On a welcomed warm October afternoon, sunny skies bathed the South Williamsport tennis courts as the Mountaineers hosted rival Montoursville with the regular season winding down. A short-sleeved crowd settled in on their lawn chairs with many spectators’ eyes affixed on court #1 where the Mounties freshman sensation Olivia Dorner was set to take-on Montoursville’s number one player, senior Maddy Reeves a District Four runner-up last season.

As skilled as Reeves is on this day, she was no match for the undefeated Dorner falling 6-0, 6-0, a precursor to yet another team victory for coach Theresa Summerson’s undefeated net crew.

“I’ve been coaching for eight years, and I’ve not seen the level of talent Olivia possesses. She competes at higher levels than most girls in this area and has performed well at those levels,” Summerson said.

“She has a very varied game. She knows how to take pretty much any ball and create a winner off of it. In high school tennis that is pretty rare. Sometimes they have to play different kinds of balls hit to them that tend to throw them off. But she is really, really good at taking any ball and turning it into her advantage. She has a powerful serve that is unreturnable for a lot of players in this area, a beautiful approach shot, and a strong forehand. She just has a very complete game.”

“She has not lost a set all season, and at this point has only lost two games the entire season. That in itself is phenomenal. Her individual matches typically last no longer than 25 minutes. By the time we look over she’s finishing up, and that’s been fun to see.”

Olivia’s father, John Dorner, is the tennis coach at Williamsport High School and club pro at the West Branch Tennis Club, and her interest in the game began at a young age.

“I was six or seven when I started being interested in tennis,” Olivia explained. “I played the game on and off. I quit for a while, and when I was younger, I played softball and was involved in cheerleading. But then I decided I wanted to concentrate my time on tennis.”

The daughter of a tennis coach the game is not a 24/7 obsession in the Dorner home.

“Sometimes tennis is off limits at home, and when we get off the court, we don’t talk much about it. “The key is she really likes tennis. She likes playing, she likes competing, and that is definitely a bonus,” father John added.

“During the high school season, the matches take up most of her time, so there is not a lot of time for additional training. The off-season is where she gets more of her training. She’ll engage in physical workouts with weights and medicine balls and hit a lot of balls.”

While tennis is in her DNA, it is her work ethic and love of the game that lights her competitive fire.

“I think people just sometimes say, well her dad is a tennis pro, and that is why she does so well,” Summerson reflected. “But, I am always quick to say that she works harder than any girl I’ve ever seen play tennis. She loves the game and takes any opportunity she can to be hitting. Although it has been a great blessing she has a dad who can teach her, there has been a lot more that goes into her success. She has taken full advantage of all the opportunities she’s had, and works very hard to get better.”

As the season winds down, she wants to do well in districts and after that to do well in the state tournament. To win states would be hard, but that is something she’d like to do.

“It’s been fun, and we’ll see how far it goes,” a smiling Oliva said following the Montoursville match. “We’ve been doing pretty good so far, and hopefully we can keep it up. Up to this point, it has been a very satisfying season.”

“Her teammates are very excited to have her because when you have a player of her skill level at the top of the lineup, it bumps the other players down a slot or two, but the girls all realize that helps the team win more matches,” Summerson stressed. “The other players all have their own personal goals to strive for. Our number two player, Lily Summerson, is undefeated, and our number three player, Lauren Peck, has only lost once. We’ve known Olivia was coming, so once she got here, her teammates welcomed her. As a freshman, her personality has fit in well and, we’re all excited to experience what it is like to have such a strong player on the team.”

“It’s been fun being on this team, and I think I have definitely helped my teammates. Practicing with them has helped the other girls. Outside of our team practices I work a lot with my Dad and get some opportunities to work out with more experienced tennis players,” the talented freshman added.

Citing math as her favorite school subject, it is perhaps the 6-0, 6-0 equation that best defines her on-court calculations.