Peters Township netting results

After finishing the regular season with a 15-2 record, Peters Township began its quest for a berth in the PIAA team tennis championships by sweeping past Oakland Catholic, 5-0, in the first round of the WPIAL tournament.
“We’d love to win the district but the goal is to make it to states,” explained Brant Bowman, who is in his 13th season as Lady Indians’ head coach.
That means the Lady Indians must reach the WPIAL semifinals. With the win against the Lady Eagles, Peters received that chance. The Lady Indians must beat Moon Oct. 14 on their home court to reach the Final Four.
“You get that far,” explained Bowman, “then you have two shots. The PIAA takes three teams instead of two now.” Last year, Peters Township lost to Lebo in the qualifier. “We hope to do better this year,” said Bowman.
Currently, the Lady Indians are seeded No. 4 in the tournament. Mt. Lebanon is third while Shady Side Academy and North Allegheny earned the top two seeds in the WPIAL team tournament. If the Lady Indians get past the Tigers they would likely face Shady Side in the semifinals.
The Lady Indians had no trouble dispatching Oakland Catholic in the first round of WPIAL action played Oct. 12. Megan Hixon (4-6, 6-0, 6-2), Anna Komer (6-2, 6-1) and Alex Garcia (6-2, 6-1) swept the singles matches.
Allie D’orazio and Katie Smart combined for a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 1 doubles while Hannah Asbell and Carla Goldsmith won at No. 2 doubles, 6-1, 6-1.
Depth, unity and a tough schedule has prepared the Lady Indians for their playoff run.
In addition to their top seven, the team also includes freshmen Mia Hofbauer and Paige Mattes as well as junior Julia Deriennzo. Komer and Asbell are the lone seniors. Both are captains along with Garcia, a junior.
“We are deep again. We were always deep when we did well,” said Bowman, who coached the Lady Indians to three WPIAL titles between 2009-12. “Depth has helped us, but more than anything our team chemistry has been one of the biggest reasons for our success. We have had strong leadership from our seniors and our captains.”
During the regular season, the Lady Indians faced stiff competition. They finished runner-up to Lebo in Section 4. In addition to losing to the Blue Devils, 3-2, Peters suffered its only other defeat to North Allegheny in a non-section encounter.
“The nice thing about the new sections are that they are bigger,” Bowman said. “You play everybody just once and that allows you to be able to schedule teams who you want to play.”
Peters Township challenged itself, forcing the Lady Indians to up their game, by competing against NA, Fox Chapel, Beaver, which is the No. 1 seed in the AA tournament, Sewickley Academy and Mercyhurst Prep, which was a state finalist last season.
The beefed up schedule, said Bowman, helps. It prepared the Lady Indians for their WPIAL team tournament run. “The only way to handle pressure is to the put yourself under pressure,” he said. “When you are used to facing pressure, you handle it better.”
The last time the Lady Indians qualified for the state tournament, Hixon played No. 2 doubles as a freshman in 2012. “She’s the only one on the team that made the trip,” said Bowman. “I know she wants to go again. I know the rest of the girls want to do that, too.”
So do the team’s water boys. Andre Goldsmith and James Garcia, both seventh-grade students, have helped assist the Lady Indians wherever necessary.
In other first-round action in the WPIAL team tournament, Lebo blanked North Hills, 5-0, and Upper St. Clair defeated Hempfield, 4-1. The Lebo ladies face Franklin Regional in their quarterfinal home match Oct. 14, while the Panthers visit NA. Both matches commenced at 3 p.m.
Lebo duo qualifies
Kristi Riley and Skylar Morgan of Mt. Lebanon advanced to the PIAA doubles tournament to be held Nov. 6-7 at the Hershey Racquet Club.
The duo earned its spot in the state tournament by finishing third in the WPIAL. In the consolation match, Riley and Morgan outlasted Shady Side Academy’s Lindsey Miller and Erin Gramley, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-1).
Riley and Morgan saw their hopes for winning the district title fade when they dropped a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 semifinal match to North Allegheny’s Tina Li and Ashley Huang. Li and Huang lost to Fox Chapel’s Laurel Shymansky and Amanda Nord, 6-0, 6-1, in the championship.
To reach the semifinals, Riley and Morgan defeated Amy Donahue and Maria Jovin from Shady Side, 10-0, and Pine Richland’s Alice Qian and Claire Casalnova, 10-5, in the opening rounds of play.
Three other local duos participated in the WPIAL tournament.
Lebo’s Katherine Izzo and Brooke Warshaw defeated Norwin’s Maria Santilli and Anna Lanyi in the opener, 10-5, but succumbed to Li and Huang in the quarterfinals, 10-3.
Peters Township’s pair of Alex Garcia and Allie D’Orazio outlasted Franklin Regional’s Jenna Bailey and Alison Simpkins, 11-9, in the opener before being shut out by Shymansky and Nord, 10-0, in the quarterfinals.
Also from Peters, Megan Hixon and Anna Komer defeated Kirsten Friday and Molly Weise of Fox Chapel, 10-5, before falling to Miller and Gramley, 11-9.