KNOCH STANDOUT EYES SHOT AT WPIAL RECORD
There have only been seven players who have ever won a WPIAL girls tennis singles title three times.
Of those, just five were able to win three in a row and, before last season, only one, Latrobe’s Michaela Kissell, was able to do it her first three years.
That is, until Knoch’s Laura Greb equaled the feat with a 6- 1, 6- 2, victory against her Knights teammate Brooke Bauer in the finals last year at Shady Side Academy.
Now she will have an opportunity that Kissell, who sustained a knee injury prior to her senior season, never had an opportunity to accomplish. With a win in this year’s singles finals, Greb would become the first player in either classification to capture singles titles all four years.
“It’s one of my goals for this season,” Greb said. “I want to win that fourth title.”
Not only has Greb won three titles, she has captured her crowns against three different opponents. Before she slipped past Bauer last year, she knocked off Sewickley Academy’s Simran Bedi, 6- 0, 6- 1, in 2018 and opened her run by knocking off then- defending champion Katherine Marks of Our Lady of the
Sacred Heart, 6- 4, 6- 1, in 2017.
And she can already sense that fourth one.
“It gives me some nerves,” Greb said. “But I’m more excited about it than anything.”
It also might get her a few extra looks from colleges. She has not committed, but is being recruited by several area Division I and Division II colleges.
Like every athlete, Greb has had to deal with the backlash of the COVID- 19 outbreak throughout the summer. But though she missed some time, she was able to get some serious swings in.
“The club that I train at opened up around May and was only doing private lessons outside and then it fully opened to do group clinics,” Greb said. “I’ve been able to train pretty much as much as I wanted.”
Even so, there is always the possibility the season could get shut down at any time if there is a coronavirus outbreak. Such an occurrence could halt her attempt at history, as well, as a special personal moment, right in its tracks.
“I’d be super upset if this got canceled,” Greb said. “I’m really looking forward to the season, not only because it’s my senior year, but because my sisters [ twins Emily and Lindsey] will be on the team with me. They’re freshmen and not being able to play on the team would be upsetting.”
Fox Chapel
There have been quite a few changes with the Fox Chapel tennis program this year.
Gone to graduation is the Foxes top player from last year, WPIAL Class 3A singles champion and PIAA runner- up Charlotte James, as well as No. 3 singles player Catherine Petrovich, who opted not to play. If that wasn’t enough, coach Alex
Slezak won’t be on the sideline for at least the first month of the season because he’s on paternity leave after the birth of his son Zander.
“We actually have three coaches this year,” Slezak said. “I didn’t start the year, but I’ll be back.”
Taking his place and guiding the varsity for the first part of the season will be Laura Ward, who was previously an assistant in the program, while the junior varsity will be run by Maddie Hoffman, who is a former player at the school.
“When I come back, I guess I’m like a co- assistant head coach. I don’t know,” Slezak said. “I don’t know what exactly the role I’ll have, but that’s what I am.”
Still, this is the defending PIAA Class 3A champion, so the Foxes will likely be competitive.
“It will be different times this year,” Slezak said. “But we’ll have the same approach there.”