Boys' Tennis Game Summaries

A two day journey to Hershey, PA, resulted in sweet dividends for the NA tennis duo of junior Jared Isaacs and freshman Richard Hofmann who captured gold in the PIAA Boys’ AAA Doubles Tournament Saturday afternoon.    It was the second straight year a North Allegheny team captured this crown.  This achievement was Isaacs’ second straight Boys’ AAA Doubles championship, becoming the first player to repeat since 2002 when a duo from Central Bucks West also completed the feat.

The semi-final match Saturday morning pitted the Tigers against the team of Steve Yang and Max Howarth of Conestoga High School, the number one seed in the tournament and District 1 champions from Philadelphia.   Isaacs and Hofmann took the match in straight sets to advance to the championship contest.  The final match of the day pitted the Tigers against the Mt. Lebanon team of senior Dane Bendel and junior Charlie Strohl, whom the Tigers defeated in the WPIAL semi-finals in April.  Both teams got off to a tense start, as the server was broken in each of the first four games of the opening set.  Isaacs was the first to hold serve in the 5^th game.  Then, down 3-4, the Tigers broke Strohl, and Isaacs subsequently held serve to take a 5-4 lead.  The winning game and break against Bendel came after Isaacs split the middle on a strong forehand that squarely landed on the baseline between the two Lebo players.   The Tigers controlled the second set from the start, breaking out to a 5-1 advantage before losing an opportunity to serve for the match.  Breaking back, the Tigers broke Strohl to win the set, match and championship.  A great assortment of cross court plays and outstanding lobs from Isaacs and Hofmann highlighted the second set against the stellar Mt. Lebanon players.

Both Isaacs and Hofmann join the hallowed list of North Allegheny PIAA Champions, including Tom Liebenguth (singles, ’76), Jason Gindele and Jay Woffington (doubles, ’90) and Kevin Goth (doubles, ’14, with Isaacs).  Isaacs, a junior, thus becomes the first NA player to win multiple PIAA championships.  His record in post-season doubles play the last two years, including District 7 (WPIAL) and PIAA, is now 14-2

Congratulations to Jared and Richard for an outstanding conclusion to the Tigers’ Boys Tennis season!  A special thanks goes to Assistant Coach and doubles specialist, Tom Gammell, along with Rob Gregoire of Alpha.  Also, a special shout out goes to the NASD Athletic Office of Bob Bozzuto, Bonnie Woods and Patti McClure who offered their unwavering assistance and support all season long.

North Allegheny Summary –PIAA Boys AAA Doubles Championship—Day Two (5-23-15)
Semifinal Round
Jared Isaacs/Richard Hofmann (NA) def. Steve Yang/Max Howarth (Conestoga) 7-5, 6-3

Championship Round
Jared Isaacs/Richard Hofmann (NA) def. Dane Bendel/Charlie Strohl (Mt. Lebanon) 6-4, 6-2

After day one of the PIAA Boys Doubles Championship Tournament at the Hershey Racquet Club, the team of junior Jared Isaacs and freshman Richard Hofmann won two matches to reach Saturday’s semi-final round.

Representing District 7 (WPIAL) as the number two team, the Tigers defeated Rishi Mulloth and Brandon Ostrowski of Abington Heights, the number one team from District 2, in straight sets.  That set the stage for a re-match in the quarterfinals against Chad Allender and Ryan Good, the same two representatives from Altoona whom the Tigers played last year.  Allender and Good once again were the winners from District 6.  The Tigers got off to a strong start and fashioned several quick breaks to coast to a 6-3 first set win.  The second set saw multiple breaks from the start, but on two occasions Isaacs held serve, down 15-40 to come back and hold.  That set the stage for a solid but hard fought win at 6-4, as the Tigers tamed the Mountain Lions for the second straight year in the quarters.

Issacs and Hofmann will take on the winner of the Conestoga-Erie McDowell match which started late and was still in progress at press time.  The match time for the Tigers Saturday morning at the Racquet Club will be 9 AM.

NA Results–PIAA Boys Double Tournament–Day One (5/22/15)
Jared Isaacs/Richard Hofmann (NA) def. Rishi Mulloth/Brandon Ostrowski (AH) 6-0, 6-1
Jared Isaacs/Richard Hofmann (NA) def. Chad Allender/Ryan Good (Altoona) 6-3, 6-4

Playing on the NASH courts Friday afternoon, the 4th seeded Tigers tangled with the 5^th seeded Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils in the WPIAL Quarter Finals, falling 4-1.   One starter and the top reserve were unable to compete for the Tigers, and one starter also played with the same ailment that befell the other two, a severe stomach virus.  In effect, the Tigers didn’t have the strength to match up with the Blue Devils who controlled the match from the start.

The Tigers finish the season with a 10-2 record and the future looks bright, as they will return six of the seven starters next season.  On May 22, junior Jared Isaacs and freshman Richard Hofmann will represent the Tigers and Section 2 at the PIAA AAA Doubles Championship in Hershey, PA.  In the meantime, congratulations to seniors Eric Huang, Rohan Yadav and Michael Helkowski for their fine careers and competitive spirit as NA Tigers!

Match Summary
Mt. Lebanon—4   North Allegheny—1

Singles
#1  Dane Bendel (Mt. Leb.) def. Jared Isaacs) 7-6 (3), 6-3
#2  Christian Vietmeier (Mt. Leb.) def. Richard Hofmann (NA) 6-0, 6-1
#3  Charlie Strohl (Mt. Leb.) def. Ivan Voinov (NA) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles
#1  Eric Huang/ Andrew Xu (NA) def. Michael Willie/Kyle Carscadden (Mt. Leb.) 6-1, 6-0
#2  Ian McCabe/Sam Bellini (Mt. Leb.) def. Andrew Chuirazzi/Rohan Yadav (NA) 6-2, 6-4

The Tigers tennis squad started its 2015 WPIAL playoff journey with a home match in the first  round against Franklin Regional Wednesday afternoon and came away with a 5-0 victory over Coach Howard Fisher’s talented Panthers. The first team point was delivered on the NASH courts by senior Eric Huang and junior Andrew Xu at number one doubles.  Sophomore Ryan Marczak and freshman Andrew Chuirazzi captured the second team point at number two doubles. 

Freshman Ivan Voinov clinched the match with a straight set victory at number three singles.  Freshman Richard Hofmann also took his match in straight sets, at number two singles.   Rounding out the scoring, junior Jared Isaacs found himself in a re-match against Rochan Ramesh, whom he had played last month in the WPIAL Singles Tournament.  The tenacious Isaacs prevailed again against the gifted sophomore.

Following completion of this first round win, the 10-1 Tigers will play the winner of Wednesday’s Mt. Lebanon-Allderdice contest this Friday, in a quarterfinal match at a site and time to be determined.

Match Summary:  WPIAL AAA Team Championship, First Round (April 29)

NORTH ALLEGHENY—5 Franklin Regional—0

Singles
#1  Jared Isaacs (NA) def. Rochan Ramesh (FR)  6-3, 6-4
#2  Richard Hofmann (NA) def. Sean Vannatta (FR) 6-1, 6-1
#3  Ivan Voinov (NA) def. Connor Warwick  (FR) 6-2, 6-0

Doubles
#1  Andrew Xu/Eric Huang (NA) def. Ali Piracha/John Juozitis (FR)  6-0, 6-0
#2  Ryan Marczak/Andrew Chuirazzi (NA) def. Evan Markowitz/Jake Stackiewicz (FR) 6-0, 6-0

In the last Section 2 match of the season, the Tigers tangled with their traditional tennis rivals, the Pine-Richland Rams, and walked off with a 4-1 win to clinch a spot in the WPIAL Team Playoffs.  Leading off the scoring was freshman Ivan Voinov who defeated Jack Nix at number three singles in straight sets.  The second point came from first doubles slot where junior Andrew Xu and senior Eric Huang defeated Jack DiNucci and Nolan Rausch.  Following quickly came sophomore Ryan Marczak and freshman Andrew Chuirazzi with the clinching third point over Austin McWilliams and Bailey Core at number two doubles.  Rounding out the scoring, junior Jared Isaacs, in a spirited match, defeated Pine-Richland’s talented ace Ben Vinarsky in straight sets.

With the win the Tigers improve to 9-1 on the season with a 7-1 section record.  They will represent Section 2 as the number two team from that conference for the WPIAL Playoffs.  Seedings will be announced Monday evening, April 27, and playoff action will begin for the Tigers on Wednesday, April 29.  In the meantime, as a warm-up, the Tigers will play Section 3 opponents and playoff participants, Fox Chapel on Monday on the NASH courts.  The starting time against the Foxes is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

Match Summary (4/24/15)

NORTH ALLEGHENY—4  Pine-Richland–1

Singles
#1  Jared Isaacs (NA) def. Ben Vinarsky (P-R) 6-4, 6-3
#2  Sid Iyer (P-R) def. Richard Hofmann (NA)  6-4, 6-4
#3  Ivan Voinov (NA) def. Jack Nix (P-R) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles
#1  Andrew Xu/Eric Huang (NA) def. Jack DiNucci/Nolan Rausch (P-R) 6-1, 6-1
#2  Ryan Marczak/Andrew Chuirazzi (NA) def. Austin McWilliams/Bailey Core (P-R) 6-2, 6-0