Girls' tennis: Northern Lebanon's Maja Andersson headed to state semis

Northern Lebanon's Maja Andersson clearly loves the smell of Hershey chocolate.

Well, that, or she's just really good at tennis.

After a run to the District Three Class AA singles final two weeks back at Hershey Racquet Club, Andersson, an exchange student from Denmark, returned to HRC on Friday and produced some more great tennis amid the nearby scents of Chocolatetown.

With a pair of convincing victories, Andersson stormed into the state semifinals and along the way assured herself of the chance to play for a PIAA medal on Saturday. Possibly one of the gold variety.

First, Andersson, the reigning Lebanon County and Lancaster-Lebanon League AA singles champ, roared past District Two champ Emily Jonsson of Scranton Prep in the opening round by a 6-1, 6-0 score.

She met a bit more resistance in the second round, but still prevailed in straight sets, eliminating District Four runner-up Pam Niditch of Loyalsock, 6-2, 6-3 to earn a spot in Saturday's 11 a.m. semifinals.

Waiting for Andersson in the 11 a.m. semifinals back at Hershey will be District One champion Elene Tsokilauri of Delaware County Christian. Tsokilauri also posted a pair of straight-set victories on Friday.

The state title match and third-place contest in AA are set for 3 p.m.

Also on Friday, two county doubles teams saw their seasons come to an end after first-round losses in AA.

District 3 runners-up Alicia Hitz and Emma Lerchen of Annville-Cleona bowed out to Maansi Malhotra and Gabi Jakubek of Scranton Prep by a 6-4, 6-3 count, while Elco's Sydney Nye and Kelsey Stubblebine fell to Kate Sweeney and Reagan Hatcher of Villa Maria Academy, 6-3, 6-4.