Patterson among top players in 3A
There is a distinct possibility that, when the section singles tournaments begin Wednesday, the road to the WPIAL Class 3A singles championship will go through South Fayette.
And Jacob Patterson can already see them coming.
“I do see myself as a favorite because, when I do play my best tennis, I am the favorite,” Patterson said. “It’s definitely been interesting because, the kids still left in WPIALs, I know I’ve played with them before and I know their games well enough.”
It would be difficult to dispute the Lions junior as the odds-on favorite to win the title this year.
As a relatively unheralded freshman in 2019, he won the Section 4 singles title and rolled through two rounds of the bracket before he ran into the buzz saw that was Fox Chapel’s Robby Shymansky, who went on to win the state title that year. Losing that match, 6-1, 6-1 and dropping a three-set consolation final to Sewickley Academy alumnus Arjan Bedi, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, certainly gave Patterson an indication of what he will face moving forward with a target on his back.
He is, after all, the only one of the four semifinalists still playing high school tennis from the last time the tournament was held.
“It was definitely interesting because it’s a completely different environment. You’re not always used to people watching you and a lot of people did watch,” Patterson said. “A lot of people really watched the [third-place] playoff I played, so it was definitely a different environment.”
It’s not like Patterson hasn’t played in big matches. He enters the season as the No. 3-ranked junior in the state and in the top 200 nationally.
And it’s not that he’s just the favorite heading into the WPIAL singles tournament. He’s also the standard bearer for the fledgling South Fayette program attempting to establish itself in a section with perennial contenders Upper St. Clair, Peters Township and Mt. Lebanon.
“It’s definitely different and I feel I’ve been a role model since my first day my freshman year because I’m really the only one who competes more,” Patterson said. “I like being a role model and helping kids out and, the older I get the more people try out.”
Mt Lebanon
Every year, it seems that Mt. Lebanon is in the conversation for the WPIAL Class 3A team title, yet the Blue Devils are retooling a bit.
Though the team is a perennial postseason player, Mt. Lebanon hasn’t been to the semifinals since 2016, hasn’t played in the finals since losing to Shady Side Academy in 2014 and has not won a title since 2010.
Yet, through it all, the Blue Devils are always there and this year could have them turning the corner and getting back into serious contention.
“We’re 2-2 right now, but the two matches we lost, we lost 3-2 and we could have won those matches,” Mt. Lebanon coach Augie Garofoli said. “It was just the matter of a few points here and there.”
Mt. Lebanon’s two losses were in its openers against North Allegheny and Franklin Regional, two teams expected to be in the championship mix this year. To lose both by one match bodes well as the team moves forward.
It also helps that they are 2-0 in section play entering the week with wins against Peters Township and Bethel Park.
“I changed the lineup a little bit and we’ll see how this works,” Garofoli said. “Right now we’re sitting at 2-2 and hopefully we have good things coming from these last two matches.”
Mt. Lebanon is led at No. 1 singles by Philip Gorun, the No. 12 junior in the state who, as a freshman, lost in the Section 4 semifinals to Patterson, 6-0, 6-0. He also upset No. 7 seed Nick Mangelli of Moon, 105, in a pro-set match in the 2019 WPIAL Class 3A singles tournament before losing, 10-1, to eventual runner-up David Missry of Allderdice.
He is also 4-0 in individual matches this year, including a three-set upset of Franklin Regional senior Anup Nadesan,
“He’s one of those players who’s gotten stronger and just wears people down, has a strong mental game and he’ll just sit out there all day and just wear you out,” Garofoli said. “When he sees that opportunity to finish a point, he’ll do it and, the more matches he plays, the more he rises up.”