Mt. Lebanon duo repeats as WPIAL doubles champions
Michelle Yang described winning the WPIAL Class 3A doubles tournament for the second straight season as “mind blowing” while her partner, Jackie Tang claimed it was “really crazy” to accomplish the feat on Oct. 2 at North Allegheny High School.
But what is really insane is that the Mount Lebanon duo, who have been friends since finding out they shared the same birthday years ago, have balanced success on the tennis courts while excelling academically and aspiring to do bigger and greater things beyond athletics.
Neither plans to play tennis at the collegiate level because they are focused on careers that require equal amounts of dedication. Tang plans to major in biology while Yang wants to major in neuroscience. Both are plotting a pre-med track.
“We’re pretty busy in school and everything,” Tang explained. “For me, it’s really hard to come out and play tennis and practice and improve.
“I was a bit apprehensive about (this year) because I know everyone else in the WPIAL was working really hard on their tennis and honestly it was really crazy that I could keep up my level even though I had all these other things going on in school.”
Noting that she and Tang had “rough” freshman and sophomore years on the court, Yang said it was challenging to do so well in the final two seasons of their high school careers. In addition to studies and practices, they are occupied with the college application process and composing essays for admissions.
“Tennis is such a time commitment and it would especially be at the college level when I’d want to do clinical things and volunteering,” she said. Yang added she was “proud” that the duo was able to keep their “heads down” and focused on the task at hand in the championship match.
After winning their opening matches against Franklin Regional’s Michelle Yang and Sofia Palombo, 10-1, as well as Fox Chapel’s Zoey Liu and Clara Drank, 10-3, and sweeping Bethel Park’s Mackenzie Smock and Hadley Murello, 6-2, 6-1, in the semifinals, Tang and Yang defeated Brooke Henderson and Alexandra Merkel, a pair of sophomores from Shady Side Academy, 7-6 (2), 6-2, in the finals.
Tang and Yang had beaten Henderson and Merkel in last year’s championship match, 6-4, 6-0.
“I think we were both pretty tight,” Yang said. “Not because we were nervous but because it’s different coming back as defending champions and people saying ‘oh, you should win’ because we played them in the final last year. So there’s even more pressure on top of that.”
The Blue Devils were tentative in the first set. Shady Side broke their service and took a 1-0 lead. The set eventually reached a tiebreaker after each had won six games.
Tang and Yang dominated from there, winning the tiebreaker, 7-2, then taking the second set, 6-2, by winning three straight games.
“We weren’t holding serve as often as we wanted to but we just got the point started and brought our way back. We ended up going back to making it a neutral point and then becoming the aggressors,” Tang said.
“We used what worked in the first set in the second set,” Yang added. “We knew what was working by that time. Winning the tiebreaker gave us the momentum and I am sure was a letdown there for them.”
Tang credited the friendship she shares with Yang as the secret to the duo’s success on the court. She noted they have been friends since both were six years old.
“She is my best friend outside of tennis,” Tang emphasized. “So it’s really great to have someone that you are so close to have this opportunity to play with them and share success. We really love spending time together.
“Our friendship really helps our doubles. There are actually doubles that play together but don’t work well together. Michelle and I really have that connection. Even if we are struggling on the court, we can motivate each other during the match.”
By virtue of their championship, Tang and Yang qualified for the PIAA tournament to be held Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at the Hershey Racquet Club. Joining the Blue Devil duo will be Smock and Murello. The BP duo outlasted Upper St. Clair’s pairing of Catalina Ramirez and Leila Hamade in the consolation match for third place and the final state berth, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-1.