Inclement weather has robbed coaches of knowing exactly where their teams are, but Panthers could be ready to extend streak
With the WPIAL team tennis finals approaching, uncertainty abounds among the participating teams. In a normal season, most coaches would likely have a good grasp on the strength of their teams to this point. But this isn’t a normal season.
An inordinate amount of inclement weather has put a damper on the season, forcing teams to cancel a number of matches and practices. So even though there is a general rank and seeding of the participating teams in the WPIAL Class 2A finals, which start on Friday, coaches are still trying to figure out just how good their teams are.
“It’s hard to believe that the playoffs have already started, because we just haven’t been outside like we have historically,” Sewickley Academy coach Whitney Snyder said. “The two places where a coach really learns about his team is when you play advanced competition and when you have an intense practice. We haven’t really been able to do much of either.”
Sewickley will go into the tournament as the favorite. The Panthers have won 14 straight WPIAL championships, and the indications they’ve given this year are that they’re fit to extend that streak. Sewickley has gone 9-1 this season, falling just to Erie Cathedral Prep, a 3A power.
The Panthers begin the tournament at home against Greensburg Salem on Friday. Other Friday first-round matches include Highlands at Quaker Valley, Carlynton at Blackhawk and Beaver at Thomas Jefferson.
In Class 3A, Moon lost to Allderdice, 5-0, in the opening round Wednesday.
Led last season by seniors like three-time WPIAL and two-time PIAA singles champion Luke Ross, as well as Sam Sauter and Ryan Gex, Sewickley has now had to rely on players fitting into new roles. Sophomore Arjan Bedi and senior Nishant Purewal, who played doubles last season, now occupy the top two singles spots. Snyder said those two, along with the team as a whole, has improved quite a bit throughout the season.
“Half the team are new players in starting lineup roles. They’ve waited their turn and they’re excited,” Snyder said. “There’s very good chemistry on the team. Time will tell.”
Whereas last season Snyder could take a bit of a hands-off approach given the experience of his team, this season has represented a greater challenge, one that he’s enjoyed tackling. There is a tradition for Snyder and his team to live up to, a championship streak that could extend to 15 years this season, even though Snyder doesn’t mention that to his team, or pressure them with it.
“I need to see my kids on the court more,” Snyder said. “We haven’t really had the fine tuning that we’re used to. We’re kind of evaluating as we go along.”
If Sewickley is going to be dethroned, Quaker Valley represents one of the top threats to do so. Last season, the Quakers fell to Indiana in the semifinals. Indiana went on to lose to Sewickley in the finals, though both teams, along with Quaker Valley, qualified for states.
Similar to Sewickley, Quaker Valley has had to rebuild, having lost its first doubles team, as well as its first and second singles players to graduation. Now junior Andres Hubsch and sophomore Johnny Waters occupy the top two singles spots, while freshman Matt Kubinski and junior Potter Oliver team up for the first doubles. The Quakers are 8-0, its defining wins coming against playoff teams Beaver and Blackhawk.
“I have been very pleased so far,” Quaker Valley coach Christina Hays said. “I don’t think we’ve even come close to peaking yet. I don’t think any line has played their defining match yet, but I do think we’re rounding into form. We are young, and we’re still looking for that leadership, but it’s a great group of boys.”
This season has been a particularly gratifying one for Hays, who coached a number of her players through the ranks for Sewickley junior tennis and Quaker Valley middle school. Hays has seen significant growth in her team from the first match until now, particularly from Hubsch, who had to join the team a bit late, as he qualified for states in swimming.
“Because it’s such a young team, we talk about how this is a varsity sport and how you have to develop that varsity mindset,” Hays said. “A lot of them have just moved up from middle school tennis. You have to ditch that mindset and be more consistent and do all the peripheral work in the offseason.”
When the WPIAL tournament starts, Hays will learn just how well her team has been able to take on that varsity mindset, and just how much they’ve grown. Hays said the team has only practiced a handful of times this season due to the weather, and due to a dearth of indoor tennis courts in the area. It hasn’t been ideal, but the Quakers have navigated the situation the best they could up until now.
“We talk all the time about staying present and dealing with the things you can control,” Hays said. “Obviously you can’t control the weather, you can’t control your opponent. You just have to stay present and control the things you can and not get ahead of yourself.”