Knoch girls repeat WPIAL tennis title
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Twice is nice.
Knoch successfully defended its WPIAL Class 2A girls tennis championship on Wednesday, edging Sewickley Academy, 3-2, at Washington & Jefferson College’s Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center.
The Knights were the No. 1 seed in the tournament while Sewickley Academy was No. 2. Knoch defeated Sewickley Academy in the WPIAL and state finals last year.
“These two teams have played championship matches against each other for a few years now,” first-year Knoch coach Cherry Bharati said. “It’s become an established, healthy rivalry. There’s a lot of respect between the teams.”
Bharati would know. She served as an assistant coach under Whitney Snyder at Sewickley Academy for the past three seasons. Snyder is also tennis director at Butler Country Club.
She replaced Nance Conlon — who stepped down after last year — as Knoch coach.
“I knew I was taking over a talented, experienced team,” Bharati admitted. “I felt a little pressure to help keep that success going. All of these girls know each other and it was a lot of fun.”
Emily Greb and Lindsey Greb won at No’s 1 and 2 singles, respectively, for Knoch, giving the Knights a 2-1 lead in the match. The doubles matches were going on simultaneously.
Knoch’s No. 1 doubles unit of Mackenzie Gumto and Lara Ejzak won in three sets to clinch the WPIAL crown for their team.
“There was some pressure there because we didn’t know how the overall match would turn out at the time,” Gumto, a senior, said. “Before that third set started, we were a little tired.
“During the change-over, we re-set ourselves a little bit, got in the right mind-set. We (Gumto and Ejzak) lost in the WPIAL and state (team) finals last year, so it felt good to come back and get this one.”
Gumto and Ejzak have been on the same doubles team for four years. They played No. 2 doubles the past three seasons before bumping up to No. 1 doubles this year.
“That definitely helped us,” Gumto said. “Lara knows me well, knows how to keep me positive and upbeat. We have the team chemistry on the court as well.
“Our whole team gets along so well. We’’re all good friends. Winning the championships these past couple of years have been very uplifting.”
Sewickley Academy did not lose an individual match in the WPIAL team tournament prior to facing Knoch. The Panthers defeated McGuffey, Quaker Valley and North Catholic by 5-0 scores in the first three rounds.
Knoch defeated Winchester Thurston, 4-1, and edged Hampton, 3-2, to reach the final.
“I have a good relationship with all of the girls,” Bharati said of Knoch. “I’ve known the Greb sisters since they were little. This is a great group of kids.”
“It was a little different getting a new coach this year,” Gumto said. “She brought a different dynamic, a new style. I’ve been happy with both of the coaches we’ve played for.”
No. 5 seed Hampton defeated No. 3 seed North Catholic, 4-1, in the third-place consolation match at North Allegheny.
The state tournament gets under way Tuesday.
Knoch 3, Sewickley Academy 2
Singles: Emily Greb (K) def. Rayna Thakkar, 6-1, 6-2; Lindsey Greb (K) def. Gwyneth Belt, 6-1, 6-0; Maria Sirianni (SA) def. Jade Nether, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
Doubles: Mackenzie Gumto/Lara Ejzak (K) def. Anjali Shah/Abby Bojalad, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3; Annabelle Christ/Rani Shah (SA) def. Olivia Offstein/Katie Barlow, 6-0, 6-1
