North Catholic duo make climb to WPIAL tennis doubles title
Brody Golla and Alex Garvey knew they were better than the seventh seed they carried into the WPIAL Class 2A tennis doubles tournament.
They proved it in emphatic fashion this week.
North Catholic’s duo captured the district title by topping the top-seeded team from South Park, Tim Lakatos and Alex Duing, by scores of 7-6(3), 6-3 Wednesday at North Allegheny High School.
“The tournament had a very deep field and it was great to see Brody and Alex put it together,” said North coach Eric Solverson. “They didn’t lose a set the whole tournament.”
Golla and Garvey, a senior and junior, respectively, recently lost in the Section 3 title match to Valley’s Nicholas Bussard and Dario Wolfe (6-4, 6-1).
“We didn’t play our best and that’s why we were given a lower seed,” said Golla. “But we talked about making noise in WPIAL doubles at our first practice of the season.”
The tandem’s run to the title began Tuesday with a 10-0 shutout of Mt. Pleasant’s Mark Gallagher and Ryan Borkowski, followed by a 10-4 decision against Indiana’s Arturo Martin and Daniel Ray.
In the semifinals, they dispatched Thomas Jefferson’s Drew Dimidjian and Tony Sparta, 6-2, 6-3, to earn the shot against South Park’s duo.
Down 5-4 in the first set, Golla and Garvey rebounded to force a tiebreaker, which they won 7-3.
“Winning a set like that gives you a lot of confidence,” Solverson said. “There was a 20 m.p.h. wind and Brody and Alex handled the conditions well.”
Golla trains at Oxford Athletic Club while Garvey puts his work in at Pennsylvania Tennis Academy, both in Wexford.
“We play year-round and that’s why we work so well together,” Garvey said. “We have a lot of chemistry and winning this tournament was just a matter of both of us playing our hardest.”
The championship was made even sweeter after what happened last year, when Golla and Garvey won a section title and were seeded No. 2 at WPIALs, but were unable to compete due to a COVID outbreak at North Catholic High School.
Both players bring different strengths to the court.
“Brody is very quick and is a great player at the net,” said Solverson. “On most teams, he would be the No. 1 singles player, but has played in the shadow of Nicolas Scheller (a North senior who won a second straight WPIAL singles title two weeks ago).
“Alex is more of a power player with a big serve. They form a really good punch and counter-punch on the court.”
Golla and Garvey will get to see where their game stacks up against other top doubles teams from around the state when the PIAA tournament begins May 27 in Hershey.
“There’s a lot of really good teams out there,” Golla said, “but going in as WPIAL winners gives us confidence, a boost of energy.”
Said Garvey: “Brody is a great player and I’m glad to be his partner.”
