Upper St. Clair senior wins section title
Charlotte Madson captured the Section 4-AAA title in girls’ tennis last week and looked to qualify for the PIAA championships during WPIAL tournament action this week.
The Upper St. Clair senior entered the season as the defending WPIAL runner-up to Ananya Dua from Shady Side Academy. Dua won the Section 3 crown and both girls entered this week’s district championships as the top seeds. But there would be no rematch of last year’s championship as Madson lost to Anna Li of North Allegheny, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2) in the semifinals played Sept. 21 at Shady Side Academy.
Madson battled Natalia Perry from Franklin Regional yesterday (after press time) in the consolation match at North Allegheny High School for the final playoff berth in the PIAA championships to be held the first weekend in November at the Hershey Racquet Club.
Madson had reached the semifinals in the WPIAL tournament by beating Cam Beer from Moon, 10-2, and Maria Santilli of Norwin, 10-7, in opening rounds of action.
During section action, Madson defeated Anna Komer of Peters Township in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, to win the title. She reached the finals by defeating Skylar Morgan from Mt. Lebanon, 6-1, 6-0. After an opening-round bye, Madson dispatched Mecady Hazlett from Montour in a pro set, 10-0.
Meanwhile, Komer reached the championship match by outlasting Ringgold’s Olivia Wagner. After dropping the first set, 5-7, the junior rebounded to win the next two, 6-4, 6-3. Komer worked her way into the Final Four with victories against Kayla Veith from Bethel Park, 10-2, and Kristi Riley from Mt. Lebanon, 10-2.
In the Section 4-AAA consolation match, Morgan defeated Warner, 6-2, 6-4. The junior advanced to the Final Four with wins against Carolyn Stout of West Allegheny, 10-1, and Margo Mason from Chartiers Valley, 10-5.
Morgan and Komer were eliminated in the WPIAL tournament in the first round of play. Komer lost to NA’s Tina Li, 10-4, and Morgan succumbed to Amanda Nord of Fox Chapel, 10-7.
Megan Hixon from Peters Township reached the quarterfinals in the Section 4-AAA tournament before falling to Warner. After a first-round bye, she defeated Averrey Jencka from Upper St. Clair, 10-5, in a pro set.
Other area players competing in the sectional included: Haylee Bunner and Kate Criden from Canon-McMillan; Jessica Fanning of Bethel Park, and Kara Joseph from Char Valley.
In Class AA, Holly Barwatt from South Park advanced to the WPIAL tournament. After beating Emily Famili of Winchester Thurston, 10-7, in the first round, the junior lost to Anne Taylor from Beaver,, 10-3, in the quarterfinals. Barwatt earned runner-up honors in Section 1 event, falling to Annie Neurohr from Greensburg Salem, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, in the finals.
Barwatt’s teammate, Angela DeRose, won the consolation match. The junior defeated Natalie Rascati of Thomas Jefferson, 6-0, 6-4. She lost Katie McLuaghlin of Indiana, 10-2, in the first round of the WPIAL tournament.
Other local players competing at the AA level included: Maria Constentino and Lorin Canevey from Bishop Canevin and Kira Furlong and Vivi Besterman from Keystone Oaks. Constentino advanced to the quarterfinals while the others were all eliminated in the second round of competition.