Quaker Valley’s Mike Sirianni navigates tough draw to make 2nd straight WPIAL final

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, April 24, 2022 | 9:01 AM

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Quaker Valley senior standout Mike Sirianni repeated as a silver medalist at the WPIAL Class 2A boys singles tournament held April 12-13.

Similar to last year, Sirianni, a four-year No. 1 singles competitor at QV, lost to North Catholic’s Nicolas Scheller in the WPIAL championship round.

“I was very pleased with Mike’s performance at the singles tournament,” QV coach Christi Hays said. “I thought he had a challenging draw in what was decidedly the toughest 2A draw in years. He ran up against a buzzsaw in Nicolas Scheller, who was the PIAA silver medalist last year. So to finish as a silver medalist is an excellent result.”

Scheller, a senior and No. 1 seed, defeated Sirianni, 6-0, 6-0. In last year’s finals, Scheller won, 6-1, 6-1.

“I felt like I could have performed better against Scheller, who has improved a lot since last year, and I just was not able to adjust in that short amount of time,” Sirianni said. “The draw was much tougher this year, and I have not been playing as much as in recent years, but overall I am pleased with my result.

“My season has been great, and I feel like I have been playing very solid. The team has been a lot of fun, and I think that everyone is very happy with the way things are going.”

Sirianni, seeded No. 2, began his bracket climb with a 10-0 win against Central Valley senior Christian Kosinski, the No. 15 seed.

Sirianni then knocked off Scheller’s teammate and No. 7 seed Brody Golla, 10-1, in the quarterfinals, and defeated Thomas Jefferson senior Drew Dimidjian, the No. 3 seed, in the semifinals in straight sets, 7-5, 6-0.

“Mike has many strengths as a tennis player,” Hays said. “Obviously, his skills, but the other thing I admire about Mike and his brother Will is their work ethic. They push each other and they set a high bar for the rest of the team. When they step out on the court, you know they have put in the work that it takes to perform well.

“And another of Mike’s strengths — but at times it can also be a weakness — is that he is tough on himself. He demands a lot of himself. His demeanor is very calm and composed, but there is definitely a fire inside pushing him to perform well.”

Sirianni’s brother Will, seeded fifth, also participated in the WPIAL singles tournament. He won his first match 10-7 against South Park senior and No. 12 seed Alex Duing, 10-7, before losing to No. seed Josh Dunham of Mars in the quarterfinals. Willl suffered a should injury against Dunham.

“Will will be fine for the rest of the season, and that’s why he dropped out,” Hays said. “He said that team play was more of a priority, which makes a coach very proud.”

Mike and Will Sirianni finished as the gold and silver medalists in Section 4-2A this year.

Both were 7-1 with two regular-season matches still on the docket.

“When talking about what Mike has meant to the Quaker Valley tennis program, I have to include Will in that conversation because they really are a package deal,” Hays said. “When you are looking to build something, you always need a strong foundation.

“When they arrived four years ago, they gave us that foundation and we have built on it successfully these four years with other extremely talented players. We have had a successful four-year run with this senior class — all seven of them. They are all great to work with, they get along, and they are respectful competitors. And they would make any coach look good.”

Scheller, Sirianni and Dunham will compete at the PIAA singles tournament next month in Hershey.

“As the No. 2 seed from District 7, Mike will draw the No. 1 seed from District 12, which is Philadelphia,” Hays said. “That actually is a tougher draw than the No. 3 seed from our district got, but as he always does, Mike will give it his best effort and will represent himself and District 7 well.

“I’m excited to see how this last chapter turns out. We are on track so far. We are undefeated (8-0). We’ve won our section and done well at WPIAL singles. Next is section doubles, WPIAL doubles and then WPIAL team. That is as far as we’ve set our sights for now. We will see where that all takes us.”

Mike Sirianni has been playing tennis most of his life.

“I started playing when I was in second grade,” he said.

He also is an avid skier and is a member of the National Honor Society and student council and carries a 4.25 GPA.

Additionally, he enjoys volunteering with Buddy Up Tennis, which is a part of the USTA Foundation that introduces tennis to children and young adults who have Down syndrome.

“This outstanding program is really a great way to share the fun of this sport,” he said.

Tags: Quaker Valley