Quaker Valley junior Will Meagher was seeded second in the Section 3-2A boys tennis singles tournament. But the athletic Meagher climbed one rung up the section ladder at this year’s championship event.
Meagher defeated North Catholic senior and No. 1 seed Justin Garvey, 6-2, 7-5, in the finals April 2 at Nichols Courts.
“Will has been a standout for QV since joining us as a freshman in 2024,” coach Christi Hays said. “Will gained great experience playing second or third singles that year; the team got to the WPIAL finals and PIAA semis. Will won the deciding matches for the team time and again in both tourneys.
“Will trains occasionally at the Allegheny Country Club, but more frequently at PTA, and often three or four times a week. He also made the smart commitment this year to play in tournaments. There is no substitute for match play. It is impossible to recreate the pressure and the ebbs and flows of a match at practice. Will played primarily in the USTA Middle State District but occasionally would travel out of district.”
QV’s veteran coach continued:
“It has made a huge difference in his game from both a technique standpoint but also in his self-confidence. He is playing at an extremely high level. Will is a very versatile player as evidenced when he teamed with Matthew Henry last year in the WPIAL doubles and earned a spot at the PIAA tourney.”
After receiving a first-round bye in this year’s section event, Meagher — the Quakers’ No. 1 singles player in 2025 and 2026 — defeated Hampton senior and No. 7 seed A.J. List, 10-1, and North Catholic senior and No. 3 seed Alex Weber, 6-3, 6-3, before meeting Garvey in the finals.
“I think the key to advancing each round was keeping a level head and staying composed throughout all the matches,” Meagher said. “For the finals, I think the biggest part was never letting up. Justin is a great player, and in order to win, I had to keep on the offensive the entire time, and that ultimately won the match for me.”
Meagher was able to avenge his loss to Garvey in last year’s section singles championship round. Garvey, the WPIAL runner-up a year ago, defeated Meagher in three sets.
Hays said the biggest difference in the QV junior’s game this season has been his net play.
“Will is very comfortable at the net,” she said. “His serve has improved, and he will frequently follow it to the net where he has great success playing serve and volley. He successfully used that tactic to his advantage in his finals against Garvey.
“He is also very strong and confident in his ground strokes, especially his backhand. That makes him very difficult to beat.”
Quaker Valley senior Tanner Schultz, the No. 4 seed in the section tournament, edged Weber, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9), in the third-place match to qualify for the WPIAL championships.
“This fall, Tanner was a center back for the QV soccer team that qualified for states,” Hays said. “He also plays club soccer for Beadling. He’s looking forward to playing some club soccer in college.
“And over the summer, Tanner played tennis with family and friends. He picked it up again over the winter to get ready for the boys season. He also participated in a tennis boot camp at Allegheny Country Club and came into preseason playing at a high level.”
Hays believes being a multisport athlete has made a noticeable difference in Schultz’s tennis game.
“Tanner’s soccer skills serve him well on the tennis court,” she said. “He is quick and balanced; he gets balls back that would be a winner against other players.
“He definitely employs the tactics of ‘last ball theory,’ which states that the last player to touch the ball in a rally loses it a high percentage of the time. Tanner makes his opponents earn every point. He is also capable of generating some offense, especially on his forehand side. ”
The third-place match between Schultz, QV’s No. 2 singles player, and Weber proved to be one of the highlights of the section tournament.
Leads were squandered by both players as every point was earned and well-deserved.
“The key to advancing through the tournament and winning the third-place match was being familiar with who I was against,” Schultz said.
“Will and I have played almost everyone there, so we sort of knew what we were getting into and we used that to our advantage.
“Especially with the third-place match. I lost to Alex last year, so not only using that as motivation but being familiar with how he plays definitely helped.”
Meagher and Schultz advanced to the WPIAL Class 2A boys singles tournament as the third and 10th seeds.
Meagher was scheduled to meet No. 14 Tyler Quinn from Valley in the first round April 8 at North Allegheny. Schultz was to play No. 7 Jonah Camardese from Montour in his first match.
“If Will advances, there is a good chance he could meet the No. 2 seed, Silas Morris from Greensburg Salem, in the semis,” Hays said. “If Will plays well, no one will be happy to see him on their half of the draw. I hope and expect him to go far.
“Tanner holds a previous victory over Camardese in a section match last season. So, he should be entering the WPIAL tournament with some confidence.”
Panthers advance
Sewickley Academy’s Johan Harmon and Will Bojalad qualified for the PIAA Class 3A boys singles tournament by advancing to the third-place consolation round in the Section 2-3A finals at North Allegheny.
The top four finishers in the section qualified for the district playoffs.
Harmon, a freshman, defeated Mars seniors Jaxon Hittle, 10-2, and Cal Johnson, 10-1, in the first two rounds at the section event.
Hittle was seeded at No. 14; Johnson was No. 6.
Bojalad, a senior, blanked Butler senior and No. 12 seed Ryan Conway, 10-0, then edged Pine-Richland senior and No. 4 Ryan Moore, 10-10 (7-5), in his first two matches of the section tournament.
At the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, No. 9 seed Harmon was scheduled to meet No. 8 Thomas Luther from Shady Side Academy in the first round April 8 at Bethel Park, and No. 14 seed Bojalad was to clash with No. 3 Luca Ritovoi from Mt. Lebanon.
As a team, Sewickley Academy stood in second place in Section 2-3A with a 4-1 record behind 5-0 North Allegheny.
The Panthers swept past North Hills, Moon, Mars and Butler by 5-0 scores in section play but lost to NA, which was 8-0 overall.
Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley trailed Sewickley in the section standings with 3-1 records.