What to watch for in WPIAL sports Oct. 18, 2021: PIAA golf, WPIAL tennis semifinals on tap

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, October 17, 2021 | 9:52 PM

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The top Class 2A boys and girls golfers from across the state will tee off Monday morning in the 18-hole PIAA individual golf championships at the Heritage Hills Golf Course in York.

Eighteen WPIAL boys will be part of the 72 player PIAA Class 2A championship playing field while nine District 7 girls golfers make up part of the 36 girls who will tee off in the hopes of winning state gold.

A year ago, Isaiah Saw of Northeast beat Matthew Tressler of Scranton Prep in a playoff to win the PIAA boys 2A crown after both shot a 2-under par 69 in their 18 regulation holes.

Vileska Gelpi of Rockwood shot a 74 to win the 2020 girls PIAA 2A title.

The earliest group of four golfers will tee off at 8:30 a.m. while the latest group is scheduled to begin at 10:40 a.m.

WPIAL boys champion Brian McDonnell of Eden Christian has a 9:40 a.m. tee time while three-time WPIAL 2A girls champion Eva Bulger of Quaker Valley begins at 10:30 a.m.

Both the boys and girls 3A championship are scheduled for Tuesday at Heritage Hills.

Love the final four

The final four is set in both Class 3A and 2A in the 2020 WPIAL girls team tennis championships.

The four semifinals matches are set for 3 p.m. Monday.

In 3A, defending champion and top seed Latrobe will take on No. 5 seed Fox Chapel while No. 2 faces No. 3 when Peters Township battles neighboring rival Upper St. Clair.

In 2A, No. 1 seed and 2020 champion Knoch will face No. 4 South Park in one match while No. 2 Sewickley Academy will play No. 3 Beaver in the other final four match. Last year, the Panthers swept the Bobcats, 5-0, in the semifinals.

The two district championship matches are slated for Wednesday at Washington & Jefferson.

Two for the show

The WPIAL girls soccer playoff field will be finalized Monday with a couple more spots to be settled.

In Section 1-4A, when Pine-Richland lost to Butler on Saturday, it clinched a playoff berth for North Hills.

Now the Rams visit Shaler on Monday to wrap up section play. If Pine-Richland wins, it will tie North Hills and since they split head-to-head, they will both qualify for the playoffs, bumping the 4A playoff field to 13 teams.

If the Rams lose or tie at Shaler, they are eliminated.

Also Monday, Valley hosts Freeport to conclude Section 2-2A. Freeport has clinched. If the Vikings win, they will finish in a tie for fourth place with the Yellowjackets. Since both teams would have split in their two games, both would clinch a playoff spot.

If Valley loses or ties, it will be eliminated.

Tags: Beaver, Butler, Eden Christian, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Knoch, Latrobe, North Hills, Peters Township, Pine-Richland, Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy, Shaler, South Park, Upper St. Clair, Valley