Penn-Trafford boys tennis off to solid start in Section 1

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, April 11, 2021 | 11:01 AM

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Considering the circumstances with the coronavirus, Megan Satira’s first official year as Penn-Trafford’s boys tennis coach has gone better than expected.

The Warriors (4-1) entered the week in second place in Section 1-AAA behind Franklin Regional after a 5-0 loss to the Panthers April 6.

Satira, who has coached the Penn-Trafford girls team the past four seasons, was hired as boys coach prior to the 2020 season. But the covid pandemic forced the PIAA to cancel the spring season for all sports.

“Making the playoffs and hopefully finishing second is our goal now,” said Satira, a 2011 Penn-Trafford graduate who played tennis at Seton Hill. “I think we have a pretty good shot at doing that.”

Penn-Trafford needs to finish in the top four in the section to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

The Warriors are led by senior singles players Brian Lee, Alex Turowski and Sahit Sudadi. Lee and Turowski competed in the section singles tournament April 7 and 8, and Lee advanced to the semifinals before falling to Franklin Regional’s Anup Nadesan, 6-2, 6-0.

Lee, however, qualified for this week’s WPIAL Class AAA singles tournament by placing in the top four. He battled Latrobe’s Dominic Robinson for third.

Turowski drew a difficult first-round opponent and fell to Albert Gallatin’s Nate English, 10-3. English and Nadesan played for the section title.

“I was confident that Brian would advance,” Satira said. “Alex faced a tough opponent. He didn’t know much about him because Albert Gallatin doesn’t sponsor a team.”

Penn-Trafford still has some tough section matches remaining. The Warriors were scheduled to face Connellsville (April 9), Hempfield (April 12), Gateway (April 15) and Norwin (April 16).

Satira is pleased how the team has responded through difficult times. She also said the seniors have provided good leadership for the younger players.

She expects two freshmen, brothers of seniors Lee and Turowski, to provide a good foundation for the future.

Daniel Lee and Nick Turowski are part of the doubles teams. Turowski teams up with junior Thomas Kopasko, and Lee with either senior Justus Laskey or junior Ryan Litzinger.

The section doubles tournament is set for April 20 and 21. Satira said Brian Lee and Alex Turowski will form one team. She’s undecided on the second entry.

“One of my biggest goals is to make sure the players have fun and continue to battle,” Satira said. “The future is bright. I have some junior varsity players that will be looking to make that next step. The victory earlier this season against Latrobe was big for the program.”

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.

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