Upper St. Clair freshman runner-up in WPIAL tennis
Marlo Schiffman returns a shot during WPIAL AAA singles championship action at Moon High School. The Upper St. Clair freshman finished runner-up to Maria Santilli. She lost a two-set match, 6-3, 6-2, to the Norwin junior.
Marlo Schiffman shows off the silver medal she captured for finishing runner-up in the WPIAL AAA singles championships.
Marlo Schiffman makes contact on a shot during WPIAL AAA singles championship action.
At age 2, Marlo Schiffman knew exactly what she wanted to do. The Upper St. Clair freshman wanted to play tennis. Her mother, however, had other ideas.
“She made me wait until I was 5 so I wouldn’t want to quit too early,” Schiffman said. “Because when you are little, you want to give up stuff pretty easily,” she added.
Almost 10 years later, Schiffman isn’t giving up tennis any time soon. She not only possesses a passion for the sport, Schiffman has a knack for winning.
The 14-year-old, most recently, secured a silver medal during the WPIAL Class AAA singles championships. With her second-place showing, Schiffman is qualified for the PIAA tournament set for Nov. 4-5 in Hershey.
Schiffman says that she is trying not to think too far ahead to the state championships.
“I hope to do my best and take it one point at a time,” she said. “I don’t want to get too caught up in the moment. Just take it slowly,” she added.
Yet, as a youth, Schiffman has always been in a hurry to excel. She wanted to start playing tennis because her brother competed. Sam Schiffman played for USC. His Panthers competed in the PIAA team championships and he helped comprise the squad’s No. 1 doubles team.
“My brother,” Schiffman said. “He is definitely an amazing player.”
Schiffman, herself, is well on her way to being an equally astonishing competitor. Though she lost the WPIAL title to Maria Santilli, 6-3, 6-2, Schiffman kept the Norwin junior on her toes throughout the championship match.
According to USC coach Rene Villani, Schiffman’s aggressive play is her biggest asset. Closing in and attacking the short ball are her major strengths.
“She good at setting it up,” Villani said. “The better players usually want to stay back and rally but she looks for that short ball and attacks the net. Not every player does that. So Marlo is only going to get better at that.”
Schiffman says she plans too. She hopes her appearance in the WPIAL singles’ finals is the first of four. Plus, she anticipates maintaining her winning formula.
Against Santilli, Schiffman said that she was able to “come in and attack more” and she made sure to stay on top of the high balls.
“I really try and attack because the high balls you don’t want to rally too much because you can make some errors. I did a really good job of closing in and made my opportunities count,” she said.
The PIAA tournament is a great opportunity for Schiffman to see the attractions and to compete. She hopes to get to Hershey Park as she said she has never been there before. And, she hopes to be competitive on the courts.
Her objectives in that regard are simple. Schiffman said, “my goals are to get one point at a time and get past one round at a time.”
Schiffman will not be alone in her attempts at Hershey. In addition to Santilli, Bethany Yauch from Baldwin defeated Isabela Paixao of Montour, 6-3 6-2, in the consolation match and earned the final berth in the PIAA tournament. Schiffman, who upset North Allegheny’s Ashley Huang, 11-9, in the quarterfinals, defeated Yauch, 6-0, 6-2, in the semifinals.
“I’m so excited for Bethany,” Schiffman said of her fellow freshman. “She’s one of my best friends.”
And, her best role model, her brother, should also be making the journey to Hershey.
“He’s my inspiration,” Schiffman said. “I look up to him a lot.”
Komer wins section
Anna Komer outlasted Marlo Schiffman, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) and captured the Section 4 singles title. The Peters Township senior advanced to WPIAL tournament. Seeded eighth, she won her first round match against Devin Gramley of Shady Side Academy, 10-4, but succumbed to eventual champion, Maria Santilli, 10-0, in the quarterfinals of the competition.
To win the section title, Komer defeated Chartiers Valley’s Bailey Edeburn, 10-6, and Upper St. Clair’s Averrey Jencka, 10-8, in the opening rounds of competition. Komer eliminated Montour’s Isabela Paixao, 6-1, 6-3, in the semifinals.
To reach the finals against Komer, Schiffman bested Canon-McMillan’s Mia Graziani, 10-1, and PT’s Alex Garcia, 10-6, in the opening rounds. The USC freshman then dispatched Ringgold’s Oliva Warner, 6-2, 6-0, in the semifinals.
Other local ladies to participate in the sectional included: Skylar Morgan and Morgan Happe from Mt. Lebanon; Katie Cider from Canon-Mac and Kara Joseph from Chartiers Valley.