May 11, 2015 By Eleanor Bailey 6 min read

Few had faith that Upper St. Clair could topple Shady Side Academy in the WPIAL championship match aside from the men on the tennis team themselves.

“Nobody believed but us,” said USC coach Ron Mercer after the Panthers dethroned the four-time champions, posting a 3-2 victory in the finals played on Bethel Park High School tennis courts. “These guys wanted it.”

USC’s seniors, particularly Fernando Escribens, Dom D’Amico, Sam Schiffman and Christian Meyer, desired a title before they graduated. They had been unsuccessful in two other trips to the district team tournament. USC had reached the Final Four before succumbing each year in the semifinals.

“We knew we had good teams we just couldn’t get it done those years but I think that drove these seniors,” said Mercer. “Our seniors were strong. They were pretty confident.”

Even when injuries took its toll, the team did not waver in its poise. Though Escribens overcame his Achilles tendon issues, Meyer, who will attend Duke next fall, watched the WPIAL finals on crutches because of his own Achilles injury. Meyer’s younger brother, Josh, however, filled his position. The freshman combined with Schiffman, who will attend Ohio State in the fall, at first doubles. “Christian is a very good doubles player,” Mercer said. “Josh improved throughout the season. He has a bright future ahead of him.”

While Escribens, who will play at Purdue next fall, set the tone for the Panthers, winning at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-4, D’Amico and USC’s second doubles tandem of Scott Russell and Liam Gibbons sealed the victory. When D’Amico swept second singles, 6-4, 6-3, Russell and Gibbons bore the burden of clinching the match. The duo split sets, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, with Brad Steiner and Armaan Jethmalani before scoring a 6-3 victory in the third to seal the title for USC.

“That was some high-level doubles being played for a high school match,” noted Mercer. “We made some big shots in the end. In the third set, we made the plays. We did not self-destruct. Our serves were in and we made them beat us.”

Though he did not beat his opponent at No. 3 singles, Anthony Abinanti did contribute to USC’s run to the district title. The Panthers opened tournament action with a sweep of Plum, 5-0, and a 4-1 triumph against Fox Chapel, which had blanked Bethel Park, 5-0, in its opening match.

In the semifinals, USC dispatched Mars, 4-1, while Shady Side Academy defeated Mt. Lebanon in similar fashion. Mt. Lebanon, which beat the Planets, 4-1, in the consolation match, advanced with USC and Shady Side Academy to the PIAA tournament. Action began yesterday with the quarterfinals set for May 15 at the Hershey Racquet Club. The semifinals and finals will be contested May 16 in Hershey as well.

The Panthers, who played City League champion Brashear in the opening round of the state tournament, believe they can contend for the PIAA banner, although Shady Side Academy is the defending champion.

“I like our chances,” said Mercer, “but we have to play well and play as a team. There are good teams in the tournament and while Shady Side is on the opposite side of the bracket with us, Lebo is on our side. We could face them both. I expect them to be a little more aggressive.”

While no longer section competitors, Lebo and USC did battle this season with the Panthers pulling out a 3-2 victory against the Blue Devils.

“All the teams in the tournament are good, especially the teams form Philadelphia,” Mercer said. “It’s going to come down to 2-2 and whoever wins the last match.”

NOTE: The WPIAL final pitted Mercer against his older brother, Tom, who coaches Shady Side Academy. Both brothers played tennis at Mt. Lebanon. When facing off against each other, Mercer said he treats the match like any other. “I treat (Tom) like any other coach I go against and prepare as if we are competing against any other team.”

Lebo Duo advance

The Mt. Lebanon tandem of Dane Bendel and Charlie Strohl clinched a berth in the PIAA Class AAA doubles tennis tournament. The pair placed third in the WPIAL tournament and will now compete in the state championships set for May 22-23 in Hershey.

In the consolation match, Bendel and Strohl combined to eliminate the Peters Township duo of Miguel Ascencio and Ryan Farrell. In two tough sets, Bendel and Strohl outlasted Ascencio and Farrell, 7-6 (7-3) and 7-6 (7-3). The confrontation was a rematch of the section final. A week prior to the WPIAL tournament, Bendel and Strohl also beat Ascencio and Farrell for the title.

Bendel and Strohl, as well as Ascencio and Farrell, lost in the semifinals to drop into the consolation match. While Ascencio and Farrell fell to eventual champions, Josh Raymundo and Aaron Gruber from Mars, 6-2, 6-1, Bendel and Strohl succumbed to North Allegheny’s Jared Isaacs and Richard Hofmann, 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1.

To reach the Final Four, Bendel and Strohl dispatched Marcus Mitchell and Sean Lebovitz from Allderdice, 10-5, and Ben Vinarski and Sid Iyer of Pine-Richland, 10-1.

Ascencio and Farrell march to the Final Four featured a thrilling upset in the quarterfinals. The duo ousted the top-seeded team of Michael and Cooper Kann from Sewickley Academy, 11-10 (7-5). In the first round of action, Ascencio and Farrell beat Kevin Lee and Turner Price from Penn-Trafford, 10-5.

Lebo and Upper St. Clair had additional teams competing in the doubles tournament. Christian Vietmeier and Ian McCabe defeated Rachan Ramesh and Connor Warwick, 10-5, but fell to Isaacs and Hofmann, 10-1, in the quarterfinals. Scott Russell and Liam Gibbons lost to Raymundo and Gruber, 10-4, in the opening round of action.

In Class AA doubles action, Alex Li and Justin Nedzevsky upset Jonathan Tetrick and Devlin Dikec of Beaver, 10-4, but the Seton-La Salle tandem lost to Noah Cenkner and Alex Temple from Mt. Pleasant, 10-2, in the quarterfinals.

Mike Meyer and Richard Novak also competed in the event. The Keystone Oaks duo lost to Ryan Hartz and Jake Robbins from Brownsville, 10-8, in the first round.

Nedzevsky and Li had beaten Novak and Meyer in the third-place consolation match during the Section 4-AA tournament, 7-5, 6-3. In that section tournament, Nedzevsky and Li lost to Geller and Rana, 6-1, 6-3, in the semifinals while Novak and Meyer dropped a two-setter, 6-4, 6-3, to the Gex boys.