance to the district title match.

Buck’s semifinals match differed from Dincher’s. The No. 1 seed took a 6-0 victory in her first set after painting the corners with various shots early on. She used the speed and power of those balls to dictate the match early on, which kept Mya Coyne, the fourth seed from Bloomsburg, from gaining her footing. Buck took the first set easily and took the first game of the second set, beginning ahead 1-0.

That’s when the tide sort of began to turn for a second, though. Buck and Coyne split the next two games, and although Buck held a 2-1 lead, Coyne did a good job on some of her serves and began to heat up, forcing Buck into a few errors on her returns. That breathing room given by Buck made the match go from a three-game lead down to 4-3.

Coyne made some good scoop plays near the service line and hit some spots that Buck fell just short on returning. But Buck quickly regrouped, grabbing the final two games and not allowing another point to advance to the finals.

MOVING ON

Buck is a PIAA state qualifier for the second time in as many years. But this time she has two-time district champion in the back of her mind, something she can show forth if the going gets tough in a few short weeks.

“I’m looking to do fairly well in states, trying to do better than last year and the year before,” Buck concluded.

The PIAA Class AA Singles Championships begin with the first round on Friday, November 1.

DISTRICT 4 SINGLES’ FINALS

Sarah Buck (Hughesville) def. Peyton Dincher (Jersey Shore) 6-3, 6-4.

DISTRICT 4 SINGLES’ SEMIFINALS

Sarah Buck (Hughesville) def. Mya Coyne (Bloomsburg) 6-0, 6-3.

Peyton Dincher (Jersey Shore) def. Josie Bendle (Danville) 6-3, 6-1