Boys tennis brackets to be released in 3 things to watch Tuesday in high school sports

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, April 16, 2018 | 10:09 PM

While most WPIAL sports are coming up on the halfway point of section play sometime this week, the first postseason of the 2018 spring season will be determined as the tennis steering committee will gather Tuesday morning to put together the brackets for the WPIAL boys team tennis playoffs.

When it comes to district boys tennis, everybody takes a back seat to what Sewickley Academy continues to accomplish. The Panthers' title streak became a teenage last year and now they will look to win a 14th consecutive WPIAL championship.

In Class AAA, Fox Chapel captured its first WPIAL boys tennis team crown in 1976. Forty years later in 2016, the Foxes won the school's second championship. It didn't take another 40 years for the school's third title though as the Foxes repeated last spring.

Diamond Dandies if Mother Nature cooperates

While it appears rain will not be a factor Tuesday in Western Pennsylvania, snow and bitter temperatures could.

If the umpires do call “Play Ball,” there are a couple of midseason battles for first place to watch.

A showdown of baseball unbeaten teams in Section 2-3A is scheduled at Avonworth as the Antelopes (4-0) host defending district champion Riverside (5-0). Teams are a combined 9-0 in section and 11-1 overall. The Panthers are ranked No. 1 and Antelopes No. 2 in the latest Trib HSSN baseball rankings.

In softball, first place is up for grabs in Section 2 and Section 3 in Class 5A.

Thomas Jefferson (5-0) visits Albert Gallatin (4-0) in Section 2, while defending champion West Allegheny (4-0) fights for first when it hosts Moon (4-1) in a rematch of the 2017 WPIAL championship game won by the Indians, 12-2.

Midway volleyball

Class AA district boys volleyball teams have already reached the midway point of section play and will enjoy a week of nonsection matches until the second half of section play begins next week.

But Tuesday marks the end of the first half in WPIAL Class AAA with many rivalry matches set to reach the midway point.

Three matches are clashes of ranked teams, including a pair of key contests in Section 3. No. 2 Penn-Trafford visits No. 9 Norwin while No. 6 Hempfield hits the road to face No. 9 Latrobe.

Section 2 has a battle of top-five teams in Butler County when No. 5 Seneca Valley hosts No. 4 Butler.

Don Rebel is a TribLive High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Albert Gallatin, Avonworth, Fox Chapel, Hempfield Area, Latrobe, Moon, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Riverside, Sewickley Academy, Thomas Jefferson, West Allegheny