Rain forces WPIAL to postpone girls tennis semifinals

By: Michael Love
Monday, October 19, 2020 | 9:46 AM

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With rain showers in the area, WPIAL officials on Monday morning postponed the Class AAA and AA girls tennis semifinal matches.

All four matches now will be Tuesday afternoon with 3 p.m. starts.

In Class AAA, top-seeded Peters Township will host Latrobe, and Upper St. Clair hosts Pine-Richland.

Peters Township, which is seeking its second straight team title and sixth in program history, defeated Baldwin, 5-0, in the first round and edged North Allegheny, 3-2, in the quarterfinals. Latrobe swept West Allegheny and scored a 4-1 win over Shady Side Academy.

The other side of the Class AAA bracket saw Pine-Richland post a 4-1 win over Oakland Catholic and a 3-2 victory over Mt. Lebanon, while Upper St. Clair swept Hempfield and upended Fox Chapel, 4-1.

Knoch, the top seed in Class AA, will meet South Park on the courts at Butler High School. Sewickley Academy, the No. 2 seed, will host Beaver at Nichols Field courts in Sewickley.

Knoch, which received a bye into the quarterfinals, advanced to the semifinals with a 5-0 win over section rival North Catholic. South Park punched its semifinals ticket with a 4-1 win over Ellwood City and a 4-1 victory over Mt. Pleasant.

Beaver swept McGuffey in the first round and edged Burrell, 3-2, in the quarterfinals, while Sewickley Academy posted 5-0 wins over Ringgold and Valley.

Sewickley Academy is seeking its fourth straight WPIAL Class AA title and eighth overall since 2008. The Panthers defeated Knoch in the final each of the past three seasons.

The semifinal winners in both classifications will meet to decide the titles at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Class AAA final will be at Bethel Park, while the Class AA final will be at Shady Side Academy.

Only the WPIAL champion in both classifications advances to the PIAA playoffs.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Beaver, Knoch, Latrobe, Peters Township, Pine-Richland, Sewickley Academy, South Park, Upper St. Clair