Valley boys tennis advances past Hampton to WPIAL team finals
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Monday, May 5, 2025 | 9:04 PM
Valley’s Jake Ervin hits as he plays with Josh Serena against Hampton during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Hampton’s AJ List (left) celebrates a point with twin, Zane, as they play against Valley during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Hampton’s JJ Edwards plays against Valley’s Baxter Diehm during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Valley’s Tyler Quinn plays against Hampton’s Weston Gross during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Hampton’s Weston Gross plays against Valley’s Tyler Quinn during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Hampton’s AJ List plays against Valley during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Valley’s Josh Serena plays doubles against Hampton during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Valley’s Josh Serena plays doubles against Hampton during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Valley’s Baxter Diehm plays against Hampton’s JJ Edwards during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Valley’s Tyler Quinn plays against Hampton’s Weston Gross during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Hampton’s Weston Gross plays against Valley’s Tyler Quinn during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Valley’s Jake Ervin hits as he plays with Josh Serena against Hampton during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Hampton’s Zane List hits as he plays with twin, AJ, against Valley’s Jake Ervin and Josh Serena during the WPIAL Class 2A team semifinals Monday.
Valley will get a chance to win its first WPIAL boys tennis championship as it punched its ticket to Wednesday’s Class 2A finals with a 3-2 victory over Hampton in a semifinal contest Monday afternoon on the courts at North Allegheny High School.
The Vikings improved to 13-0.
“I am just so genuinely happy for them where they are seeing their diligence and hard work paying off,” Valley coach Rachael Link said.
“With these guys, they’ve earned peoples’ respect from the very beginning. Section 1 is a stellar section, and it prepared us for the playoffs, and as we traveled through the first round (5-0 win over Carlynton) and to the second round (3-2 win over No. 7 Quaker Valley), it has really helped. We knew facing Hampton, it was going to be a battle.
“My heart is just so full for them. I am joyful for them. I am just so emotional. It took my breath away. They are super kids who deserve this so much.”
The second-seeded Vikings will take on No. 4 North Catholic in the championship match Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Washington & Jefferson College’s Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center.
The Trojans defeated top-seeded South Park, 4-1, in Monday’s other semifinal match.
With Monday’s win, Valley, playing in the WPIAL team semifinals for the first time since 2014, also qualified for the PIAA tournament set to begin next Tuesday and conclude May 16 and 17 in Hershey.
Despite the loss, Hampton (10-5) is not done in team play. The Talbots will meet South Park in the third-place match Wednesday at a site and time that had not been released as of Monday’s deadline.
The winner of that consolation match also qualifies for the state playoffs.
“We know Wednesday’s match is going to be a close fight, just like today was,” Hampton coach Grant McKinney said.
“We want the guys to go in and recognize what is feeling good about their games that can put themselves in a place to feel confident. Tennis is a lot about confidence. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is 3-2 one way or the other.”
Hampton was trying for its first trip to the Class 2A championship match since it made it three years in a row from 2010 to 2012, when it suffered losses each year to WPIAL juggernaut Sewickley Academy amidst the Panthers’ streak of 15 consecutive titles.
“It was a tough loss today, but it was a good learning experience for the guys going up against a really good team,” McKinney said. “Coach Link is an amazing coach and always brings a great team.”
Valley senior Landon Harclerode, a WPIAL singles quarterfinalist and doubles finalist this year, scored the first point of the match with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Jaxson Mayer at No. 1 singles.
“At the beginning of the season, not knowing anything, I said we were going to get to the WPIAL championship (match),” Harclerode said. “To be able to work that hard and achieve that goal, it is something special. Now, we have that chance to win it all.”
Shortly after Harclerode’s win, it was Tyler Quinn’s turn to taste victory for the Vikings. Quinn, who represented Valley in the WPIAL doubles finals with Harclerode, defeated Weston Gross 6-1, 6-0, to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead in the match.
Hampton kept hope alive at No. 1 doubles as the Talbots’ brother combination of AJ and Zane List was in control from the start and cruised to a 6-1 first-set victory over the Valley combination of Jake Ervin and Josh Serena.
The Lists continued to roll in the second set and served out a 6-0 win for the sweep that cut the Vikings’ lead in the match to 2-1.
But Valley would not be denied its place in the WPIAL title match.
The closest first set among the five matches came at No. 2 doubles as Valley’s Jackson Dameron and Maddox DeAntonio led Chase Essig and Sam Holmes, 4-3 and 5-4, before closing out a 6-4 win.
Essig and Holmes regained some momentum with a win in the first game of the second set, but DeAntonio and Dameron won the next two for a 2-1 advantage.
The lead for the Vikings duo grew to 5-2, and they had victory on their serve.
Falling behind 0-15, DeAntonio delivered a pair of serves that weren’t returned for a 30-15 lead.
Dameron produced a winner to put the Valley team on the brink before he recorded a hit that wasn’t returned for match point.
The 6-4, 6-2 win by Dameron and DeAntonio put the Vikings ahead 3-1 and clinched the victory.
“The match itself was electrifying,” DeAntonio said. “We just needed to stay to the basics, make sure we were in the right head space and go out and execute on the court.
“As a team, we’ve felt overlooked a times, and we’ve always fought to not be the underdogs. It just feels reassuring that we are representing our school in the WPIAL championship.”
The final match to conclude, Valley’s Baxter Diehm and Hampton’s JJ Edwards at No. 3 singles, was the only one to go to three sets.
Diehm won the first set 6-2 before Edwards returned the favor in the second set, also winning 6-2.
The third set went down to the wire. Diehm rallied from an early deficit to take leads of 4-3 and 5-4 before it was Edwards’ turn to rally.
Edwards claimed the final three games, breaking Diehm’s serve in the set clincher to win 7-5.
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.
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