May 1, 2025 4 min read

Ari Plutko returns a shot during WPIAL Class 3A consolation action. The Upper St. Clair senior combined with Shawn Khurana to finish fourth in the tournament.

Jonah Jasek and Steven Duing claimed WPIAL gold medals in comeback fashion during the Class 2A doubles tournament played April 22-23 at Bethel Park High School.

The South Park juniors rallied after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker and defeated the tandem of Landon Harclerode and Tyler Quinn from Valley in the finals, 6-7 (7-4), 6-2, 6-4. In the third set, they trailed, 3-2, before winning four of the last five games.

“It was a tough match, but we kept each other positive,” said Duing. “After the tiebreaker we wanted to be more aggressive and start playing more to win.”

Jasek added that the pair “played hesitant in the first set” before recovering for the victory, which South Park head coach Dawn Kempton dubbed “hard-fought.”

Kempton reminded Duing and Jasek to relax and return to what has worked for them in the past.

I told them to go have some fun, enjoy it and then let them do their thing,” she said. “They knew they needed to be more aggressive and go to the net more. They have played together for 5-6 years and they feed off each other.”

Duing and Jasek entered the tournament as the No. 1 seeds. They made it to the championship match by beating Quaker Valley’s Will Meagher and Matthew Henry, 6-2, 6-1, in the semifinals. They opened tournament action with pro set wins against the tandems of Silas Morris and Tommy Shrum from Greensburg Salem (10-2) as well as Zack Masters and Sean Perez from Beaver (10-0).

Duing and Jasek were bronze medalists in 2023. Prior to that, South Park won its only other doubles title in 2021.

“Winning the WPIAL title, is rare. It’s special,” said Kempton, whose daughter, Nicole was a WPIAL girls singles champion in 2022.

In 2025, however, it’s been routine for the Eagles. South Park has won WPIAL championships in football and boys soccer. Additionally, Anna Duncan captured a district crown in wrestling at 124.

With their WPIAL title, Duing and Jasek qualified for the PIAA doubles tournament to be held May 23-24 at the Hershey Racquet Club.

USC duo fourth

In Class 3A doubles tournament action, Upper St. Clair seniors Ari Plutko and Shawn Khurana combined to finish fourth. They dropped their consolation match against Fox Chapel’s Mason Friday and Frank Siegel, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

In the semifinals, Plutko and Khurana stumbled against Gateway’s Zidaan Hassan and Logan Memije. After winning the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5), they faltered in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.

Hassan and Memije went on to capture their second straight doubles title together by sweeping Mt. Lebanon’s Luca Ritivoi and Mark Summers. (See related article.)

Seeded No. 4, Plutko and Khurana reached the semifinals by beating North Allegheny’s Adhav Ramadas and Nick Scheuring, 10-3, and Shaler’s Liam Creagh and Roman Vizzoca, 10-2, in the opening rounds of the tournament.

Plutko, who teamed with Ronan Gibbons for runner-up honors against Hassan and Memije in 2024, was the Section 4 doubles runner-up with Khurana. The pair lost to Ritivoie and Summers, 7-5, 6-4, in the finals.

Plutko was the Section 4 singles champion. He defeated Khurana, 6-3, 6-4, for the title. Ritivoi bested Devin Collier from Bethel Park, 6-3, 6-2, for third place.

All four qualified for the WPIAL singles tournament, which was won by Gateway’s Adam Memije. Plutko, Ritivoi and Khurana won first-round matches but were eliminated from further play in the quarterfinals.

Plutko and Khurana helped the Panthers reach the semifinals in the WPIAL Class 3A team tournament.

USC, seeded No. 4, dispatched Kiski Area, 5-0, in the opening round of action. The Panthers edged Fox Chapel, 3-2, in the quarterfinals.

USC will battle top-seeded North Allegheny in the semifinals set for May 5 at a site and time to be determined.

The Panthers (6-1) were runners-up to Mt. Lebanon (7-0) in the Section 4 standings.

In other first-round team competition, Peters Township dropped a 3-2 decision to Franklin Regional. The Indians, who finished third in the section behind Lebo and USC, finished the season at 10-6 overall. They were seeded No. 9 in the team tournament.

The WPIAL team championships are scheduled for May 7 at the Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center on the Washington & Jefferson College campus.