Madison Fortna loves to live on the baseline and unleash big forehand after big forehand. It’s an approach to the game of tennis that served the Cedar Crest senior well on Wednesday.

Competing on her home court, Fortna’s ground-stroke game earned her a Lebanon County girls’ tennis championship, as she used it to dominate Sydney Nye of Elco. In the title tilt at number-one singles, Fortna defeated Nye, 6-1, 6-2.

Actually, Fortna had opened up a 5-0, first-set advantage on Nye on the previous Saturday, before rain came and suspended the match. When action resumed, Fortna needed just two games to close out the opening set, then notched an early service break to open a 2-0 lead in the second set.

Fortna extended her second-set lead to 4-1, before taking the final two games to claim the match.

The Lebanon County championship was the second in as many years for Fortna, the only 12th-grader on a young Cedar Crest squad.

Fortna’s title at number-one singles helped the Falcons to a runner-up finish to Elco in the team competition.

– Jeff Falk