Apr 28, 2017 By Eleanor Bailey 3 min read

When Peters Township blanked Upper St. Clair, 5-0, in the semifinals of the WPIAL Class AAA team tournament, the Indians cleared a hurdle in boys’ tennis. So, whatever happened in the championship match against defending champion, Fox Chapel, would be gravy.

“For these seniors, they have been so close,” PT coach Brandt Bowman said. “This was their last chance and they showed great leadership.”

Though the Indians have been perennial playoff participants, they had not played for a championship since 1994 and they had not advanced to the semifinals since being toppled by Mt. Lebanon in 2007. That season, Peters was the No. 1 seed.

The Indians won a team title in 1976. After falling to Fox Chapel, 4-1, on April 27 at North Allegheny, it remains their lone championship.

“We knew it would be close,” Bowman said. “It was a tough match.”

Tougher than the teams’ last encounter, indeed. On the final day of the regular season, the Indians defeated Fox Chapel, 4-1. With their top two players back in the lineup, the Foxes reversed that decision, winning, 4-1, to capture their second straight WPIAL championship.

“The last time we played, they did not have their top two players and that made a difference,” Bowman said. “But there were a lot of matches decided by a few points.”

Senior Ryan Farrell won the lone match for the Indians. He defeated Milon Baron, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5, at No. 2 singles.

Robby Shmansky defeated Connor Bruce, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 1 singles. The two are expected to meet in the finals of the WPIAL singles tournament to be held May 5-6.

Shmansky. like Baron, did not play in the exhibition against Peters Township. The sophomore was the PIAA runner-up last spring. Bruce is a freshman and ranked fourth in his class in the state.

“Connor should be the No. 2 seed (in the singles tournament),” Bowman said. “He has a good shot to get to the finals and our No. 2 and No. 3 singles guys should make up a good doubles team. They finished fourth last year.”

Miguel Ascencio lost to Neil Bencherif, 6-3, 0-6, 6-2, at No. 3 singles in the team championship match.

The Foxes swept the doubles. Jared Nord and Kurran Singh combined to beat Nathan Wang and Ethan Farmer, 7-5, 6-3, at No. 1 doubles. Karsten Lagerquist and Jay Kashyap defeated Anthony Castellone and Joe Grzyb, 6-2, 6-3.

“Connor and Ethan are our two freshman in the line-up and our seniors have been good teammates, leading the way for those guys,” Bowman said.

After the WPIAL singles and doubles tournaments, which will be held May 11-12, the Indians embark on PIAA team tournament play May 16. They will travel to Erie for the first round of the state playoffs. The PIAA championships are set for May 20 at the Hershey Racquet Club.

“We are looking forward to the state tournament. It’s going to be a tough draw. Erie always have a strong team and states always goes through Lower Merion. We’ll get ready and rest up. Hopefully we’ll see Fox Chapel again but that wouldn’t be until the state final if we do.”

Should the teams meet again, Bowman says the secret to reversing the WPIAL outcome is simple.

“It will come down to who handles the pressure and plays well,” he said.