Knoch sisters, Bethel Park duo claim WPIAL girls tennis doubles titles

By: Ted Sarneso
Thursday, October 5, 2023 | 6:06 PM

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Top-seeded Emily and Lindsey Greb of Knoch added to their already overflowing trophy cases Thursday at the WPIAL Class 2A girls tennis doubles finals.

The Greb sisters, both seniors, played a clean, mistake-free match and took both sets 6-1, 6-0 to defeat the 15th-seeded team of Sasha Hoffman and Stella Bossert of Greensburg Central Catholic and claim Knoch’s fourth straight WPIAL doubles title and the duo’s second, having won WPIAL and PIAA titles together in 2021.

For Lindsey Greb, the win was her third doubles championship. She joins former doubles partner Ally Bauer as the only two Knoch tennis players to win gold three times.

“It feels amazing, not just because it’s with Emily but because it’s my senior year,” Lindsey Greb said. “It was one of many goals I had for this season. It’s nice to end my individual WPIAL career with a win.”

Said Emily Greb: “It feels great. It’s very exciting to win again and a lot of fun playing together.”

Both sisters came into the match extremely focused and but still had some butterflies.

“Going in, I know both of us were really nervous,” Lindsey said. “But I think we kept telling ourselves, refer back to the basics. Everything felt like it was working, so we incrementally increased our level of play as we went along.”

Even though they have another championship together and are building confidence as they advance, Emily and Lindsey know they still have another goal in mind.

“The confidence certainly builds as we head into states,” Emily said. “We’ll still be nervous, and we know we still have to work hard because it’s not easy and nothing is guaranteed.”

Playing with a partner they have known their entire lives certainly helps ease some of the nerves.

“It’s definitely an advantage being siblings and playing as long as we have,” Lindsey said. “Having that communication and trust with one another really helps.”

In the Class 2A consolation match, sixth-seeded Katie Hardy and Brea Kelly of North Catholic topped No. 4 seeds Peja Cruise and Raven Karlick from Montour, 6-1, 7-5, to claim bronze.

The top three finishers in both classes advance to the PIAA championships Nov. 3-4 at Hershey Racquet Club.

The Class 3A final, meanwhile, was a back-and-forth affair that looked like it would go to three sets.

In the end, No. 2 seeds Cami Fisher and Lily Sierka of Bethel Park came out victorious over top-seeded Elana Sobol and Rachel Nath of Shady Side Academy.

The match was befitting a clash between the top two seeds in the Class 3A field. Both duos traded points and sets throughout the contest as Fisher and Sierka won the first set 7-6.

After some supreme volleying and the pairs leaving everything out on the court, Fisher and Sierka came away with the second set 6-2.

“This is our first year playing doubles,” said Fisher, a freshman. “Lily and I have played together at Glen Creek for many years growing up, and I’ve known her all my life. We play a very similar game and play very well together.”

Sierka, a senior, said: “We communicate very well, and I think that’s why we won. We’ve been able to keep each other calm and stay positive. Both of us were very consistent at the baseline, which helped.”

Both were overjoyed to bring home Bethel Park’s first WPIAL doubles championship and the school’s first WPIAL tennis championship since Mia Gorman won back-to-back singles titles in 2020-21.

Mixed with the joy were feelings of true accomplishment, both girls knowing they bested the top seed in Class 3A.

“That was our hardest match so far in the tournament,” Sierka said. “It was stressful, but overall, a really great match.”

Added Fisher: “They were very consistent, very good volleyers, and they hit really hard. Coming of this win, I think boosted our confidence a little bit going into states. We’re feeling really good.”

In the 3A consolation match, sixth-seeded Abby Santora and Mollie Sclichter of Oakland Catholic bested No. 4 seeds Ellen Liu and Michelle Yan of Franklin Regional, 6-3, 6-1, to take home third place.

Tags: Bethel Park, Greensburg C.C., Knoch, Shady Side Academy