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Bethel Park duo wins WPIAL doubles title

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 4 min read
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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Cami Fisher and Lily Sierka became the first doubles team from Bethel Park High School to win a WPIAL title when they defeated Elana Sobol and Rachel Nath from Shady Side Academy, 7-6 (3), 6-2, in the Class AAA match played Oct. 5 at North Allegheny.

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Cami Fisher returns a shot at the net during WPIAL Class AAA doubles championship action. The freshman combined with senior Lily Sierka to become the first tandem from Bethel Park to win a district doubles crown with their victory over Elana Sobol and Rachel Nath from Shady Side Academy in the finals played at North Alleghen.

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Lily Sierka returns a shot during the WPIAL Class AAA doubles championship match. The Bethel Park senior combined with Cami Fisher, a freshman, for a victory, 7-6 (3), 6-2, against Elana Sobol and Rachel Nath from Shady Side Academy to capture the gold medal.

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Lily Sierka and Cami Fisher celebrate after winning the WPIAL Class AAA doubles championship.

Lily Sierka and Cami Fisher became the first doubles tennis team in Bethel Park High School history to capture a WPIAL championship when they paired up to beat Elana Sobol and Rachel Nath from Shady Side Academy in the Class AAA final played Oct. 5 on the North Allegheny High School courts.

“It’s awesome,” said Sierka after they placed a gold medal around her neck.

“Cool,” added Fisher.

Though they were thrown together as a team two weeks ago, the duo was designed for success. They train together with Tom Gorman at Glenn Creek Tennis Club. Gorman’s daughter, Mia, was a two-time WPIAL singles champion before taking her game to Southern Illinois.

“We trained with her before she went to college,” Sierka noted.

“We also have know each other like forever. We grew up playing tennis together so we are pretty close.”

Despite their class difference, Sierka is a senior and Cami is a freshman, the tandem compliment each other.

“We worked really well together because we have similar games,” Fisher said.

BP head coach Doug Addington agreed.

“They are very good friends and communicate well,” he said. “They get along well and play well together. They can pretty much do everything. Play the volley game or the net game,” he added.

In the championship match, Sierka served well and kept rallies going with strong ground strokes while Fisher’s left-handed service kept the Shady Side tandem off balanced.

“I felt like I had a lot of strong backhand returns,” Sierka said.

“My serve was definitely an advantage, especially on the Ad-side with the slice out wide,” Fisher explained. “That was a big program for them.”

Fisher’s net attack also stymied Sobol and Nath.

“The net is my forte,” Fisher said.

Keeping an upbeat attitude also provided the BP pair an edge. For the first set, they played virtually even with Sobol and Nath, battling back to force deadlocks at 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 before sweeping to victory in the tiebreaker. Sierka and Fisher reeled off the first four points and polished off the set with a 7-3 win.

Sierka and Fisher both felt the turning point in the match was the tiebreaker. They went on to easily win the second set, 6-2.

“No matter what happened we just kept a positive attitude,” Sierka said. “We stayed consistent and positive.”

“The second we would doubt ourself, the other one would say something like ‘you got this. You’re good.’ It wasn’t just playing well, it was also staying positive.”

After winning the section title, Sierka and Fisher entered the WPIAL tournament seeded No. 2. That gave them an advantage over their opponents from SSA, who were top-seeded.

“I felt that we were the underdogs. I was nervous,” said Cami. “But I felt like there wasn’t as much pressure on us because we weren’t supposed to win.”

Sierka and Fisher breezed through the tournament.

They opened action with pro set wins, 10-2, against the Baldwin duo of Gabrielle Moder and Olivia Garofalo and the Moon pairing of Ria Khazanchi and Kiera Wise. Fisher and Sierka reached the finals by sweeping Abby Santora and Mollie Schlicter from Oakland Catholic in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.

“Lily and Cami outclassed their first two opponents,” said Addington. “They were not challenged until the finals. They are experienced players and who they faced didn’t show them anything they hadn’t already seen.”

With their victory, Sierka and Fisher advanced to the PIAA doubles tournament to be played in November at the Hershey Racket Club. Sierka and Fisher enthusiastically look forward to that competition.

“Next is states,” said Sierka.

“Win states is the goal,” said Fisher.

BP’s other tandem of Katie Peterson and Emma Smith dropped out of the tournament after losing to Ellen Liu and Michelle Yan of Franklin Regional, 10-8. Petersona nd Smith won their first-round match, 10-6, against Sienna Siegel and Anna Kintner of Fox Chapel.

Mt. Lebanon had two doubles teams in the competition.

Sophia Cunningham and Sluvie Eriksen, who combined for the WPIAL title last fall, succumbed to Sobol and Nath, 10-6, in the quarterfinals. The pair had beaten Siya Jain and Rebecca Murphy from North Allegheny, 10-3, in the opening round.

Jackie Tang and Ellie Tatel beat NA’s Peyton Mauser and Tia Soussou, 10-7, in the first round but lost to Santora and Schlicter, 11-9, in the quarterfinals.

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