The Fox Chapel Area boys tennis team has had a great deal of success in recent years, as evidenced by the five WPIAL championships that the team has won since 2016. So, it only stands to reason that there are high expectations once again this season for Alex Slezak’s team.
The season has started off pretty well, splitting its first two matches against Baldwin and a mighty North Allegheny team.
“Things are shaping up pretty well,” said Coach Slezak, who is embarking on his 14th year at the helm of the tennis program. We’re still juggling some things in the lineup, but we know things will work out. We’re using the whole season to figure out what’s best for the team. Then, we get ready for the playoffs.”
The Foxes had another fine season in 2023, amassing a 12-2 record, 6-0 in Class 3A Section 3, and advancing to the WPIAL semifinals.
Several players are returning from that squad, which graduated only two seniors.
Senior Will Siegel figures to slot in as the No. 1 singles player, coming to the team fresh off a season with the Foxes basketball team, which advanced to the PIAA playoffs. Siegel was a runner-up in the individual section competition in 2023 and advanced to the WPIAL quarterfinals.
“He’s an athlete,” Slezak said of Siegel. “That’s all you can say. He hasn’t picked up a tennis racket since last year, but he still is the best player we have. He’s a great competitor. He’s not like other tennis kids with every shot in the book. He just uses his athleticism and his competitiveness to wear other kids down and get them to make mistakes. That’s why he’s been successful.”
Senior Travis Malone is the No. 2 singles player, and senior Ben Hallman will occupy the No. 3 slot.The top doubles pairs are juniors Ezra Shensa and Mason Friday, and juniors Charlie Larsen and Murugan Ayyanar. Larsen and Ayyanar are in their first year as members of the team.
Mason Friday and his brother, Cooper, finished fourth in the WPIAL in doubles in 2023, while Malone and Jack Delaney were WPIAL quarterfinalists.
Fox Chapel Area had never won a WPIAL championship before its recent string of success, which has served as a motivational tool for the team each and every year since.
“We finally got the kids to believe that they could do it, then they did it, and all of a sudden, that changes the dynamic of the program,” Slezak said. “Now, all of the other kids that come after them believe that they can do it. That’s where we’re at right now.”
North Allegheny figures to be the team to beat in WPIAL Class 3A, and defending champion Gateway and section mate Shady Side Academy are expected to pose stiff challenges.
“The key to success is every day we have to work to get a little bit better,” Slezak said. “We just have to improve every day, and wherever we’re meant to be is where we’ll end up. We try to get as much as we can out of everybody every day. if we do that, the winning will take care of itself. If we win, it’s great, but if I teach these kids lessons and use tennis as the vehicle to do it, we’re having a winning season even if we don’t win the WPIAL championship.”