Gateway’s Adam Memije looks forward to PIAA tournament

By: Michael Love
Sunday, April 14, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Gateway junior Adam Memije entered the WPIAL Class 3A singles championship match last Wednesday at Glen Creek Tennis Club in South Park Township hoping to finish off a WPIAL-championship triple crown.

Last year, he captured a WPIAL doubles title with fellow Gators junior Zidaan Hassan and also helped lead Gateway to its first WPIAL boys team title in 35 years.

He also was hoping for redemption after cramps in the quarterfinals last year helped derail his run in the singles tournament as the No. 1 seed.

Memije, in a way, accomplished that redemption by making it to the finals. He went toe-to-toe for three sets with North Allegheny freshman Advaita Sircar. He bounced back from a 6-2 loss in the first set to win the second set 6-3.

However, it ended up being Sircar’s day as the Tigers newcomer, playing in his first WPIAL tournament of any kind, powered past Memije in the third set to win 6-3 and claim WPIAL gold.

“(The championship) match was really tiring, three long sets of hitting hard back and forth and moving around constantly,” Memije said. “You have to be prepared for that. It was just intense.

“Obviously, I am disappointed with this match’s outcome, but I prepared my body a lot more this time, and I was ready to play in these matches. I will move on to states and see what I can do there.”

Memije held serve to go up 4-3 in the second set and then broke Sircar’s serve.

With Memije on serve, Sircar hit two returns into the net to fall behind 30-0. Memije later hit a winner to put him at set point, and Sircar then returned a serve long to give Memije the 6-3 win.

“The final was so hard. (Memije) is just so fast,” Sircar said. “He just doesn’t miss. He hits the ball hard, and he’s so accurate. He kept moving me around.”

Memije and Sircar played their championship match with the knowledge that both had secured a spot in the PIAA tournament May 24-25 at the Hershey Racquet Club. Only the WPIAL finalists earned state berths in Class 3A.

Memije will compete at states for the third time after taking part in last year’s doubles tournament in Hershey with Hassan and the team tournament where the Gators advanced to the semifinals before falling to District 1 champion Conestoga.

He earned his spot in the WPIAL finals and clinched the berth to states with a pair of 10-1 wins over Fox Chapel junior Charlie Larsen and North Hills senior Josh Kim. He then defeated Upper St. Clair junior Ari Plutko, 6-1, 6-3, in the semifinals.

The championship and consolation matches in both Class 3A and Class 2A were moved from the outside courts at North Allegheny because of the threat of rain.

Gateway, with Memije and Hassan, were one of six schools to have both singles entries make the WPIAL tournament. The others were Fox Chapel, North Allegheny, Franklin Regional, Upper St. Clair and Shady Side Academy.

“I was proud of both Adam and Zidaan for the way they played and represented Gateway throughout the whole tournament,” coach Matt Stockunas said.

“To have both players finish in the top three is something to be proud of.”

Because Memije qualified for the PIAA singles tournament, he is not eligible to compete in WPIAL doubles. Hassan instead will look to defend his half of the WPIAL doubles championship with sophomore Logan Memije, Gateway’s No. 3 singles player.

The Gators’ duo was slated to open the Section 1 doubles tournament at Franklin Regional on Tuesday.

The WPIAL Class 3A doubles tournament begins this Tuesday and concludes Wednesday.

While only the top two from the WPIAL singles tournament advanced to states, Hassan played in the consolation final after falling to Sircar, 7-5, 6-4, in a competitive semifinal match.

Hassan, the No. 3 seed, now is a two-time WPIAL singles bronze medalist. He kicked off this year’s tournament with a 10-0 pro-set win over Peters Township senior Avi Sharma before defeating Bethel Park junior Devin Collier, 10-2, in the quarterfinals.

He was dominant in the consolation final with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Upper St. Clair’s Ari Plutko, the No. 4 seed.

“It’s just a daily thing for me, wanting to go in and play my best and get the win,” Hassan said.

“I was able to move on after the loss and focus on the next match. It felt good to get back on track with the win the way I did. I was consistent and was moving well. When I needed to, I was attacking well. I was pushing to the net on mostly every short ball. I was able to move him around the way I had hoped.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway