Sewickley Academy, Quaker Valley tennis hope to pick up where they left off

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, March 26, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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Sewickley Academy boys tennis coach Whitney Snyder was not kidding when he said the Panthers are a totally different team than last season.

They lost Luke Ross, the WPIAL and PIAA Class AA singles champion, and Neil Rana and Ryan Gex, who swept the doubles titles, from a squad that repeated as PIAA champion and won the WPIAL crown for the 13th year in a row.

Sam Sauter, a PIAA singles quarterfinalist, also graduated.

Ross (Georgetown) and Sauter (St. Joseph's) have moved to NCAA Division I programs.

In their careers, Ross earned three WPIAL and two PIAA singles titles, Gex four WPIAL doubles titles with various partners, including his brother, and Sauter three trips to the PIAA singles championships as one of the top three finishers in the WPIAL. As gloomy as it all seems, Snyder is optimistic and said it is fun to be rebuilding.

“There's lot of excitement,” he said.

Sophomore Arjan Bedi and senior Nishant Purewal have climbed to first and second singles after placing third at the WPIAL and PIAA doubles championships last season. The rest of the lineup is unsettled, with seniors Will Nocito, Dylan Parda and Cole Luther, juniors Jayvir Monga and Saarang Mulukutla, sophomores Alex Billiar and Will Stevenson and freshman Cole Rychel vying for positions.

“Our new varsity players have some amazing athleticism,” Bedi said. “If we can capitalize on that, we can have a great season.”

“We lost a lot of skill, but still have the guys (who) are willing to put in the hours,” Nocito said. “If we have fun along the way and learn to work as a team, I am confident championships are feasible.”

Parda is impressed by what he has seen so far.

“Our doubles guys from last year are really stepping up,” Parda said. “I think we're going to surprise a lot of teams.”

Purewal said it is just a matter of performing when things get tight.

The Panthers were slated to open the season Monday and Tuesday at home with Section 4-AA matches against Carlynton and Ringgold. Results were not available before this edition's deadline.

Quaker Valley looks forward to repeating as Section 2-AA champion and making its third straight PIAA playoff appearance under first-year coach Christi Hays. The Quakers, a PIAA quarterfinalist last season, placed third at the WPIAL championships the past two years.

“Longtime coach Darren Mariano stepped aside, and I was thrilled to step in and hopefully continue the resurgence of the program,” said Hays, a Quakers assistant coach last season. “I know the boys well, and they know me.

The Quakers lost four players but return four others who contributed a year ago.

Juniors Potter Oliver and Sam Weiner represented the Quakers at the section singles championship. Sophomores Zach Albert and John Watters made it to the semifinals of the section doubles tournament.

Seniors Tilman Cooper, Spencer Kries and Ben Graham, junior Andres Hubsch, sophomore Nathan Blackmer and freshmen Matt Kubinski, Thomas Pangburn, Bodhi Wilson, Jack Bresch and Weston Grant are among other players.

Oliver said team goals include making it back to states.

“Our preseason was shortened by the crazy weather,” Hays said. “We are still sorting things out and playing our way into match shape.”

The Quakers (1-0) kicked off the campaign with a section shutout of Beaver Falls. Their next match is scheduled for April 3 at Central Valley.

Karen Kadilak is a freelance writer.

Tags: Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy