Tigers take ninth straight, shutout Seneca Valley
by: Dom Gliozzi
Facing persistent rain that forced their match indoors, the Lady Tigers traveled to the Lakevue Athletic Club and produced their own meteorological event, storming past Seneca Valley for a 5-0, Section 2 shutout Tuesday afternoon. Leading the way again for the Tigers was the dynamic duo of freshman Winni Hayward at 1 singles and sophomore Sammy Leeman at 2 singles who both took the first two team points in dominant fashion against the Raiders.
The reunited second doubles pairing of senior Remi Hayward and junior Medha Thirumala clinched the contest with another straight set win, 6-0, 6-1. While there were a few deuce games that kept the contest somewhat competitive, the ladies picked each other up at the appropriate time to secure their victory. The fourth team point was courtesy of first doubles. Closing out the scoring for the Tigers, junior Mia Kaufman rediscovered her backhand as an offensive weapon and blended it with splendid consistency and patience in her overall play.
Bouncing off the rackets of sophomore Ruoxi Bai and freshman Sophia Hu, first doubles provided the Ladies of the Match honors. The young duo tangled with Monique Polas and Alivia Metz, who was celebrating her senior night. Bai and Yu prevailed by a 6-0, 6-1 score for the Tigers. Yu provided an excellent display of poaching skills while Bai’s voluminous volleys helped carry the team through the more competitive games.
The Tigers improve to 11-1 overall on the season (6-0 in section play) and return to Section 2 play Friday afternoon when they travel to Pine-Richland to take on the Rams at 3:30 PM. In the meantime, freshman Winni Hayward and sophomore Sammy Leeman will proudly represent the Tigers Wednesday at the WPIAL Singles tournament to be contested on the NASH courts. Play starts at 11 AM.
Girls Tennis Summary at Seneca Valley, 9-22-26
| MATCH SUMMARY | NORTH ALLEGHENY - 5 SENECA VALLEY - 0 | |
|---|---|---|
| SINGLES | ||
| #1 | Winni Hayward (NA) def. Ella Marley (SV) | 6-0, 6-0 |
| #2 | Sammy Leeman (NA) def. Alvera Chokshi (SV) | 6-0, 6-0 |
| #3 | Mia Kaufman (NA) def. Kayla McKenzie (SV) | 6-1, 6-0 |
| DOUBLES | ||
| #1 | Ruoxi Bai/Sophia Yu (NA) def. Monique Polas/Alivia Metz (SV) | 6-0, 6-1 |
| #2 | Remi Hayward/Medha Thirumala (NA) def. Evie Miske/Ella Jacisin (SV) | 6-1, 6-0 |
