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File Photo Courtesy of Nancy Kosovec

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FOX CHAPEL ELIMINATES TIGERS FROM PLAYOFFS WITH 4-1 VICTORY

The Tigers battled #2 seed Fox Chapel to the end, but the Foxes were able to hold on for a 4-1 victory at Fox Chapel on Wednesday afternoon in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals.  Junior Matt Smith was victorious at #1 singles for the NA point.  Junior Matt Kosovec and Sam Gill dropped hard-fought decisions at #2 and #3 singles to doom the Tigers' hopes for another WPIAL title.

The Tigers finished with a final record of 15-4 and a trip to the WPIAL quarterfinals.  Participating in their final match for the Tigers were seniors Xiao Zhu, Will Judkis, George Xie and, in the words of Coach Woffington, the "irreplaceable Tommy Blechman."

To celebrate the conclusion of another successful season, the Boys' Tennis Team will be sponsoring Tennis Intramurals.  Details were be announced later, but it all starts Monday!

WPIAL CLASS AAA TEAM TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

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LATROBE FALLS TO TIGERS, 5-0,
IN PLAYOFF OPENER

Photo Gallery

The Tigers disposed of Latrobe, 5-0, in the opening round of the WPIAL Class AAA Team Tennis Championships at the Senior High courts on Tuesday afternoon.  Juniors Matt Smith, Matt Kosovec, and Sam Gill were overpowering in the singles to pace NA to the victory.

In doubles play, the #1 team of junior Kyle Kalchthaler and freshman Bennett Salavatora and the #2 team of junior Nick Dulac and senior Xiao Zhu both swept the doubles matches to secure the shutout.

The Tigers will travel to Fox Chapel this afternoon to meet the #2 seed Foxes in the quarterfinals of the tournament.  Match time is scheduled for 3:00 pm

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SMITH, KOSOVEC GRAB BRONZE AT WPIAL DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Tiger team of juniors Matt Smith and Matt Kosovec brought home the bronze medal, symbolic of their third place finish at the WPIAL Doubles Championships at the Senior High courts on Friday afternoon.  The Tiger duo defeated Shivom Sinha and Nick Navarre of Upper St. Clair, 6-2 and 7-5, in the consolation final to claim third place.

The Tiger team will host Latrobe on Tuesday afternoon at the Senior High courts in the first round of the WPIAL Team Championships.  Match time is scheduled for 3:00 pm.

WPIAL CLASS AAA DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
Keystone Oaks High School
May 1, 2008

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TIGER DOUBLES TEAM FALLS IN SEMIFINALS

The junior duo of Matt Smith and Matt Kosovec were victorious against teams from Peters Township and Mt. Lebanon in the first two rounds before falling to the #1 seeded team from Shady Side Academy in the semifinals.  The Tiger team will meet Upper St. Clair this afternoon in the consolation final for third place.

In the first round, Smith and Kosovec downed Chris Nixon and Jesse Scheier of Peters Township, 10-4.  In the quarterfinals, the Tiger team downed Stevie D-Angelo and Vinny Palmieri of Mt. Lebanon, 10-3.  In the semifinals, it was top-seeded Chris Mengel and Josh Gerraccio of Shady Side Academy topping the Tigers, 7-5 and 6-1.

In the consolation final, Smith and Kosovec will face Shivom Sinha and Nick Navarre for third place.  The winner will not advance to the PIAA championships as only the top two teams qualify.  Action is scheduled to get under way at 2:30 pm this afternoon at the Senior High courts at NA.

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SEWICKLEY ACADEMY EDGES TIGERS, 3-2, IN
FINAL REGULAR SEASON MATCH

The Tigers doubles teams were victorious at Sewickley Academy on Wednesday afternoon, but the Panthers took the singles matches to defeat the Tigers, 3-2.  Juniors Matt Smith and Matt Kosovec tuned up for today's WPIAL doubles championships with a victory. #2 team of juniors Sam Gill and Nick Dulac also came through with a win against the Panthers.

In singles play, NA honored seniors Will Judkis, Xiao Zhu and Tommy Blechman who played their last matches for the Tigers.

WPIAL doubles play will be held at Keystone Oaks this afternoon.  The Tiger duo of Smith and Kosovec will meet Chris Nixon and Jesse Scheirer of Peters Township in the first round with action scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm.  In the team tennis tournament, NA will host Latrobe on Tuesday in the first round with match time set for 3:00 pm at the Senior High courts.

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TIGERS COMPLETE SECTION PLAY WITH 4-1 WIN OVER RIVAL NORTH HILLS

The Tigers finished section play with a decisive 4-1 victory over rival North Hills at the Senior High courts on Tuesday afternoon.  Wins by juniors Matt Kosovec and Kyle Kalchthaler in singles play set the stage for a doubles sweep.

In doubles play, the #1 team of junior Matt Smith and senior Will Judkis and the number two team of junior Nick Dulac and freshman Bennett Salvatora easilty downed the Indians to complete the victory.

With the win, NA completed section play with an 8-2 record and an overall mark of 14-2.  The Tigers will travel to Sewickley Academy this afternoon for a 4:45 pm non-section contest.  NA qualified for the WPIAL Team Tennis tournament that will begin next week.

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SMITH, KOSOVEC TAKE SECOND IN
SECTION DOUBLES

The number one doubles team of juniors Matt Smith and Matt Kosovec finished second in the Section 2 doubles tournament at the Senior High courts on Thursday afternoon.  Smith and Kosovec downed Matt Berus and Bryan Watt of Pine-Richland, 6-2, 5-7, and 6-2 in the semifinals to advance to the final.  In the championship match, the team of Matt Slamecka and Evan Kowalski of Butler was victorious over Smith and Kosovec.

The number two Tiger team of juniors Sam Gill and Nick Dulac lost in the semifinals to Slamecka and Kowalski, 6-2 and 6-2.  In the consolation match for third place, Berus and Watt of Pine-Richland edged Gill and Dulac.

Smith and Kosovec qualified for the WPIAL doubles championships that will be held next week. 

WPIAL SECTION 2 DOUBLES
North Allegheny Senior High Courts
April 24, 2008

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TIGERS DOMINATE SENECA VALLEY, 5-0

Coming off the big win against Pine-Richland, the Tigers easily defeated Seneca Valley, 5-0, at Seneca on Wednesday afternoon.  Wins in singles competition by junior Kyle Kalchthaler, freshman Bennett Salvatora and senior Xiao Zhu led the way for the winning Tigers.

In doubles play, straight set victories bythe number one team of juniors Matt Smith and Matt Kosovec and the number two team of juniors Sam Gill and Nick Dulac allowed the Tigers to beat both the Raiders and the rain.  With the win, NA improved their section record to 7-2, the overall mark to 13-2 on the year. 

The NA doubles teams prepared for the section doubles tournament that will be held today at the Senior High courts.  Action is slated to get under way at 1:00 pm.

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TIGERS UPSET SECTION LEADER
PINE-RICHLAND, 3-2

In one of the great upsets in recent NA tennis history, the Tigers snuck by section-leading Pine-Richland, 3-2, at the Senior High courts on Tuesday afternoon.  After falling behind, 2-0, heroes appeared everywhere.

The #2 doubles team of juniors Sam Gill and Nick Dulac got the Tigers on the board with a straight-set victory.  Junior Matt Kosovec then evened the match with a come-from-behind three-set win at #2 singles.  This left it up the the #2 doubles team of junior Kyle Kalchthaler and freshman Bennett Salvatora.  The NA team split the first two sets and then dominated the deciding set, 6-0, to clinch the well-deserved triumph.  The gallant efforts of junior Matt Smith and senior Xiao Zhu were also instrumental in the win.

With the win, the Tigers improved their section record to 6-2, the overall mark to 12-2.  NA will travel to Seneca Valley this afternoon for a 3:30 pm section match.

(Thanks to Coach Woffington for the information in this report!)

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BETHEL PARK FALLS TO TIGERS, 5-0

The Tigers made short work of Bethel Park on Monday afternoon with a 5-0 victory at the Senior High courts.  Juniors Matt Kosovec, Sam Gill and Nick Dulac led the way with wins in the singles competition.

In doubles play, junior Kyle Kalchthaler teamed up with Bennett Salvatora for a victory at the #1 doubles position.  In the number two doubles, junior Chen Zhao made his varsity debut in teaming up with senior Xiao Zhu for a victory that made it a clean sweep for the Tigers.

The Tigers will host Pine-Richland this afternoon in a section showdown with the Rams.  P-R defeated NA earlier in the year at Pine-Richland.  Match time is scheduled for 3:30 pm at the Senior High courts.

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TIGERS COME UP SHORT AT BUTLER, 3-2

The Tigers battled until the end but could not hold off Butler as the Tornado took a 3-2 decision at Butler on Wednesday afternoon.  Junior Kyle Kalchthaler won at #3 singles and the number one doubles team of juniors Matt Smith and Nick Dulac were victorious for NA.  Juniors Matt Kosovec and Sam Gill played well in losing in singles competition.

With the loss, the Tigers drop into a second place tie with Butler behind first place Pine-Richland.  NA will have a big week of tennis next week.  After hosting Bethel Park in a non-section match on Monday, the Tigers will take on Pine-Richland on Tuesday at the Senior High courts.  On Wednesday, NA will travel to Seneca Valley for another section match.  The starting time for all three matches is scheduled for 3:30 pm.

