It was an all-Quaker Valley matchup in the Section 3-2A boys tennis consolation round April 15 at Nichols Courts, home of Sewickley Academy tennis.
Senior captains Sutton Hoehl and Patrick Connors defeated the sophomore tandem of Dom Ditano and Carter Hawes in a doubles battle of QV teammates.
Hoehl and Connors rallied to a 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-4 victory and the No. 10 seed in the WPIAL Class 2A doubles tournament.
The two-sport athletes also competed for the QV boys soccer team in the fall, Hoehl at a forward position and Connors as a midfielder.
“I think Patrick and I played very well together because we have been lifetime friends and have played soccer together our whole lives,” Hoehl said. “We are always partners with each other when we play golf scrambles against our friends, so our teamwork is very strong. Whenever we make mistakes, we always pick each other up, which makes us a strong team.
“We both really enjoy playing tennis, and even though it isn’t our main sport, we are very proud to have made it to WPIALs. Our match against our teammates Dom and Carter was very difficult. They are both phenomenal tennis players who hit the ball very well and have great endurance. It was a friendly match because it was against our teammates, but the length of the match (three-and-a-half hours) was very grueling. We were very happy to win, but just relieved that Quaker Valley was going to win in either outcome.”
Hoehl said the Quakers’ aim on the tennis court is to win the WPIAL Class 2A team championship.
“I think our team performance has been very strong this year,” he said. “We have a lot of depth, which allows us to compete in all five matches that happen on game days.
“We have very experienced and good coaches that care a lot about us, so it is a winning formula. Our goal is to win team WPIALs this year.”
Ditano and Hawes received the No. 14 seed for the WPIAL Class 2A doubles tournament.
North Catholic’s Alex Weber and Kenny Splane defeated teammates Jake Sinclair and Paddy McCabe, 6-2, 6-4, in the Section 3-2A finals.