Franklin Regional boys tennis makes its mark

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, May 8, 2021 | 9:01 AM

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The Franklin Regional boys tennis team was seeded No. 1 for the WPIAL Class AAA team tournament.

The Panthers opened up the tournament on April 5 at home against Moon and scored a 5-0 victory.

Anup Nadesan, Shrey Ramesh and Advait Kulkarni won straight sets matches in singles, and the doubles teams of Vishal Thulasiram/Adi Arkalgud and Prerit Yadav/Dhruv Kulkarni completed the sweep with two-set victories.

“We wanted to make a mark in the WPIAL this season,” Franklin Regional coach Howard Fisher said. “Winning the doubles title was the start. This is the best team I’ve coached, and I’m eager to see how we do.”

Nadesan and Kulkarni claimed section and WPIAL doubles championships last month and helped the Panthers capture the Section 1-AAA team title.

In the hunt

The Franklin Regional softball team is in the thick of the WPIAL Class 5A playoff hunt with a week left in the season.

The Panthers are 7-6 overall and 6-4 in Section 1 with two games remaining — Kiski Area and Indiana.

Franklin Regional swept a doubleheader at Woodland Hills on May 5, winning 10-0 and 15-5.

Madison Nguyen and Kamaria Kelly homered and MaKinzie DeRiggi picked up a pair of wins for Franklin Regional. Karissa Seaman went 3 for 3 for the day. Kamryn Marcus went 3 for 4 and Mackenzie Woehler drove in three runs in Game 2.

The top four teams in each section qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

“There are a lot of good teams in Class 5A,” Franklin Regional coach Jim Armstrong said. “We’re a young team that is learning how to play on the varsity level. Not playing in 2020 hurt our growth. It hurt everyone.”

Franklin Regional returned only two players with varsity experience from the 2019 squad — senior right fielder Sarah Cowell and junior third baseman Alisa Kane. Senior pitcher Mackenzie DeRiggi transferred in from Plum.

Panthers fall short in semifinals

The Franklin Regional boys and girls track and field teams took part in the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals May 4, at Norwin.

The FR boys lost to Canon-McMillan, 98-52, and defeated Norwin, 82-67, and Connellsville, 100-50. The FR girls lost to Norwin, 121.33-28.66, and defeated Laurel Highlands, 85-65.

The WPIAL individual championships are set for May 19, at Slippery Rock.

On campus

Notre Dame sophomore golfer Palmer Jackson (Franklin Regional) placed 43rd at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, firing an 11-over 221.

Jackson played 18 rounds this season with a low round of 5-under par 67. His best 54-hole score was a 9-under 207.

He averaged 1-under par (71.61). His best finish with fifth at Augusta Haskins Award Invitational.

• Westminster sophomore Ryan Beard (Franklin Regional) finished third in the 100 at the PAC Track and Field Championships with a time of 11.16 seconds.

• Mercyhurst grad student pitcher Michael Krauza (Franklin Regional) is 8-1 with a 2.18 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings for the Lakers (22-13, 13-10 PSAC). Krauza began his college career at Xavier before transferring to St. Bonaventure then Mercyhurst.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional