Westmoreland HS notebook: Girls tennis individual postseason set to begin

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, September 11, 2022 | 6:39 PM

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The girls tennis postseason takes center stage this week on the WPIAL calendar with section singles tournaments across District 7.

Tournaments will be Wednesday and Thursday.

The top four finishers at each Class 3A site, and top three in 2A, advance to the WPIAL championship Sept. 21-22 at North Allegheny (2A) and Bethel Park (3A).

Ellen Liu, a junior at Franklin Regional, reached the Section 1-3A semifinals last year and played in the third-place consolation match to get into the WPIAL tournament.

BVA golf stays hot

The Belle Vernon boys golf team has yet to lose a match this season. Could this be the year the Leopards win their first WPIAL title in the sport? It sure looks like they are a contender.

Belle Vernon dumped Uniontown, 198-207, to move to 8-0 as Jordan Mocello and Patrick Bush each shot 38 at Uniontown Country Club.

Course record

Southmoreland has a new home course record time in girls cross country.

Sophomore Lexi Ohler set the mark last week with a run of 21 minutes, 44 seconds, breaking the record of 21:45 set by Kaylee Farino, a 2018 graduate.

Southmoreland’s course runs up “cardiac hill” near the baseball field, track and tennis courts.

Tight match

Derry and Greensburg Central Catholic went shot for shot down the stretch in a recent Section 2-2A match at Mt. Odin Golf Course.

Derry won 196-198, and the teams’ top players did not disappoint.

Hunter Jurica of Derry and GCC’s Wade Boyle matched 4-under 33s on the par-37 front nine.

“Me and Hunter had a lot of fun today,” Boyle said. “It’s always a blast playing against great competition.”

Also for Derry, Ashton Beighley shot 38, and Owen Hammer had a 39. Jorge Rodriguez carded a 38 for GCC.

Serve and volley

Two local players were lauded by the Western Pa. Volleyball Coaches Association.

Sara Olson, a senior libero from Norwin, was named the Class 4A player of the week.

Latrobe senior middle hitter Emma Blair earned the same honors for 3A.

In the association’s latest team rankings, Penn-Trafford is No. 7, and Hempfield No. 8 in 4A.

Latrobe checks in at No. 7 in 3A, and Greensburg Central Catholic is No. 5 in single-A.

Ice Cats roll

Latrobe opened the hockey preseason with a pair of wins in the St. Margaret’s Tournament at Alpha Ice Complex.

The 2A Wildcats opened with a 4-1 win over Mt. Lebanon, a Class 3A team, as goaltender JM Krajc stopped 26 of 27 shots, and Peyton Myers and Josh Coffee each had a goal and an assist.

A 7-3 win over Central Catholic followed in group play as Myers and JD Robinson each registered a hat trick.

Latrobe hopes to carry the momentum into the PIHL season, which begins Oct. 6.

Recruiting

A pair of area baseball players made Division II college commitments to the same program.

Norwin’s Justin Weaver and Brady Lane of Penn-Trafford, both seniors, will continue playing at Gannon, a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference school. Weaver is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound outfielder.

Lane is a shortstop.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Greensburg C.C., Latrobe, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland