close

Upper St. Clair senior finishes runner-up in WPIAL singles

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 4 min read
1 / 2

Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Maggie Stief of Upper St. Clair returns a forehand during WPIAL Class AAA singles championship action. The senior finished runner-up, falling in the finals in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, to Amelia Williams from Penn-Trafford.

2 / 2

Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Maggie Stief of Upper St. Clair reaches for a backhand during WPIAL Class AAA singles championship action. The senior finished runner-up, falling in the finals in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, to Amelia Williams from Penn-Trafford.

For four years, Maggie Stief has dominated the tennis scene at Upper St. Clair High School. She has been the Lady Panthers’ No. 1 singles player since her freshman year.

Last fall, she took third in the WPIAL and qualified for the PIAA tournament.

On Sept. 22, she improved a spot in the district and gained another berth in the state singles event to be played Nov. 4-5 at the Hershey Racquet Club.

“I’m happy I made it again,” Stief said. “I worked hard to get here.”

Renee Villani agreed. The USC head coach said that she was “very proud” of Stief.

“Just to watch her from being a freshman No. 1 all the way to senior,” Villani said. “There is a lot of pressure for an athlete to stay No. 1 on a team. She has shown a lot of good maturity through the years and she has played phenomenal tennis her senior year.”

Stief just picked the wrong time to let the elements dictate her plans for a WPIAL title.

After breezing into the finals with three straight wins under ideal conditions Sept. 21 at North Allegheny, Stief battled the winds of change. The next day, she succumbed in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, to Amelia Williams of Penn-Trafford at Bethel Park.

Williams is the the fifth freshman to capture gold in WPIAL singles competition, joining Knoch’s Laura Greb (2017), Greater Latrobe’s Michaela Kissell (2003), Peters Township’s Sarah Riske (1995), and Mt. Lebanon’s Gretchen Rush (1978). She is also the third-ranked ninth grader in the state.

Stief acknowledged her opponent and her performance.

“She outplayed me and she knew how to deal with the wind better than I did,” Stief said. “Conditions were more ideal (in the opening rounds). I think they contributed a lot to the outcome (in the finals). It made it hard to play and move the ball around.”

Both players faced their share of the wind, said Villani, but the conditions did not seem to bother Williams.

Williams opened the first set winning the first four games as Stief’s serves faltered and many of her shots sail out of bounds. Stief came close to breaking Williams in the fifth game. Ahead, 40-30, she hit a shot long to force deuce. Williams then aced her next serve. She won the game when Stief’s shot failed to clear the net.

Williams swept past Stief in the second set. She rolled to victory in six straight games.

Because the WPIAL qualifies the top three singles finishers in Class AAA, Williams and Stief could face each other again in the state tournament. That gives Stief time to make adjustments to her game.

“Maggie needs to stay in the point more. Go to the net,” said Villani. “Either you go to the net or mix it up more because you are not going to stay back and rally with Mia.”

Stief agreed with her coach’s assessment.

“I need to move my feet if I hope to do better. At states, I am going to try my best.”

Stief reached the championship match by defeating Sara Fernandez of North Allegheny, 6-4, 6-3, in the finals. She won pros sets against Ellie Kim from North Hills, 10-6, and Lily Sierka of Bethel Park, 10-3, in the opening rounds of play.

Fernandez dispatched Mt. Lebanon’s Sophia Cunningham, 11-10 (6), in the quarterfinals. Cunningham had beaten Baldwin’s Gabi Moder, 10-7, in the first round.

Evie Ellenberger was the only other local competitor in the singles event. The USC junior succumbed to Shady Side Academy’s Nichole Poltinnikov, 10-6, in the opening action.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today