Kevin Lohman | Thursday, April 27, 2017, TRIB-LIVE
It took five long, competitive matches but at the conclusion of the WPIAL Class AAA boys team tennis finals, it was Fox Chapel that successfully defended its title by upending top-seeded Peters Township, 4-1, at North Allegheny High School.
The victory marks the second WPIAL crown in as many seasons for the Foxes, who received wins from two singles players and both of its doubles groupings. Not a single match in Class AAA lasted less then an hour.
“It was a great amount of fun. These are good kids, they’re young and they really tried hard from square one this season,” FC coach Dave Prevost said. “We had our ups and downs, but every team does. When it mattered most today, they came to play.”
The pivotal match was expected to be a clash between each program’s top singles player. Fox Chapel’s Robby Shymansky and Peters Township’s Connor Bruce went at it with total effort for the full duration of their match, rallying back and forth until Shymansky earned a 6-4, 6-2 win.
“We came into this year still hungry. We really wanted to get it again, and we want to keep winning it every year. It’s the biggest goal of the season for us,” Shymansky said.
“(Bruce) is a great player. I didn’t play great all the time today, but it feels good to come out with the win.”
Along with Shymansky, Foxes senior Neil Benchereif won his singles match, 6-3, 0-6, 6-2, against Miguel Ascencio. The back-to-back WPIAL champs swept doubles competition, with Jared Nord and Kurran Singh winning 7-5, 6-3, and the pairing of Jay Kashyap and Karsten Langerquist taking a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Peters Township received its match win from Ryan Farrell, who topped Milo Baron, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5.
While they did fall short in the WPIAL finals, Peters Township coach Brandt Bowman said the Indians still have some competing to do in the upcoming PIAA team tournament.
“We knew playing Fox Chapel, it was going to be super close. It was close. Whether the final says 5-0 or 3-2, it doesn’t reflect how close it really was today,” Bowman said. “It’s been a great season, and we still have states. It’s not over yet.”