Mt. Lebanon overcomes for a title
Knoch takes Class 2A for fourth in a row
Sophia Cunningham and Sylvie Eriksen had a lot going against them heading into the WPIAL Class 3A doubles finals.
They were the No. 5 seed, had to pull off two major upsets to even get to the championship match and Mt. Lebanon had not won a title in 30 years.
It didn’t matter. Cunningham and Eriksen capped an incredible run through the tournament with a 6-0, 6-3 victory against No. 2 seed Emily Wincko and Abbey Swirsding of North Allegheny to bring the Blue Devils the 14th doubles title in school history.
“We were really able to pull together at the last minute as a
doubles team, and we were able to accomplish a lot,” Cunningham said. “I think it was all about communication and knowing where
she was going to be (on the court), and we had enough confidence in each other to put it together.”
Mt. Lebanon’s last champions were Erin Gustine and Ting Yu in 1992.
While Mt. Lebanon had to wait 30 years between titles, Knoch took its fourth in a row as senior Ally Bauer captured her third and junior Lindsey Greb her second — albeit with different partners — with a 6-3, 6-2 decision against Sewickley Academy’s Rayna Thakkar and Gwyn Belt.
“This was exciting,” Bauer said. “All three years, I’ve had different partners. It’s nice to do this with someone new every year.”
Bauer did not compete in doubles last year because she qualified for the state singles tournament. Greb won with her sister Emily in 2021 but teamed up with Bauer after Emily qualified for the state singles finals this year.
“I still feel the same amount of excitement,” Greb said. “It’s something I’ve been working towards and something I’ve looked forward to since the beginning of the year.”