Sewickley Academy, Quaker Valley tennis players find success in singles tournaments
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Friday, September 21, 2018 | 8:12 PM
Two Sewickley Academy sophomores qualified for the WPIAL Class AA girls tennis singles championship tournament Sept. 20-21, and neither is the top Panther.
Simran Bedi and Christina Walton have competed in second and third singles for the defending WPIAL champion.
Panther coach Whitney Snyder said sophomore Evelyn Safar, the first singles player, sat out the Section 4-AA championship because of a scheduling conflict that would have prevented her from playing later.
Bedi and Walton placed first and second, respectively.
Snyder is impressed by the way Bedi and Walton stepped up.
“Those girls work hard,” Snyder said. “They’re tournament players.”
It was the second time the two met in the section final. Walton won last season after Bedi forfeited because of injury.
They went on to lose in the WPIAL quarterfinals to different opponents.
“It’s always tough when playing a teammate, especially one I have (known) personally for a long time,” Bedi said. “We both played our hearts out and respect each other’s games.”
Quaker Valley senior Sydney Schultz, the Section 2-AA runner-up, headed into the WPIAL championship with nothing to lose.
“The fact I have made it this far is super fun and exciting,” she said. “I am going in with a lot less pressure than a lot of the other girls.”
Quaker coach Christi Hays said she and Schultz are realistic about the player’s prospects.
“We talk all the time about how there are levels and then there are levels,” Hays said. “Sydney is a talented athlete, being proficient in soccer and track, in addition to tennis.
“She hasn’t spent the time on her tennis that the other top players have.”
Beaver senior Devyn Campbell downed Schultz in two sets for the section crown.
Quaker Valley senior Martha Pangburn was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Hays said Pangburn earned the spot after persevering in a three-set challenge match against senior Anna McSweeney.
Karen Kadilak is a freelance writer.
Tags: Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy
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