Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) announced its brackets for the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Girls’ Tennis Singles Championships on Tuesday, with 62 student-athletes qualifying through section tournaments held on Sept. 25-27.
Student-athletes competed in four different sections in Class 3A and five different sections in Class 2A. The top four finishing teams in Class 3A sections earned qualification to the WPIAL Doubles Championships, and the top three finishing in Class 2A sections made the tournament.
Six student-athletes, including one duo, return to the WPIAL Doubles Championships as former medalists. Greensburg Central Catholic senior Sasha Hoffman won Class 2A silver last season with Stella Bossert, while the North Catholic team of sophomore Brea Kelley and senior Katie Hardy earned bronze. Oakland Catholic sophomore Mollie Schlichter was a bronze medalist in Class 3A last season with Abby Santora. In 2022, Chartiers Valley senior Kaitlyn Kuczinski placed third in Class 2A with Delaney Fox, while Quaker Valley senior Kirsten Close was a silver medalist in 2021.
The Class 3A qualifiers include nine student-athletes who have previously competed at the WPIAL Doubles Championships in Kuczinski, Fox Chapel seniors Anna Kintner and Sienna Siegel, Franklin Regional junior Michelle Yan, Mt. Lebanon junior Jackie Tang, Moon senior Kiera Wise, North Hills junior Elinor Kim, and Shady Side Academy junior Taylor Shanefelter. Siegel finished fourth in 2022 with Chanel Brun and qualified for last year’s tournament with Kintner, while Yan placed fourth last year with Ellen Liu and made the 2022 bracket.
In Class 2A, Close, Hardy, Hoffman, Kelley, and Sclichter are joined by Blackhawk junior Lily Ceriani, Indiana senior Eve Kuzneski, South Park junior Grace Kempton, and Winchester Thurston junior Marann Buckanovich as returnees. Hoffman is the only student-athlete making her third appearance in Class 2A, as she made the quarterfinals with Gigi Pediconi in 2022.
Winning section titles in Class 3A were Franklin Regional’s Yan and senior Makinzie Marcus (Section I), Pine-Richland freshmen Cassandra Lapina and Sonaya Arora (Section II), Shady Side Academy freshmen Brooke Henderson and Alexandra Merkel (Section III), and Mt. Lebanon’s Tang and junior Michelle Yang. In Class 2A, Greensburg Central Catholic’s Hoffman and sophomore Emilia Longhi (Section I), Oakland Catholic’s Sclichter and junior Luciana Easly (Section II), North Catholic’s Kelley and Hardy (Section III), Neshannock freshman Maddie Arrow and junior Giada Cappabianco (Section IV), and Quaker Valley’s Close and freshman Avery Allan (Section V) took home section titles. Close, Hoffman, and Yan all became two-time section champions in doubles.
Last season, Bethel Park’s Cami Fisher and Lily Sierka claimed the Class 3A title with a 7-6(3), 6-2 victory over Shady Side Academy’s Elana Sobol and Rachel Nath, while Knoch’s Emily and Lindsey Greb were 6-1, 6-0 winners over Hoffman and Bossert.
The WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Girls’ Tennis Doubles Championships will be held on Oct. 2-3. The first round through semifinals will be held at Bethel Park High School and North Allegheny High School (Class 2A only) on Wednesday, Oct. 2, and all finals and consolation finals will be held at Bethel Park on Thursday, Oct. 3. The top three finishers in both classifications will move onto the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Girls’ Tennis Doubles Championships, which will be held on Nov. 1-2 at Hershey Racquet Club.
CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Dates & Locations: Oct. 2-3 at Bethel Park High School, Oct. 2 at North Allegheny High School (Class 2A)
Amount of Qualifying Teams: 31 (16 in Class 3A, 15 in Class 2A)
Class 3A Top Four Seeds: #1 Jackie Tang (11)/Michelle Yang (11), Mt. Lebanon; #2 Brooke Henderson (9)/Alexandra Merkel (9), Shady Side Academy; #3 Michelle Yan (11)/Makinzie Marcus (12), Franklin Regional; #4 Cassandra Lapina (9)/Sonaya Arora (9), Pine-Richland
Class 2A Top Four Seeds: #1 Kirsten Close (12)/Avery Allan (9), Quaker Valley; #2 Brea Kelley (10)/Katie Hardy (12), North Catholic; #3 Sasha Hoffman (12)/Emilia Longhi (10), Greensburg Central Catholic; #4 Mollie Sclichter (10)/Luciana Easly (11), Oakland Catholic
2023 Class 3A Final: Cami Fisher/Lily Sierka (Bethel Park) def. Elana Sobol/Rachel Nath (Shady Side Academy), 7-6(3), 6-2.
2023 Class 2A Final: Emily Greb/Lindsey Greb (Knoch) def. Sasha Hoffman/Stella Bossert (Greensburg Central Catholic), 6-1, 6-0.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 1973: The first season that the WPIAL held girls’ tennis doubles championships, which was won by Mt. Lebanon’s Joy McManus and Wendy Gavett.
- 26: The number of schools who have boasted at least one WPIAL girls’ tennis doubles champion.
- 26: The number of student-athletes who have won two or more WPIAL girls’ tennis doubles championships.
- 13: The number of WPIAL girls’ tennis doubles championships won by Mt. Lebanon student-athletes, a league record. The Blue Devils won in 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, and 2022.
- 4: The number of WPIAL girls’ tennis doubles championships each won by Fox Chapel’s Amanda Nord and Moon’s Kelly Deep, the only student-athletics to win four in a row. Nord won two with Laurel Shymansky in 2014 and 2015, then won with Charlotte James in 2016 and 2017. Deep captured gold with Colleen Deep in 1983 and 1984, then claimed the title with Amy Hise in 1985 and 1986.
- 2: The number of student-athletes to win WPIAL doubles championships in boys’ tennis and girls’ tennis. Chartiers-Houston sisters Karli and Tonya Timko claimed Class 2A girls’ gold in 2007, then won on the boys’ side two years later.
CLASS 3A SECTION CHAMPIONS
Section I: Michelle Yan (11) / Makinzie Marcus (12), Franklin Regional
Section II: Cassandra Lapina (9) / Sonaya Arora (9), Pine-Richland
Section III: Brooke Henderson (9) / Alexandra Merkel (9), Shady Side Academy
Section IV: Jackie Tang (11) / Michelle Yang (11), Mt. Lebanon
CLASS 2A SECTION CHAMPIONS
Section I: Sasha Hoffman (12) / Emilia Longhi (10), Greensburg Central Catholic
Section II: Mollie Sclichter (10) / Luciana Easly (11), Oakland Catholic
Section III: Brea Kelley (10) / Katie Hardy (12), North Catholic
Section IV: Maddie Arrow (9) / Giada Cappabianco (11), Neshannock
Section V: Kirsten Close (12) / Avery Allan (9), Quaker Valley
#WPIAL