North Allegheny boys tennis team wins playoff thriller
North Allegheny advanced to the WPIAL Class AAA boys tennis team semifinals. And the Tigers did it in dramatic fashion.
Host North Allegheny's match with Central Catholic was tied, 2-2, after the Tigers' doubles teams of Stephen Chuiravzi and Steve Kline and Eric Huang and Connor Goodman swept to easy straight-set victories and the Vikings won at first and second singles.
That turned all the attention to the third singles court, where North Allegheny's Willie Suhrie had lost the first set, 3-6, and won the second set, 6-1, against Kevin Whalofsky. Whalofsky took a 3-0 lead in the rainy third set before Suhrie won five of the next six game. Suhrie served for the match but was broken, ultimately leading to a tiebreaker in which he took a 5-1 lead and hung on to win, 7-4.
"He lost the first set, but I told him he was playing two more so get over it," North Allegheny coach Dom Gliozzi said. "He found a will."
The Tigers advance to play No. 2 seed Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals 3 p.m. today at Sewickley Academy. The final is Friday on North Allegheny's courts.
The other Class AAA quarterfinal played yesterday was also a 3-2 thriller, but Fox Chapel lost to Upper St. Clair in a tight 3-2 match that featured two rain delays totaling almost two hours.
The Foxes lost at both doubles spots but earned wins at first and second singles, where Ben defeated Alex Hayden, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-4, and Dylan McCullough beat Dom D'Amico, 6-3, 6-3, respectively. That left the match's fate in the hand of a third singles match that went the distance but ended with Upper St. Clair's Mike Russell beating Josh Lehman, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
"It was nip-and-tuck the whole time," Foxes coach David Prevost said. "It was pretty evenly matched. They definitely got it over on us in doubles."
The two Class AA teams from the North area continued on a collision course to meet in the final for the second consecutive season, both cruising to 5-0 quarterfinal victories Wednesday.
No. 1 Sewickley Academy beat Indiana and No. 2 Hampton defeated Beaver. The Panthers will play St. Joseph in the semifinals 3 p.m. today at Shady Side Academy, and the Talbots face Section 3-AA rival Winchester Thurston 3 p.m. at Pine-Richland.
Host North Allegheny's match with Central Catholic was tied, 2-2, after the Tigers' doubles teams of Stephen Chuiravzi and Steve Kline and Eric Huang and Connor Goodman swept to easy straight-set victories and the Vikings won at first and second singles.
That turned all the attention to the third singles court, where North Allegheny's Willie Suhrie had lost the first set, 3-6, and won the second set, 6-1, against Kevin Whalofsky. Whalofsky took a 3-0 lead in the rainy third set before Suhrie won five of the next six game. Suhrie served for the match but was broken, ultimately leading to a tiebreaker in which he took a 5-1 lead and hung on to win, 7-4.
"He lost the first set, but I told him he was playing two more so get over it," North Allegheny coach Dom Gliozzi said. "He found a will."
The Tigers advance to play No. 2 seed Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals 3 p.m. today at Sewickley Academy. The final is Friday on North Allegheny's courts.
The other Class AAA quarterfinal played yesterday was also a 3-2 thriller, but Fox Chapel lost to Upper St. Clair in a tight 3-2 match that featured two rain delays totaling almost two hours.
The Foxes lost at both doubles spots but earned wins at first and second singles, where Ben defeated Alex Hayden, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-4, and Dylan McCullough beat Dom D'Amico, 6-3, 6-3, respectively. That left the match's fate in the hand of a third singles match that went the distance but ended with Upper St. Clair's Mike Russell beating Josh Lehman, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
"It was nip-and-tuck the whole time," Foxes coach David Prevost said. "It was pretty evenly matched. They definitely got it over on us in doubles."
The two Class AA teams from the North area continued on a collision course to meet in the final for the second consecutive season, both cruising to 5-0 quarterfinal victories Wednesday.
No. 1 Sewickley Academy beat Indiana and No. 2 Hampton defeated Beaver. The Panthers will play St. Joseph in the semifinals 3 p.m. today at Shady Side Academy, and the Talbots face Section 3-AA rival Winchester Thurston 3 p.m. at Pine-Richland.
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