Shady Side Academy, North Catholic Tandems Take WPIAL Boys’ Tennis Doubles Titles

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) continued its start of spring championship season with the Boys’ Tennis Doubles Championships on April 26-27. The Shady Side Academy duo of David Mnuskin and Sam Bitzer captured the 3A titles, while North Catholic tandem Brody Golla and Alex Garvey took home the gold in 2A.

The first round through semifinals were held on April 26 at Bethel Park High School (2A) and North Allegheny High School (3A), and the championship and consolation final matches were hosted by North Allegheny on April 27.

Mnuskin and Bitzer give Shady Side Academy their third WPIAL boys’ tennis doubles championship since 2018 and 10th overall. Golla and Garvey’s triumph is the first for North Catholic in doubles, and the Trojans enter the 2A Team Championship with a chance to sweep all three competitions after Nicolas Scheller took home the singles crown on April 13.

CLASS 3A RECAP

Shady Side Academy’s David Mnuskin and Sam Bitzer continued the school’s recent mastery in boys’ tennis doubles, completing the Bulldogs’ run to their ninth WPIAL 3A title in the last 19 seasons with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Franklin Regional’s Prerit Yadav and Dhruv Kulkarni. The duo started the tournament with a 10-0 victory over Kiski Area’s Jackson Newell and Nate Coleman, and followed that up with a 10-6 decision over North Hills’ Joshua Kim and Brandon McEwen. Mnuskin and Bitzer reached the final in a three-set nailbiter, knocking off top-seeded Andrew and Aaron Allen of Franklin Regional by a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 scoreline.

Yadav and Kulkarni began their bracket march with wins of 10-4 and 11-9 over Chartiers Valley (Ethan Estatico, Derek Ferrer) and Moon (Anthony Lounder, Rohan Maheshwari), respectively, and punched their championship ticket with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Mt. Lebanon’s Jack and Luke Wilke. In a battle of brothers, the Allen duo topped the Wilke twins in the third-place consolation match, 6-4, 6-4.

None of the top four teams that advanced to Wednesday’s finals participated in last year’s WPIAL 3A Doubles Championships.

CLASS 2A RECAP

Entering as the seventh seed, North Catholic’s Brody Golla and Alex Garvey completed an impressive run to the WPIAL 2A championship with a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over South Park teammates Tim Lakatos and Alex Duing. Golla and Garvey opened with a 10-0 triumph against Mt. Pleasant’s Mark Gallagher and Ryan Borkowski, then knocked off Indiana duo Arturo Martin and Daniel Ray, 10-4, in the quarterfinals. The Trojans tandem defeated Thomas Jefferson’s Drew Dimidjian and Tony Sparta in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) to qualify for the championship match.

Lakatos and Duing started the tournament with scorelines of 10-4 and 10-7 against Hampton (Ethen Oh, Vitaliy Pikalo) and Central Valley (Christian Kosinski, Ryan Hardek), respectively, before toppling Beaver duo Andrew Cavett and Grady Johnson by a 7-6(7), 6-1 decision to make the final. Dimidjian and Sparta nabbed the final Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) spot with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Cavett and Johnson in the third-place consolation match.

Golla and Garvey qualified for last year’s WPIAL 2A Doubles Championships, but departed in the first round. North Catholic will look to become the first school to win boys’ tennis singles, doubles, and team titles since Sewickley Academy did so in 2018.

CLASS 3A RESULTS [Bracket]

First Round – April 26
#1 Andrew Allen/Aaron Allen (Franklin Regional) received a BYE.
#9 Cooper Friday/Will Siegel (Fox Chapel) def. #8 Dev Patel/Ronan Gibbons (Upper St. Clair), 11-10(7).
#5 Joshua Kim/Brandon McEwen (North Hills) def. #12 Cole Descalzi/Nolan McGill (Mt. Lebanon), 10-3.
#4 David Mnuskin/Sam Bitzer (Shady Side Academy) def. #13 Jackson Newell/Nate Coleman (Kiski Area), 10-0.
#3 Jack Wilke/Luke Wilke (Mt. Lebanon) def. #14 Braiden Smalley/Ethan Silipo (Pine-Richland), 10-3.
#6 Deniz Finkel/Ian Kuchera (Allderdice) def. #11 August Lawrence/Josh Havrilla (Greater Latrobe), 10-4.
#7 Anthony Lounder/Rohan Maheshwari (Moon) def. #10 Tommy Certo/Chase Hartman (Shady Side Academy), 10-6.
#2 Prerit Yadav/Dhruv Kulkarni (Franklin Regional) def. #15 Ethan Estatico/Derek Ferrer (Chartiers Valley), 10-4.

