Two No. 1s are better
Butler has co-No. 1s on the tennis court — and it’s a good thing.
One of them, junior Matt Slamecka, hasn’t played in six months.
Sidelined by an injured elbow, Slamecka only recently was medically cleared to play. The Golden Tornado’s No. 1 player last year, he lost only four matches. Three were against Pine-Richland’s Casey Watt, now playing at Notre Dame.
“He played soccer in the fall and his elbow flared up when he started playing tennis,” Butler coach Dave Hartzell said. “We’re hoping he’ll be good to go now.”
In the meantime, junior Evan Kowalski, who was 12-6 last year, has elevated his game to the point that he will see action at No. 1 singles as well.
“Evan’s been looking great,” Hartzell said. “It makes me feel good that we’ve got some quality depth on this team.”
Butler hopes to challenge for a section title, though that may be easier said than done. North Allegheny, defending section champion, defeated the Tornado last season and has everybody back.
Here is a look at area boys tennis teams:
<B>Coach: </B>Dave Hartzell, fourth year<B>Last Year: </B>12-6, lost WPIAL quarterfinal to eventual state champion Upper St. Clair.<B>Key Losses: </B>None:<B>Projected Lineup: </B>No. 1 singles-Matt Slamecka (junior) or Evan Kowalski (junior), No. 3-Stefan Kemp (junior) or Will Nesbitt (freshman), No. 1 doubles-Kemper May (junior) and Matt Fend (senior), No. 2-combination of Andrew Sykes (senior), Emil Kemp (junior) and Zach McCafferty (freshman)Hartzell says: “This season looks very promising, especially if Matt Slamecka is healthy. We hope to do at least as well as last year. We’ll see how everything unfolds, but I’m optimistic.”
<B>Coach: </B>Shawn Sowers, first year<B>Last Year: </B>Lost to Hickory in second round of District 10 tournament<B>Key Losses: </B>Matt Kiser (No. 1 singles), Derek Frederickson (No. 1 doubles)<B>Projected Lineup: </B>No. 1 singles-Josiah Welker (senior), No. 2-Chris Chutz (junior), No. 3-Luke Stears (senior), No. 1 doubles-Jon Stewart (junior) and Brady Beech (senior), No. 2-to be determinedSowers says: “I’m pretty comfortable stepping into this situation (for longtime coach Lorraine Gilson) since I coached the girls team for 10 years (through 2007). We have a chance to be pretty good. We want to win our league, get to districts and see how we fare there.”
<B>Coach: </B>Ken Nieser, first year<B>Last Year: </B>6-9<B>Key Losses: </B>Zach Crossetti (No. 3 singles), Tony Doyle and Aaron Ramsey (No. 1 doubles), Corey Baker (No. 2 doubles)<B>Projected Lineup: </B>No. 1 singles-Joe Boros (senior), No. 2-Jake Rupert (junior), No. 3-Jack Boros (freshman) or Tim Fritz, No. 1-2 doubles-to be determined.Nieser says: “I don’t know anybody else in the section, but I do know Sewickley Academy’s won the WPIAL for a zillion years in a row. After our top four players, we have five completely new players. I just recruited the point guard from the basketball team (Cory Miller) to play. He knows which side of the racquet to hold and that’s good enough for me. We’re building more toward next year than this year.”
<B>Coaches:</B> Bill Pettigrew and Chris Knauff<B>Last Year: </B>Lost in WPIAL semifinals, first round of state tournament<B>Key Losses: </B>Bill Welsh (No. 1 singles)<B>Projected Lineup: </B>No. 1 singles-Andy Knauff (senior), No. 2-Dan Kearney (junior), No. 3-Brendan Blakeny, No. 1 doubles-Ian Welsh (senior) and Tim Gaw (senior), No. 2-Jake Miszuk (senior) and John Brake (senior)Knauff says: “Our goal is to do better than last year. We have the talent to do it. We have more depth this year and our doubles teams should be stronger. The big challenge will be at No. 1 and 2 singles because those two guys are stepping up in position. It’s always a challenge to beat Sewickley Academy — Mars has never done that — but they’ve lost a lot of talent and we have a shot this time.”
<B>Coach: </B>Eric Grove, eighth year<B>Last Year: </B>8-10<B>Key Losses: </B>Ryan Zipf (No. 1 singles), Vinny Posteraro (No. 3 singles)<B>Projected Lineup: </B>No. 1 singles-Warren Shaw (senior), No. 2-Robert Klasmier (senior), No. 3-Andrew Wilson (junior), No. 1 doubles-Michael Hess (senior) and Steve Hochberg (senior), No. 2-Austin Brockway (senior) and Ted Dischman (junior)Grove says: “We’re always competing for that third playoff spot with Butler and North Hills, and we’ll be doing that again. Our young players look pretty good and we’ve got a lot of seniors.”
