Mt. Lebanon duo doubles up for WPIAL runner-up honors
Luca Ritivoi and Mark Summers took a little break from the singles scene recently. Mt. Lebanon’s No. 1 and No. 2 tennis players joined forces a few weeks ago and immediately embraced success.
After claiming the Section 4 championship, the duo finished runner-up in the WPIAL during the Class 3A doubles tournament.
“We’re normally singles players,” explained Summers, “but the combination though worked out well for us. Definitely,” he added.
For Ritivoi, it was a refreshing change of pace. He is one of the top-ranked singles players in the region and has focused on tournaments and “competitive practices” to improve that aspect of his game for the past few years.
“(Playing) doubles is fun. Exciting,” he said. “It’s more fast-paced and more action-packed.”
Ritivoi and Summers certainly breezed through the competition.
They opened WPIAL championship play with pro set wins against Greater Latrobe’s Blaise Bukovac and Eli McKeever, 10-1, and North Allegheny’s Ronit Ginde and Shivum Telang, 10-7.
Ritivoi and Summers outlasted the Fox Chapel duo of Mason Friday and Frank Siegel in the semifinals. After dropping the first set, the Lebo tandem won straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.
They ran into a roadblock in the championship played April 23 at Bethel Park High School when they faced seasoned veterans Zidaan Hassan and Logan Memije.
The Gateway duo claimed their second straight doubles title, winning in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, against Ritivoi and Summers. It was the third doubles title for Hassan, who combined with Memjie’s older brother, Adam, for the win in 2023.
“They were pretty overpowering and a lot more consistent than us,” Ritivoi said.
“It was a good match and well-played by them,” Summers added.
Summers said that teamwork enabled the Blue Devils to advance through the section and district tournaments as well as earn them a spot in the PIAA doubles championships to be held May 23-24 at the Hershey Racquet Club.
“We’ve played well together,” he said. “We know each other well and in our games. Mine and Luca’s games suit each other really well.”
The duo said they will regroup. They hope to challenge for a state title.
“We are going to practice on what we didn’t do well,” Summers said. “We didn’t serve as well as we had to in order to win WPIALs and we have to volley a lot better. Keep practicing and getting better is how we get ready for states.”
Rivitoi added, “I think we just need to work on finishing points that we should have, and I think it will be good from there. We had our chances, but (a WPIAL title) wasn’t meant to be.”
A WPIAL team title might be as the Blue Devils are seeded No. 3 in the Class 3A tournament after winning a section title. North Allegheny and Gateway are seeded first and second respectively.
First-round action began April 28 with Lebo defeating South Fayette, 4-1. The Blue Devils edged Sewickley Academy, 3-2, in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal showdown against Gateway on May 5 at a site and time to be determined.
The Class 3A final is set for May 7 at the Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center on the Washington and Jefferson College campus.
As a team, Rivitoi said the Blue Devils are doing well and if the team plays “smart” then they could have a chance to win the team championship. Singles will determine the winner because the top three teams all have “strong” players in those slots.
“A lot depends on our singles to win,” he said.
Summers, however, will not rely on his singles nor his tennis game to advance his career beyond high school. A senior, he will attend Mercer University in Georgia and major in biology and chemistry. It’s a pre-med tract as he said he plans to become a doctor.