Latrobe, Knoch sweep to doubles titles
Wildcats seniors return to final, defeat top seed
Jenna Bell and Carolina Walters made it into the WPIAL Class 3A doubles finals as sophomores two years ago by upsetting a higher-seeded tandem from Shady Side Academy.
To win it all as seniors, they had to do it again.
Bell and Walters, who came into the tournament as the No. 2 seed, dispatched topseeded Shady Side Academy sophomores Elana Sobol and Rachel Nath in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, at North Allegheny to win their first WPIAL Class 3A doubles titles.
“This is just so exciting,” Walters said. “I always have fun playing with Jenna and, we got so close two years ago and it’s exciting to finally come back and have the opportunity to win this time.”
In 2019, the Latrobe duo came into the tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated the Bulldogs’ Elle Santora and Renee Long, who were the second seed, 6-1, 6-2, only to lose in the final to Peters Township’s Kat Wang and Marra Bruce.
Losing in the final two years ago also gave the Wildcats a bit of perspective when they took the court against Sobol and Nath.
“It think we just worked on our individual games more and we didn’t really work on teamwork,” Bell said. “It’s just the fact that our positive attitudes bring us up and, I don’t want to say that we were more positive, but we just played more doubles together and worked better.”
This wasn’t the first time Sobol and Nath had teamed up in the doubles tournament. A year ago they went into the final as the No. 12 seed and lost to Maggie Steif and Anna Rush of Upper St. Clair, 10-0, in an opening round pro-set match.
Though this one wasn’t a runaway, Latrobe did have an advantage at the net, where most of the critical points are won.
“They’re both really good players and Carolina never misses a ball and she’s around the whole time and Jenna has a really hard forehand and attacked us down the line and crosscourt,” Sobol said. “It’s hard to hit it back when they’re hitting it that hard at you.”
Bell and Walters are the third doubles team from Latrobe to win the doubles title and the first since Joelle Kissell and Allie Seranko took the WPIAL and PIAA crowns in 2006. The other time was in 2002 when current head coach Karissa (Walker) Skiba and Jamie Sutyak also took both titles.
“It’san amazing feeling, but it’s even more amazing that I can win it with my best friend Carolina,” Bell said. “I think that’s an experience in and of itself, sharing it with someone because it’s so special.”
Class 2A
Emily Greb saw her opportunity to go to the state singles tournament evaporate when she lost the third-place match to South Park junior Nicole Kempton.
Even though she lost, she knew immediately she was going to compete in the doubles tournament. And she knew exactly where to find her partner.
At the kitchen table.
“It’s definitely exciting,” Greb said. “Even though I didn’t get there in singles, I had the same excitement for doubles, especially playing with my own sister. That’s pretty cool.”
Emily and twin sister Lindsey were the top seed heading into the tournament and the Knoch sophomores didn’t disappoint as they became the thirdconsecutive twosome for the Knights to win the WPIAL Class 2A title with a 6-4, 6-3 decision over No. 2 Kirsten Close and Roshni Thakkar of Sewickley Academy.
“Obviously we wanted to do really well and I feel that everything we’ve been working on for the past who-knowshow-long to prepare for this, we did it out there,” Lindsey said. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
It’s the fifth consecutive year the family has won a WPIAL title. Older sister Laura, a freshman at Dayton who was on-hand to spectate, is the only four-time singles champion in either classification.
“It’s awesome,” Emily said. “It may not be singles, but it’s a gold medal.”