Sewickley Academy boys tennis pushing to be the best

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, May 5, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Sewickley Academy won its second consecutive section title in boys tennis and 27th in school history this season.

Sewickley racked up a 6-0 record in Section 4-2A, brushing aside Beaver, Beaver Falls, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Ellwood City and Riverside by 5-0 scores and went into the postseason with a 10-0 overall record.

The Panthers are aiming now for a bigger prize, another WPIAL championship. Sewickley has won 24 WPIAL titles since 1993 which included a run of 15 in a row from 2004-2018.

The Panthers are looking to make it back-to-back championships this season. The team received the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye for the WPIAL Class 2A tournament.

“I am really excited about where this team can go in WPIALs,” said co-captain Tejas Mitra. “Since the first match of the season, everyone has been improving and I think that this is a gritty team that can battle. We have shown that with winning hard matches against even some Triple-A opponents.

“One thing I love about this team is that everyone pushes each other to be the best they can be. Whether it is through the doubles in Max (Kopf) and Ben (Terrell) trying to give us a challenge in drills or the singles drilling with us so we can see tougher balls, everyone tries to help everyone while also being great teammates and friends as well. I am grateful to have the opportunity to play along all these people and also lead them as a captain.”

Mitra, one of three seniors on this year’s team, said the Panthers are not content just to qualify for the postseason. They want to see themselves taking on all challenges leading to and in the championship round.

“It is nice to see the success we are having as a team,” Mitra said, “but we are not yet satisfied.

“Our goal is to be the best that we can as a team by the time we get to the first round of WPIALs and that happens by continuously keeping ourselves and each other accountable.”

Sewickley is led by junior co-captain Severin Harmon, a third-year starter and the reigning WPIAL 2A singles champion.

“The whole team, including myself, is really excited for WPIALs,” Harmon said. “We’ve been working hard to position ourselves for a deep run in the playoffs. I think we have what it takes to go back to back, but we are going to need to play our best tennis from here on out.”

Harmon, sophomore Finn Wentz and junior co-captain Sebastian Tan compete at the top three spots in the lineup for the Panthers.

Harmon also was a WPIAL and PIAA qualifier in boys golf last fall.

Mitra and senior Jackson Quigley, along with the two freshmen, Kopf and Terrell, are the leading doubles players for the Panthers.

“Along with my co-captains Severin and Tejas, I think the grind has been ambitious and a lot of fun,” Tan said.

Senior Logan Carlson and junior Jason Chen provide outstanding depth for the Panthers, who were scheduled to host No. 8 Valley on May 2 in the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL team tournament.

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