BUTLER TWP - For years, Butler Country Club tennis pro Whitney Snyder has said the West Penn Interclub Championship is more about pride than winning.

Richard Latuska demonstrated that theory Friday.

Latuska, 15, of Hampton Township, was representing host Butler Country Club with his 18-year-old sister, Kristen, in the varsity portion of the mixed doubles event when he was struck in the neck with a shot near the net against Green Oaks.

The Latuska tandem lost the match, 8-4, to the eventual varsity champions and the younger Latuska had had enough.

"That was a tense match that was really close at the time," his sister said. "When he got hit, it just set off a chain reaction."

"I was getting frustrated and that pushed me over the edge," Latuska said. "My heart wasn't in it after I got hit, but we decided our 12-under team worked too hard to reach the finals. It would have been unfair for us to give up and pull out."

So the Latuska duo regrouped, defeated Steve Shetter and Elisa Nesbitt of Butler Junior Tennis 8-2 in their final match, then watched 12-year-old teammates Evan Kowalski and Elise Held win their division with an 8-4 victory over Adam Neidig and Chelsea Stein of Forest Hills.

It all added up to 14 team points for Butler Country Club and a first-place tie with Forest Hills in the eight-team competition.

There had never been a first-place tie in the nine-year history of the tournament.

The event's format combines victory points of varsity and junior mixed doubles teams to determine the event's final standings.

Butler Country Club finished first for the first time since 1996, the year the event debuted.

"It feels good to be on the team that won because we've had a lot of great players represent our club in past years that didn't win," Kristen Latuska said.

Her brother was one of them. This year marked the fourth straight season he represented Butler Country Club in this event.

"I'm glad I was part of this," he said. "I feel like all of the hard work has paid off."

Kristen and Richard Latuska attend Vincentian Academy and start on their respective varsity tennis teams there. The former played No. 2 singles for the girls as a junior last year while the latter played No. 1 singles as a freshman on Vincentian's first-ever boys team.

"The Latuska family has been a great tennis family for many years," Snyder said. "All of their children play, they're all great athletes and they all push each other to be better.

"Evan Kowalski and Elise Held are serious year-round players. They are not just summer recreational players. They've made a positive commitment to tennis and that's evident by the way they play."

Shetter of Butler Junior Tennis and Kelsey Kraus of Edgeworth received extra effort awards. Ross Barr of Wildwood and Marcy Held of Highland received sportsmanship awards.

"We had a tournament (within Butler Junior Tennis Association) to determine who would represent us here," Shetter said. "I'm proud just to be here, to be good enough to be here."

That's the concept, Snyder says.

"It's not about winning and losing," he said. "It's about being proud to be on a team, proud to represent your organization.

"This format is the way we should all want to go through life, getting along with each other and meeting new friends."

Butler Country Club assistant tennis pro Doug Johnston, a former participant in the Inter-Club Championship, described the event as a "tennis all-star game."

"I've played in hockey all-star games, baseball all-star games, but this is different," Johnston said. "This is absolutely the best of the best. Everybody is proud to be here and should feel that way."

West Penn Interclub Championship Results

1. (tie):

Butler Country Club (18-Richard Latuska, Kristen Latuska, 12-Evan Kowalski, Elise Held) 14 points

1. (tie):

Forest Hills (18-Sean Carney, Tara Stein, 12-Adam Neidig, Chelsea Stein) 14 points

3.

Green Oaks (18-Brad Rosenthal, Kaylen Davidson, 12-Justin Rosenthal, Ann Teek) 13 points

4.

Butler Junior Tennis (18-Steve Shetter, Elisa Nesbitt, 12-Matt Slamecka, Carolyn Shetter) 11 points

5.

Edgeworth (18-Greg Wendziicki, Ashley McMaster, 12-Jordan Change, Kelsey Kraus) 8 points

6.

Highland (18-David Yokitis, Goina Poerio, 12-Chris Aland, Marcy Held) 6 points

7.

Wildwood (18-Ross Barr, Emma Crist, 12-Paul Stein, Emily Winkler) 4 points

8.

Chapel Gate (18-David Snyder, Carolyn Just, 12-Charlie Otte, Mackenzie Jordan) 2 points