Sewickley Academy boys tennis faces whole new challenge in Class 3A

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, April 6, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Sewickley Academy’s boys tennis team will not be able to retain its WPIAL Class 2A title this season.

Neither will senior Severin Harmon, who defeated Jackson Gillespie of Aquinas Academy to win last year’s Class 2A individual championship.

That’s because the Panthers are competing in Section 2-3A this year against the likes of Butler, Mars, Moon, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley.

“I think we have a strong team this year. Even though we got bumped up to 3A, I know this team is capable of holding its own against much bigger schools,” said Harmon, who also finished as the WPIAL runner-up in 2A in 2023. “I know we’re all motivated to make it to the WPIAL playoffs and fight for another championship, even though we’re playing up a division.”

Harmon, who plans to attend Dartmouth in the fall, won by scores of 6-3, 6-3 against Gillespie in last year’s WPIAL finals at Glen Creek Tennis Club in South Park. He is a four-year starter and has been the team’s No. 1 singles player throughout his career.

“My personal goals are a bit different than last year since we’re competing in 3A,” Harmon said. “I don’t really have any expectations for individuals. My goal this year is just to help get this team as far as we can against the difficult competition.”

Harmon, freshman Will Bojalad and senior Sebastian Tan are Sewickley’s top three singles players. Competing at doubles are sophomores Max Kopf and Ben Terrell along with the tandem of junior Finn Wentz and senior Jason Chen.

Kopf and Terrell placed fourth in the WPIAL doubles tournament last season.

“We are an energetic team that plays together, and I hope we continue to have that same energy moving forward,” Terrell said afterwards. “Also, we are led by one of the winningest coaches in WPIAL history (Whitney Snyder), so our team is in good hands moving forward.”

Rounding out this year’s squad is senior Rob Fogle, a leading reserve for the Panthers.

“We lost some great seniors from last season, but we’ve got some younger guys who have stepped up in a big way,” Harmon said. “Will Bojalad is a great addition to the team, and our doubles players have improved tremendously during the offseason.”

Sewickley also captured a WPIAL team championship in 2023 and has won 25 in school history.

Last season, the top-seeded Panthers edged Quaker Valley by a 3-2 score in the WPIAL finals at Washington & Jefferson’s Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center.

After blanking District 9 champion St. Mary’s Area, 5-0, in the first round of the state tournament, Sewickley beat District 11 titlist Moravian Academy, 3-0, in the quarterfinals.

District 3 champion Lancaster Country Day, the eventual PIAA winner, defeated the Panthers by a 3-0 score in the semifinal round.

Sewickley advanced to the PIAA semifinals in both 2023 and 2024, finishing 13-4 in ‘23 and 14-2 in ‘24.

Harmon, also a top golfer at Sewickley in his prep career, was the section champ in 2024; Wentz finished as runner-up.

Harmon received the WPIAL tournament’s top seed last year and with it a first-round bye, then ran the table at the two-day event.

“I had a tough draw,” he said. “I’m really grateful I was able to get it done. It was not easy at all. It is really nice to be a part of that list of (Sewickley) champions.”

Harmon rolled past No. 8 Justin Garvey of North Catholic, 10-4, in the quarterfinals before defeating No. 4 Jason Jasek of South Park, 6-2, 6-0, in the semifinal.

Harmon never trailed in the WPIAL championship match and won in straight sets against Gillespie, the No. 2 seed.

“The match took over two hours, which was my longest of the tournament,” Harmon said. “It was such a physical match, and I was so glad that it went my way.”

The Sewickley netter qualified for the PIAA singles tournament at Hershey Racquet Club as the No. 1 seed in Class 2A.

“Nothing much to say about individuals, to be honest,” Harmon said. “I just didn’t play as good as I needed to in order to make a run. In Hershey, every player is really good, so if you don’t play well, then it’s going to be a pretty short trip.”

Kopf and Terrell advanced to the PIAA doubles tournament a year ago.

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