Youthful North Allegheny girls tennis team grows stronger after section title, playoff ouster

By: John Grupp
Saturday, October 26, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The North Allegheny girls tennis team entered this season with little experience, a lot of questions marks and no place to call home.

“Going into camp in August,” coach Michelle Weniger said, “we were very aware that we were going to be a young, inexperienced team.”

The Tigers overcame their youth and some early season obstacles to go undefeated in Section 3-2A for the fourth consecutive season and advance to the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals.

“We definitely had some ups and downs,” junior doubles player Ella Mangene said. “But overall, we did what we came to do. We won our section. It didn’t go the same way at WPIALs as we had hoped, but we fought every match to get where we were.”

Despite returning only three players with varsity experience and being forced away from home for the first three weeks while their courts underwent renovations, the Tigers went 12-5 and set the foundation for a promising 2025 season.

The Tigers finished 8-0 in Section 2-3A and extended their section winning streak to 30, dating to Sept. 23, 2020. Seeded No. 7 in the WPIAL playoffs, North Allegheny blanked Latrobe, 5-0, in the first round Oct. 7 before seeing its season come to an end with a 5-0 quarterfinal loss to No. 2 Shady Side Academy on Oct. 9.

It was a gratifying campaign for the young team, which had returned only three players with varsity experience from last season’s WPIAL Class 3A runner-up.

Freshman Mia Kaufman emerged as the Tigers’ No. 1 singles player, qualifying for the WPIAL championships in both singles and doubles.

“She has tremendous potential,” Weniger said. “The things she accomplished as a freshman are awesome. I think she’s going to build on this.”

Junior Audrey Zheng, who teamed with Kaufman to reach the WPIAL doubles quarterfinals, and Kaitlyn Zeman, one of only two seniors on the roster, handled the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots.

In doubles, junior Cynthia Li and freshman Alexa Richey and sophomore Remi Heyward and senior Kelly Tai teamed to lead the Tigers to a 3-2 section-clinching win over Pine-Richland on Oct. 1.

“We ended up having a very successful season considering how young we were,” said Weniger, who called it one of the youngest teams in her 20 seasons. “We coached them as we would coach any other of my experienced teams. The girls were very receptive. They were eager to learn. It made it easy.”

A new-look roster wasn’t the only hurdle. The Tigers played their first seven matches away from home while the NA courts were being renovated. They hosted “home” matches indoors at Lakevue and Oxford athletic clubs and practiced at those facilities, provided they could find open time slots.

After opening the season with back-to-back losses at Bethel Park and Fox Chapel, the Tigers regrouped to win seven in a row and 10 out of their next 11. Their only loss in that span was to eventual WPIAL Class 3A champion Mt. Lebanon.

“I think the beginning of the season was a harder time for us,” Mangene said. “We were still adapting. We didn’t have our home courts for our tryouts, so we didn’t really get to bond as a team as much. … We had to go away for almost every match. Then jumping in the middle of the season back to brand-new courts and adapting to how they were different from the old courts, I definitely think that played a role in how the season went.”

Through it all, the Tigers grew as a team. They cherished their postmatch trips to get frozen yogurt and won’t soon forget senior night or the day Weniger brought the section championship trophy to practice and the girls posed for team photos. Nine of the 11 varsity players will return next season.

“They are very energized, and they enjoyed the season,” Weniger said. “That carries them through the offseason. They are going into the postseason on a really good note.”

Tags: North Allegheny