The Fox Chapel Area boys tennis team is rich in recent success, winning five WPIAL championships since 2016.
This year’s squad just might be another that could attain such lofty heights. Alex Slezak’s starting lineup has six seniors and a freshman whose older brother just happened to be a section singles champion in 2024.
Those seniors were members of a 2024 team that posted an impressive 12-2 record, won each of its six matches in WPIAL Class 3A Section 3 to win the section title, and advanced to the WPIAL semifinals before losing to North Allegheny, which went on to win the WPIAL championship.
“We’re looking to build on the success we had last year,” coach Slezak said. “We’re trying to get better every day and reach our peak at the end of the season.”
Leading the way as singles players are seniors Mason Friday and Ezra Shensa, who finished as the section runner up in doubles last season. Freshman Frank Siegel is manning the other singles spot. His older brother Will captured first place in the section singles tournament in 2024.
Doubles players are seniors Charlie Larsen, Henry Stallings, Caden Goodworth, and Parker Haberman. Charlie placed fourth in the 2024 section singles tournament.
“The strength of the team is the experience they have,” coach Slezak said. “As senior boys, they’re physically pretty big kids, so that helps out.”
Plus, the recent success of past teams can prove to be quite integral as each team moves forward.
“The kids have an expectation of what has been done in the past,” coach Slezak said. “That’s how sports dynasties are born. The people before you set the bar, and your job is to either raise the bar or live up to the bar that’s there. When you have expectations, you have a tendency to live up to those expectations.”
The Foxes had a mixed bag of results in their first two matches, blanking Peters Township 5-0, while dropping a 3-2 decision to North Allegheny.
Coach Slezak feels this toughest competition for the Foxes will come from the usual suspects such as North Allegheny, Mt. Lebanon, Gateway, and Shady Side Academy.
The coach does, indeed, feel this is another team that could taste the success that Fox Chapel Area tennis teams have had in the past.
“The kids need to keep putting the team above themselves and just keep working to get better every day,” he said. “It seems to be that kind of group. They’re all friends. They’ve gone through this for many years. They’ve been through the process, and it’s a matter of keeping it going. It’s good that we have a lot of older kids. The leadership is there, and they understand. It’s their last year, and they want to make it the best they possibly can.”