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LATROBE NO MATCH FOR TIGERS, 5-0

The Tigers recorded their 10th victory in eleven matches with a 5-0 shutout of Latrobe at the Senior High courts on Monday afternoon.  Juniors Matt Kosovec, Sam Gill and Kyle Kalchthaler led the way with wins in the singles competition.

In doubles play, the #1 NA team of juniors Matt Smith and Nick Dulac and the #2 team of freshman Bennett Salvatora and senior Joe Macaluso made it a clean sweep with victories.

The Tigers will travel to Butler tomorrow afternoon for a 3:30 pm section match with the Tornado.

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SHALER FALLS TO TIGERS, 5-0

Juniors Matt Kosovec, Sam Gill and Nick Dulac dominated their singles opponents to lead the Tigers to a 5-0 victory over Shaler at the Senior High field on Monday afternoon.  In doubles play, the #1 team of junior Kyle Kalchthaler and freshman Bennett Salvatora and the #2 team of seniors Xiao Zhu and Tom Schweers both won their matches in straight sets.

With the win, the Tigers improved their section record to 5-1, the overall mark to 9-1.  NA will host Pine-Richland in a key section match tomorrow at the Senior High courts.  The starting time is set for 3:30 pm.

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TIGERS TOP RIVAL NORTH HILLS, 4-1

Juniors Matt Kosovec, Sam Gill, and Nick Dulac swept the singles matches to lead the Tigers to a 4-1 victory over neighborhood rival North Hills at the Indians' courts on Thursday afternoon.  Junior Matt Smith and freshman Bennett Salvatora captured the #1 doubles point with a victory.

With the win, the Tigers improved their section record to 4-1, the overall mark to 8-1.  NA will begin the second half of section play on Monday when they travel to Shaler to meet the Titans.  The scheduled starting time for the match is set for 3:30 pm.

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WPIAL TENNIS - 2008

The Tigers will compete again in the WPIAL Class AAA along with 34 other teams.  The WPIAL will advance two singles players, two sets of doubles teams, and two teams will advance to the PIAA Tournament.

The top three teams in each section will enter the WPIAL tournament.  All playoff entries will be determined by section record only and will be determined by the best section won/lost record.  Teams that tie for first place will not have the tie broken and ALL of the tied teams will be declared section champions, will receive a section winner's plaque, and will be entered into the WPIAL tournament.  If three or more teams tie for first place, only those teams will qualify for the playoffs.

In the event of a multiple team tie (two or more teams) for a playoff position, head-to-head competition will be the first determinant.  If head-to-head does not break the tie, the following tiebreaking system will be used.  If three or more teams are tied for second place and the tie breaking system identifies one team as the second place team, the remaining teams will be then tied for third place and the process begins all over with head-to-head competition being the first determinant for establishing the third place team.  Three-way ties will be broken in the following manner:

a.  Section won-lost records of the tied teams will be compiled.
b.  the team with the best numerical head-to-head section record among the tied teams will enter post-season play.
c.  If the tie cannot clearly be broken, all tied teams will enter post-season play.

In all section and WPIAL competition, the seven-man team concept will be followed.  Each team will have three singles players and two teams of doubles teams.  No player can participate in both singles and doubles play on the same day.  A player can be changed from singles play on one day to doubles play on the next.  All teams must field a minimum of six players.  Failure to field  six players will result in a forfeit victory for the opponent, provided they have at least six players ready to play.  If one team has six players and the opponent has seven, the third singles match is forfeited and all other matches play.  If both teams have only six players, play will be at first and second singles and both doubles.  If the team match ends in a tie, a USTA twelve point tie breaker will be played between the first singles players (for that day) to determine the team winner.  No substitutes will be permitted in the tiebreaker.

Coaches must play their best player of the three singles players designated for each match at the number one singles position, second best at number two and third best at number three.  The same format must also be used in placing doubles teams in the lineup.  In injury or illness should occur before a match the player will be "moved up" to the next highest position in the lineup and the substitute player will take the lowest spot remaining.  Forfeits will be awarded only in case of injuries or illness after a match has started.  Once the written lineup has been presented the same players must play at those positions.  Inability of a competitor to play will result in a forfeit.

When possible, postponed matches must be played in order of postponement and scheduled on the first common open date.  Make up WPIAL section matches must have preference over exhibition matches, JV, and junior high matches.  All matches postponed during the first half of the season must be rescheduled and played prior to the beginning of the second half (April 7th).

CLASS AAA - 35 TEAMS

Any questions or comments should be directed to Athletic Director Bob Bozzuto at:  bbozzuto@northallegheny.org