Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015, 11:57 p.m
After his team dropped three championship match points to North Allegheny during last year’s PIAA Class AAA doubles finals, Fox Chapel girls tennis coach Alex Slezak identified exactly where the Foxes fell short.
“My focus this year is to teach all the players how to manage the momentum of the match, and when the opportunity comes, close them out,” said Slezak, who is in his seventh season as coach. “From (the PIAA tournament loss) on, that’s where I wanted to focus.”
The title match that got away from Laurel Shymansky and Amanda Nord has served as motivation for the two standouts this offseason. Slezak said the girls are coming into this season with an edge and are eager to get to work when WPIAL girls tennis season opens Monday.
“Wins go to your heart for confidence, and losses go to your head for learning,” Slezak said. “It’s a tough lesson that they’ll never forget. Pain is a great teacher sometimes.”
Nord had plenty of time to think about the stinging PIAA loss during the offseason. The sophomore, who plays tennis year-round, had surgery on a nagging right shoulder injury.
“She’s a solid baseline player, and she had an injury last season and spent the last months rehabbing,” Slezak said about Nord. “She’s at the point now where she can test that out a little bit.”