Apr 24, 2013 By Eleanor Bailey 3 min read

When it comes to doubles, Peters Township and Upper St. Clair are trouble for tennis opponents. Each school advanced both of its tandems to the WPIAL Class AAA tournament.

The WPIAL will conduct its championships over a two-day period April 29-30. The opening rounds of action in the AAA event will be held Monday at Shady Side Academy while the AA units will battle at Keystone Oaks. All championship and consolation matches will be contested Tuesday beginning at 2:30 p.m. at North Allegheny. The top teams advance to the PIAA tournament set for May 24-25 in Hershey.

Mitch Kreider and Jake Floyd prevailed in the Section 5 tournament held at Trinity this week. The junior-senior duo defeated Kyle Hicken and Adam Kubicki from Chartiers Valley, 6-1, 6-0, in the finals.

After receiving a first-round bye, Krieder and Floyd dispatched Trinity’s twosome of Jesse Berk and Will Schooley, 10-2 and CV’s Calvin Boyle and Kevin Rectenwald, 10-6, to reach the championship bout.

Meanwhile, PT teammates, Brendon Dollard and Connor Daley, rebounded from a semifinal loss to Hicken and Kubicki, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, and defeated Boyle and Rectenwald, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, in the consolation match. Dollard, a freshman, and Daley, a senior, beat Dan Bello and Adam Ackerman, 10-4, and Evan Banasick and Pat Stephens of Trinity, 10-0, in the opening rounds of the section event.

In addition to Bello and Ackerman, Ben Wallace and Karl Kroll participated as a tandem for Bethel Park. Canon-McMillan also had two entries in the Section 5 tournament: Chad Dillie and Chad Fang as well as Mukunda Aithal and John Gesselberty.

In the Section 4 tournament played at Baldwin, Christian Meyer and Fernando Escribens triumphed over their USC teammates, Domenick D’Amico and Mike Russell, 6-2, 7-5, for the title.

After a first-round bye, the sophomores eliminated Baldwin’s Nick Babick and Marin Marina, 10-0, and Mt. Lebanon’s Christian Vietmeier and Charlie Strohl, 10-6, to reach the finals.

Meanwhile, D’Amico, a sophomore, and Russell, a senior, made their way to the championship with victories over Lebo’s duo of David Mewkalo and Nick Reese, 7-5, 6-3, Moon’s Ryan Becker and Bailey McKown, 10-6, and West Mifflin’s Brian Colar and Zach Rutter, 10-2.

In the consolation contest, Mewkalo and Reese defeated Vietmeier and Strohl, 6-3, 6-3.

While Peters Township, under the direction of Brandt Bowman, clinched the Section 5 title and advanced to the playoffs in the WPIAL team tournament, Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair battle for section honors and post-season seeding position April 26 at the courts, located off McLaughlin Run Road. WPIAL team playoff action commences the week of May 6.