Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) revealed its brackets for the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Girls’ Tennis Singles Championships on Tuesday, with 31 student-athletes qualifying through section tournaments held on Sept. 11-12.
Student-athletes competed in four different sections in Class 3A and five different sections in Class 2A. The top four finishers in Class 3A sections earned qualification to the WPIAL Singles Championships, and the top three finishers in Class 2A sections made the tournament.
Three former WPIAL champions highlight the field in Belle Vernon junior Gabriella Dusi, Penn-Trafford junior Amelia Williams, and Shady Side Academy sophomore Meriwether McCargo. Dusi and McCargo are the reigning gold medalists of Class 2A and Class 3A, respectively, while Williams claimed the Class 3A crown as a freshman in 2022.
The Class 3A qualifiers include seven student-athletes who have previously competed at the WPIAL Singles Championships in McCargo, Williams, Bethel Park sophomore Cami Fisher, Fox Chapel senior Sienna Siegel, Franklin Regional junior Michelle Yan, and North Hills junior Elinor Kim. Kim and Williams will both be making their third appearances.
In Class 2A, Dusi is joined by Greensburg Central Catholic senior Sasha Hoffman, Hampton senior Grace Stitt, Oakland Catholic sophomore Mollie Sclichter, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart senior Therese Bernas, and South Park junior Grace Kempton among the returning student-athletes. Dusi, Hoffman, and Stitt are all three-time qualifiers for the WPIAL Singles Championships.
Winning section championships in Class 3A were Williams (Section I), Pine-Richland freshman Cassandra Lapina (Section II), McCargo (Section III), and Fisher (Section IV). In Class 2A, Hoffman (Section I), Dusi (Section II), Stitt (Section III), Beaver junior Anna Mrkonja (Section IV), and Sewickley Academy senior Rayna Thakkar (Section V) took home section titles. Hoffman and Williams became three-time section champions, while it was the second title for Dusi, McCargo, and Stitt.
Last season, McCargo captured the Class 3A title with a 7-6(1), 6-1 victory over Williams, while Dusi defeated Beaver’s Chloe DeSanzo by a 6-1, 6-0 scoreline to claim gold in Class 2A. Both reigning champions were bestowed with the top seeds in their respective brackets.
The WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Girls’ Tennis Singles Championships will be held on Sept. 18-19. The first round through semifinals will be held at Bethel Park High School and North Allegheny High School (Class 3A only) on Wednesday, Sept. 18, and all finals and consolation finals will be held at Bethel Park on Thursday, Sept. 19. The top three finishers in both classifications will move onto the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Girls’ Tennis Singles Championships, which will be held on Nov. 1-2 at Hershey Racquet Club.
CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Dates & Locations: Sept. 18-19 at Bethel Park High School, Sept. 18 at North Allegheny High School (Class 3A)
Amount of Qualifiers: 31 (16 in Class 3A, 15 in Class 2A)
Class 3A Top Four Seeds: #1 Meriwether McCargo (10), Shady Side Academy; #2 Amelia Williams (11), Penn-Trafford; #3 Cami Fisher (10), Bethel Park; #4 Jackie Tang (11), Mt. Lebanon
Class 2A Top Four Seeds: #1 Gabriella Dusi (11), Belle Vernon; #2 Grace Stitt (12), Hampton; #3 Sasha Hoffman (12), Greensburg Central Catholic; #4 Rayna Thakkar (12), Sewickley Academy
2023 Class 3A Final: Meriwether McCargo (Shady Side Academy) def. Amelia Williams (Penn-Trafford), 7-6(1), 6-1.
2023 Class 2A Final: Gabriella Dusi (Belle Vernon) def. Chloe DeSanzo (Beaver), 6-1, 6-0.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 1973: The first season that the WPIAL held girls’ tennis singles championships, which was won by Mt. Lebanon’s Berta McCallum over Greensburg Salem’s Molly Wesner.
- 26: The number of schools who have boasted at least one WPIAL girls’ tennis singles champion.
- 18: The number of student-athletes who have won two or more WPIAL girls’ tennis singles championships.
- 12: The number of WPIAL girls’ tennis singles championships won by Mt. Lebanon student-athletes, a league record. The Blue Devils won in 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1996, 2012, and 2013.
- 4: The number of WPIAL girls’ tennis singles championships won by Knoch’s Laura Greb, the only student-athlete to win four in a row. Greb swept Class 2A from 2017 to 2020.
- 2: The number of student-athletes to win WPIAL singles championships in boys’ tennis and girls’ tennis. Quaker Valley’s Annie Houghton won girls’ titles in 2003 and 2004 before claiming the 2006 boys’ crown, while Sarah Shashura won girls’ gold in 2008 for California and 2011 for Brownsville, and boys’ gold for California in 2010.
CLASS 3A SECTION CHAMPIONS
Section I: Amelia Williams (11), Penn-Trafford
Section II: Cassandra Lapina (9), Pine-Richland
Section III: Meriwether McCargo (10), Shady Side Academy
Section IV: Cami Fisher (10), Bethel Park
CLASS 2A SECTION CHAMPIONS
Section I: Sasha Hoffman (12), Greensburg Central Catholic
Section II: Gabriella Dusi (11), Belle Vernon
Section III: Grace Stitt (12), Hampton
Section IV: Anna Mrkonja (11), Beaver
Section V: Rayna Thakkar (12), Sewickley Academy
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