Quaker Valley took home its fifth WPIAL Class 2A boys team tennis title Tuesday, defeating North Catholic in a close 3-2 match.
After a down season, the “Team Redeemed” Quakers redeemed themselves by claiming their first championship since 2024 in a championship rematch.
“Our name last year was ‘Team Scrappy’ because we had lost so many seniors, so we were really starting over,” coach Christi Hays said. “Going into this year, we were disappointed about that. So I said, ‘OK, do we want to be Team Scrappy No. 2?’ And they said, ‘No, we want to be Team Revenge.’ And I said, ‘Well, how about Team Redeemed? So our nickname became Team Redeemed.”
QV’s Carter Hawes and Patrick Connors defeated NC’s Dylan Bopp and Jackson Schlegel in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, to get things rolling for the Quakers.
North Catholic knotted it up when Trojans’ second singles player Alex Weber downed Tanner Schultz in straight sets.
QV’s Will Meagher beat North Catholic’s Justin Garvey in three sets, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, at No. 1 singles.
“It meant a lot to win,” Meagher said.“After winning the first set 6–1, you kind of ease up a little bit, but it was good to come back from in the third set and bring it home.”
“Seeing Will pull this one out, that was huge,” Hays said. “He needed that. He’s been dealing with an arm issue, and yesterday he was really struggling. I’m not sure what happened in the second set, but you don’t want to let a player like that back into a match. That could’ve changed everything right there, so I’m really glad he finished it, for himself and for the team.“
Dom Ditano and Sutton Hoehl clinched the QV victory, defeating Paddy McCabe and Lenny Splane in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4.
Ditano and Hoehl won the tiebreaker over Paddy McCabe and Lenny Splane in the first set. Down 5-2, North Catholic tallied three straight. However, Quaker Valley notched two straight points, the last coming off a double fault.
“Doubles has been huge,” Hays said. “Everybody has good singles players, but we’ve really spent a lot of time on doubles over the years. We want them at the net. When you’re at the net, you take away time and space and force your opponent to hit great shots. If you stay back, it’s just about groundstrokes — but that’s not doubles. Doubles is owning the net.”
Without strong doubles play, the outcome would have been different.
“When you’re at the net, you’ve got about a 5-to-1 chance to win the point because you’re so close,” Hays said. “If you’re back, it’s more like 3-to-2. The odds are just better, and it puts pressure on the other team, so we really rely on our doubles, and I was proud they got that first point. That was huge.”
Meagher was happy to see the doubles teams come through in crunch time.
“It was a great feeling seeing the doubles teams come through,” he said. “It’s always nice to have strong doubles you can rely on, and ours have been doing that all year.”
NC’s Jake Sinclair won the last matchup against QV’s Charlie Pyle, but the Quakers were still champs with a 3-2 victory.
Both Hays and Meagher said that someone new is always stepping up for the Quakers.
“I think it just shows how complete our team is,” Meagher said. “No matter who we’re playing, everybody has a chance to win. There’s no one who’s just out of it — it’s always competitive, always close.”
Hays was proud Meagher was able to fight through a tough match with a banged-up arm against Blackhawk and then come out and lead the team in a clutch victory.
“We needed Will to finish the match, because if he hadn’t, he would’ve needed a medical excuse to play the next one,” she said. “But what’s been fun about this run is we’ve had a different hero every time. It’s not just Will or the singles players — different guys have stepped up. Everybody’s been ready.”
Hays loves the resilience of this QV team. Hays said in its match with Winchester Thurston, despite winning 5-0, three of the matches went three sets. Blackhawk was a battle as well, but she said that the nerve-wracking finishes prepared them for this moment.
“I think what was great is it showed the guys that even if they get behind, they can pull it out, and that every match counts just like every other one,” she said.
This marks the first time in Hays’ career that the Quaker Valley boys and girls team have taken team WPIAL titles in the same year.
“To be able to win championships with both the girls and the boys — that’s huge,” she said. “I don’t even know if it’s been done before here. And the girls won the deciding point on doubles, too. The year before, we lost a heartbreaker to North Catholic — we were up six match points at No. 3 singles and lost it — so to come back last year and win, and now do it with the boys, I haven’t even really processed it yet. It’s pretty cool.”
“It’s huge for the program,” Meagher added. “Having both the boys and girls win in the same year is a great look for us. It shows we’re doing something right.”
Hays is ready for a run in states.
“It’s been fun, but we’re not done,” Hays said. “We’ve got our eye on the first round of states. I think we’re going to play a local team, which is nice, and then hopefully get these guys to Hershey. I can’t wait. If we go in as the No. 1 seed, we should get a decent draw, and it’ll just be a great experience.”
Hays said that she is excited to see how this team does, especially with Schultz and Pyle coming into their own at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots.
For Meagher, he will enjoy this WPIAL title but knows the job isn’t finished.
“We’ve got about a week until states, so we’ll rest up, get ready and prepare for the first round,” he said. “Hopefully make a deep run.”