In the swing of things

If it comes down to playing softball or tennis, without hesitating, Dana Anello will pick softball every time.

It’s not a hard choice, either.

Softball is where she is an All-Public third baseman for the GAMP Pioneers and the sport she has been playing since age 5.

With tennis, she is still considered a beginner, playing just her second season. The 17-year-old said she approaches the sport with the same frame of mind as softball.

"You still need to have the same winning attitude in both sports because you still want to win," Anello said prior to Thursday’s match against Girls High. "With tennis you know it’s all on you. With softball, you have other people backing you up."

Jann Hoeltzel, who coaches Anello in both, said the senior is very valuable to each team.

"She has a very competitive attitude and is a hard worker," Hoeltzel said. "She is very athletic."

Prior to last fall, diehard softball players like Anello, of the 2400 block of South Lambert Street, passed on tennis because its season coincided with her preferred sport. That changed last year when the Philadelphia Public League made girls tennis a fall sport as a result of city teams becoming members of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. The state’s governing body for high-school athletics holds the girls state tennis championship in the fall, while the boys titles are contested in the spring.

No longer having to worry about the scheduling conflict, Anello was one of nine softball players to sign-up for the new fall offering last year.

"I like it because it keeps me occupied until I have to start practicing for softball," she said.

ANELLO, WHO PLAYED doubles last year, enjoyed some early success. She helped the Pioneers finish the regular season with a 5-3 mark and advance to the PIAA District XII Public League semifinals, which was lost to Masterman.

She has had even more accomplishments on the softball field, which includes winning four straight Catholic Youth Organization Region Six titles with the St. Monica team.

And, she has been equally victorious on the high-school scene, with her Pioneers making the Public League playoffs in each of the last three seasons. The highlight came in the spring when the latter became the first GAMP softball team in the program’s history to make the Public League semifinals. They lost, 13-4, to eventual champs Central. The Pioneers also qualified for the PIAA District XII AA state tournament, another school first, but lost 16-0 to St. Pius X.

In her last high-school year, Anello is hungry for more success.

"I am used to winning," said the athlete, who grew up playing T-ball at the Delaware Valley Youth Athletic Association, 18th and Johnston streets.

Anello likes to win on the court, as well as the field. This season, she is making the transition from doubles to singles.

Anello is one of several seniors GAMP is counting on as it tries to improve on last year’s five-win mark. Caitlin Emanuel, who is the captain of GAMP’s cheerleading squad, and Alana Corvino are both first-year tennis players. Jackie Mellett, an All-Public singles player, Leslie DiVincenzio and Victoria Fera are all returning players.

Since the majority of the athletes are playing competitive tennis for the first time, Hoeltzel knows she has to stick to the basics.

"If they started playing at an early age and playing year-round they would be very competitive," she said.

Anello is doing her best to help the newcomers by passing on what she learned last season. The Pioneers entered the week with a 1-2 record. They picked up a victory against Lincoln, but lost to Girls High and Northeast. There are still plenty of matches for the Pioneers to craft another winning season.

This fall will more than likely mark the end of Anello’s short-lived competitive tennis career. Softball is, of course, where she is seriously thinking about playing on the next level, but that decision will come after the honors student picks a school. She is looking to stay local with La Salle, Temple, Arcadia, West Chester and Drexel all under consideration.

For now, Anello, who sings in the GAMP chorus, is focusing on closing out her high-school career a dual winner. Making the Public League AA semifinals in tennis and winning the Public League AA title in softball were great achievements, but Anello remains confident the Pioneers are ready for the next leap forward.

Last spring "gave me an incentive to try and go further this year," she said.