North Allegheny girls tennis faces early adversity in quest for 6th straight WPIAL title

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, August 23, 2018 | 10:36 PM

With many of its starters back, the North Allegheny girls tennis team looked forward to earning its sixth straight WPIAL Class AAA title and repeating as PIAA champion.

But its prospects became more challenging after three players quit before the season began Aug. 20 to focus on junior tennis.

Among the losses was sophomore Ava Catanzarite, the WPIAL singles runner-up last season.

“Welcome to high school tennis,” Tiger coach Michelle Weniger said.

Senior co-captain Ashley Huang, the defending PIAA singles champion, returns, along with senior co-captain Riya Yadav, sophomore Jenny Zhu, junior Ella Sinciline and sophomore Claire Shao.

Junior Shira Moturi, sophomore Natasha Porwal, junior Ashley Chung and junior Grace Lee are new.

Weniger said Huang’s leadership will be important.

“Her court experience and maturity will be a big help,” Weniger said. “During a break at camp, she spoke passionately to her teammates about supporting and encouraging each other and the importance of team and not individual accomplishments.”

Yadav, a three-year starter, also addressed the squad.

“She shared with her teammates the importance of watching all five lines and helping your teammates through a tough match,” Weniger said.

Yadav looks for the situation to improve once the initial shock wears off.

Huang said it was disappointing the players did not return, but challenging.

“As captain, I am excited because this is a new opportunity for (us) to prove ourselves,” she said. “Many of the girls who returned worked very hard during the summer and have improved tremendously.

“I hope to help our team reach our full potential and just play relaxed and have a good season.”

The Tigers were slated to open Section 2-AAA play Aug. 27 at Moon. They went 8-0 in the section last season.

Karen Kadilak is a freelance writer.

Tags: North Allegheny