South Fayette’s Patterson, North Catholic’s Scheller repeat as WPIAL tennis champs

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 | 9:32 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

It was repeat Wednesday at the WPIAL singles tennis championships at the Pure Athletex Sportsplex in Wexford.

South Fayette senior Jake Patterson retained the Class 3A title and North Catholic senior Nicolas Scheller the Class 2A crown, breezing to their second titles. They were the 18th and 19th players to win multiple titles.

Now their focus is on the PIAA singles championship in Hershey next month.

Patterson defeated North Allegheny sophomore Trey Davidson, 6-1, 6-0.

“Even though the score looked one-sided, it wasn’t that easy,” Patterson said. “I had to make an adjustment from playing outside on Tuesday to inside Wednesday. I had to be prepared.”

Patterson said he knew Davidson was going to return a lot of shots, so he had to be consistent.

“Trey is a good player and I had to stay focused,” Patterson said. “My consistency was the key and my serve was really good. I tried to keep the ball in play. I tried to stay with it. I was off a little on Tuesday. I relied on my shot-making. Never give up on a ball.”

Davidson said when you play Patterson, he forces you into long rallies.

“He’s a grinder,” Davidson said. “He makes you make the mistake and capitalizes. He’s really good at controlling things.

“After three matches on Tuesday, especially a grueling semifinal, I just didn’t have any energy. I’m not saying I would have won, but it might have been closer.”

Patterson said winning a second title is nicer because everyone was shooting for him.

After reaching the PIAA quarterfinals in 2021, Patterson said his goal is to reach the top of the podium.

“I’ve been working on my forehand,” Patterson said. “There are a lot of good players in the east.”

As for Davidson, he said he doesn’t know what to expect, but placing is the goal.

Central Catholic’s Kyle Broadhurst rallied to defeat Franklin Regional’s Andrew Allen, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the third-place match.

Scheller defeated Quaker Valley senior Mike Sirianni, 6-0, 6-0. It was the second consecutive season that Scheller defeated Sirianni in the finals.

He is the second North Catholic players to win two titles. The other was Tim Donovan (1984-1985).

“The biggest thing was maintaining my focus,” Scheller said. “It feels great to win again.

“It wouldn’t say it was easy. I don’t think any match is easy. I just went in and played my game. Holding serve is always big.”

Scheller moved to the Pittsburgh area from New Mexico. He actually gave up the sport for three years before getting lured back in.

“I wasn’t having fun, so I played basketball,” Scheller said. “But I missed it and now I’m enjoying it again.”

He plans to play tennis at Belmont-Abbey next season.

Scheller’s power game was just too much for Sirianni to handle.

“His big power is the difference,” Sirianni said. “He’s even better than last year.”

Scheller placed second in the state in 2021. He wants gold this season.

Earning the third qualifier from the WPIAL for the PIAA tournament was Mars’ Josh Dunham, who defeated Thomas Jefferson’s Drew Dimidjian, 6-0, 6-0.

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: North Allegheny, North Catholic, Quaker Valley, South Fayette