Quarterfinals – April 26
#1 Allen/Allen def. #9 Friday/Siegel, 10-3.
#4 Mnuskin/Bitzer def. #5 Kim/McEwen, 10-6.
#3 Wilke/Wilke def. #6 Finkel/Kuchera, 10-6.
#2 Yadav/Kulkarni def. #7 Lounder/Maheshwari, 11-9.

Semifinals – April 26
#4 Mnuskin/Bitzer def. #1 Allen/Allen, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
#2 Yadav/Kulkarni def. #3 Wilke/Wilke, 6-2, 6-2.

Championship Match – April 27
#4 Mnuskin/Bitzer def. #2 Yadav/Kulkarni, 6-3, 6-3.

Third-Place Consolation – April 27
#1 Allen/Allen def. #3 Wilke/Wilke, 6-4, 6-4.

Advancing to PIAAs: David Mnuskin (11) / Sam Bitzer (12), Shady Side Academy; Prerit Yadav (12) / Dhruv Kulkarni (10), Franklin Regional

CLASS 2A RESULTS [Bracket]

First Round – April 26
#1 Tim Lakatos/Alex Duing (South Park) def. #16 Ethen Oh/Vitaliy Pikalo (Hampton), 10-4.
#9 Christian Kosinski/Ryan Hardek (Central Valley) def. #8 John Rohrkaste/Jeremy Freeman (Montour), 10-8.
#5 Luke Raymundo/Tim Jayamohan (Mars) def. #12 Dylan Gentile/Nate Clarke (Valley), 10-5.
#4 Andrew Cavett/Grady Johnson (Beaver) def. #13 Michael Lipton/Devin Carter (Quaker Valley), 10-6.
#3 Nicholas Bussard/Dario Wolfe (Valley) def. #14 Bryan Nguyen/Brandon Nguyen (Ringgold), 10-1.
#6 Drew Dimidjian/Tony Sparta (Thomas Jefferson) def. #11 Ryan Kerr/Andrew Yankello (Central Valley), 10-4.
#7 Brody Golla/Alex Garvey (North Catholic) def. #10 Mark Gallagher/Ryan Borkowski (Mt. Pleasant), 10-0.
#15 Arturo Martin/Daniel Ray (Indiana) def. #2 Henry Veeck/Justin Hajudkiewicz (Quaker Valley), 10-8.

Quarterfinals – April 26
#1 Lakatos/Duing def. #9 Kosinski/Hardek, 10-7.
#4 Cavett/Johnson def. #5 Raymundo/Jayamohan, 10-8.
#6 Dimidjian/Sparta def. #3 Bussard/Wolfe, 10-8.
#7 Golla/Garvey def. #15 Martin/Ray, 10-4.

Semifinals – April 26
#1 Lakatos/Duing def. #4 Cavett/Johnson, 7-6(7), 6-1.
#7 Golla/Garvey def. #6 Dimidjian/Sparta, 6-2, 6-3.

Championship Match – April 27
#7 Golla/Garvey def. #1 Lakatos/Duing, 7-6(3), 6-3.

Third-Place Consolation – April 27
#6 Dimidjian/Sparta def. #4 Cavett/Johnson, 6-4, 6-4.

Advancing to PIAAs: Brody Golla (12) / Alex Garvey (11), North Catholic; Tim Lakatos (12) / Alex Duing (12), South Park; Drew Dimidjian (12) / Tony Sparta (12), Thomas Jefferson

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