Bethel Park, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) hosted its first championships of the 2024-25 academic year on Wednesday and Thursday at the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Girls’ Tennis Singles Championships. All of Thursday’s matches were held at Bethel Park High School, while Wednesday’s opening rounds were split between Bethel Park and North Allegheny High School. For the first time in 20 years, both reigning champions successfully defended their titles, with Shady Side Academy sophomore Meriwether McCargo winning in Class 3A, and Belle Vernon junior Gabriella Dusi taking the Class 2A gold.
 
McCargo and Dusi’s victories mark the first time since 2004 that both reigning champions emerged victorious in consecutive seasons. In that season, it was Greater Latrobe’s Michaela Kissell who defended in Class 3A, and Quaker Valley’s Annie Houghton claiming Class 2A.
 
McCargo is the second Shady Side Academy student-athlete to win consecutive titles, with Ananya Dua previously accomplishing this in 2014 and 2015. Her win now gives the Bulldogs five WPIAL girls’ tennis gold medals at singles competition, as her and Dua’s championships join Lauren Greco’s 2007 victory. Shady Side Academy also moves into a tie for third all-time in WPIAL girls’ tennis singles championships, sharing the spot with Greater Latrobe and Upper St. Clair.
 
Last year, Dusi was the first Belle Vernon student-athlete on either the boys’ or girls’ side to win a WPIAL tennis championship. Her win marks the seventh time that the Class 2A reigning champion claimed gold the following season.
 
Dusi and McCargo join a group of 20 champions to win multiple WPIAL girls’ tennis singles titles.
 
The top three finishers in both Class 2A and Class 3A have qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Girls’ Tennis Singles Championships, which will be held on Nov. 1-2 at Hershey Racquet Club.
 
CLASS 3A RECAP
After a marathon match lasting more than two and a half hours and consisting of 32 games, Shady Side Academy sophomore Meriwether McCargo defended her Class 3A title with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(5) victory over Penn-Trafford junior Amelia Williams. McCargo, the top seed, began the tournament on Wednesday with wins over Moon senior Kiera Wise (10-1) and Bethel Park sophomore Mackenzie Smock (10-4) before besting teammate Brooke Henderson in the semifinals in straight sets (6-2, 6-1).
 
Williams, the two seed, started bracket play with victories over Fox Chapel senior Anna Kintner (10-1) and North Hills junior Elinor Kim (10-2), then defeated Bethel Park sophomore Cami Fisher in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) to set up a rematch of the 2023 Class 3A final.
 
In the third-place consolation match, third-seeded Fisher topped fifth-seeded Henderson, 6-2, 6-1.
 
McCargo and Williams’s final is believed to be the longest singles championship match by games in WPIAL girls’ tennis history, with the 32 games surpassing the 31 played in the 2003 Class 2A decider between Quaker Valley’s Annie Houghton and Beaver’s Alexandra Kaluza. Houghton won 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 over Kaluza at Keystone Oaks High School.
 
McCargo is now 2-for-2 at the WPIAL Girls’ Tennis Singles Championships, while Williams earned her third medal as her two silvers are paired with gold in 2022. Fisher was making her second WPIAL singles appearance, finishing 1-1 at last year’s tournament, and Henderson, a freshman, qualified for the championships in her first attempt.

CLASS 2A RECAP
Belle Vernon junior Gabriella Dusi dropped a total of three games throughout the Class 2A bracket, winning her second straight championship with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Hampton senior Grace Stitt. Dusi, the top seed, received a bye to open the tournament, then defeated North Catholic sophomore Brea Kelley (10-0) and Beaver junior Anna Mrkonja (6-1, 6-1) to return to the final.
 
Stitt, the two seed, began the championships with wins over Mt. Pleasant junior Bella Fullman (10-0) and South Park junior Grace Kempton (10-3), then came back to defeat Greensburg Central Catholic senior Sasha Hoffman in three sets (2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2) to qualify for the championship match.
 
Fifth-seeded Mrkonja claimed bronze in the third-place consolation match with a 6-2, 7-6(5) victory over third-seeded Hoffman.
 
Dusi, Hoffman, and Stitt were all competing at their third WPIAL Girls’ Tennis Singles Championships. Stitt finished fourth in last year’s tournament, while Hoffman won her first round match in both 2022 and 2023. Mrkonja was making her first WPIAL singles appearance.
 
PIAA PREVIEW
Dates & Location: Nov. 1-2 at Hershey Racquet Club
Amount of Champions from WPIAL: 24 (23 in Class 3A, 1 in Class 2A)
Class 3A Qualifiers: Meriwether McCargo (10), Shady Side Academy; Amelia Williams (11), Penn-Trafford; Cami Fisher (10), Bethel Park
          - Appearances: McCargo – 2nd (1-1 in 2023); Williams – 3rd (1-1 in 2023, 1-1 in 2022); Fisher – 1st
Class 2A Qualifiers: Gabriella Dusi (11), Belle Vernon; Grace Stitt (12), Hampton; Anna Mrkonja (11), Beaver
          - Appearances: Dusi – 2nd (1-1 in 2023); Stitt – 1st; Mrkonja – 1st
Last Class 3A PIAA Champion from WPIAL: Ashley Huang, North Allegheny (2017)
Last Class 2A PIAA Champion from WPIAL: Annie Houghton, Quaker Valley (2004)

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