Pine-Richland’s Alyssa Sarver to play tennis at Lafayette

By: Kevin Lohman
Friday, June 21, 2019 | 5:14 PM

Former Pine-Richland tennis player Alyssa Sarver has cemented her college decision, planning to continue her athletic pursuits at Lafayette.

The recent graduate said she took a considerable amount of time to deliberate on her decision, and ultimately narrowed her prospects to a pair of Patriot League schools before her recent commitment to play Division I tennis for the Leopards.

“I was a little late to the game with my commitment, but I was debating back and forth. I’ve played tennis for so long and I love the sport, so I can’t wait to get started playing it in college,” Sarver said.

“I was looking for a school with good academics first, before I looked at it for tennis. The Patriot League is a wonderful league full of schools with good academics and athletics, and eventually it came down to Lafayette or Bucknell.

“In the end, it came down to me liking the location of Lafayette. I also want to major in computer science, and Lafayette has a great engineering school and is very good with STEM subjects. Obviously, I love the team and the coach there, as well.”

The former Ram plans to double major, hoping to earn a degree in economics to go along with the degree in computer science she is planning to obtain. In high school, Sarver distinguished herself academically by receiving highest honor roll designations during each of her four years.

Sarver also boasts a significant list of athletic achievements during her high school career as a four-time letterwinner for the tennis team. She played a substantial role in helping to lead the Rams to their first berth in the PIAA Class AAA playoffs in 2017 after their WPIAL runner-up finish.

That same season, Sarver teamed with Melissa Vizcardo to claim the Section 2-AAA doubles championship before grabbing second place at the WPIAL and the PIAA doubles tournaments.

While she has been playing tennis for a number of years, Sarver said the successes that she shared with Vizcardo and the rest of her 2017 Pine-Richland teammates remains one of her career highlights.

“Playing tennis in high school, I would say getting second place at states was an accomplishment that I don’t think I could ever forget,” she said.

“My partner moved to Texas after that season, and I still think if she would’ve stayed, we would have won states that next year. For me, that whole run we made together as a team and playing for the state title, those were just memorable moments and experiences that will stick with me.”

Tags: Pine-Richland