A
fter the girls tennis team plowed through the
regular season undefeated in its section, and
then went on to become the WPIAL Class 3A
runner-up, Coach Alex Slezak knew his squad
had a chance of winning the state championship. The
Foxes certainly were ready to fight for the title, as it was
something the coach and his past and present players had
dreamed about over the 11 years he’s been at the helm. But,
when it actually happened – the team beat Downingtown
West, 3-2, in the finals – Coach Slezak was pretty much at a
loss for words, other than to say, “Wow!”
It was the first time since 2004 that the Lady Foxes won the
state title.
As it turned out, that wasn’t the only time Coach Slezak had
that reaction that week. On November 2, Charlotte James, the
Foxes’ top singles player and 2019 WPIAL Class 3A singles
champion, fought her way through the state individual singles
championships to become the new PIAA 3A runner-up.
However, before Charlotte earned her own state medal, all
season she had used her experience and leadership skills to
help out the young team. It was no different at the PIAA team
finals. Charlotte got the competition off to a great start for the
Foxes when she overpowered her opponent, 6-2, 6-0.
Then, sophomore Carissa Shepard staged a tough come-
from-behind performance to win, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. According to
Carissa, “I was very nervous. I was overthinking things, and I
was trying to finish points too soon. I realized I needed to just
look for opportunities, instead of trying to force points, and
that helped me come back in the second and third sets.”
With the two schools tied at 2-2, freshman Catherine
Petrovich stepped onto the court for the final match. Fairly
new to competitive tennis, she had not even played the sport
until about two years ago. However, her prior experience
of competing at the state level as a gymnast prepared her
somewhat for the pressure-packed tournament. After a
comeback similar to Carissa’s, she won her three-hour match,
3-6, 7-6, 6-3. After the win, she said, “I was under a lot of
pressure. I knew I had to win because I was the deciding
match. I just kept telling myself, ‘You got this,’ and I could
hear Charlotte cheering and trying to help me from the
sidelines. That really helped a lot.”
Charlotte James and girls tennis coach Alex Slezak.
“I’m just so happy for the kids, because they work so hard
and make big sacrifices. They understood what they had to
do, and they did it,” said Coach Slezak. “But the making of
champions is not something that happens overnight. When I
took over the team, I set out to get the culture right, and then
past players set the bar and raised it a little bit each year. We’ve
been close a number of times, but this group is special. They
were able to get us over the hump, and the memories from
this experience will last forever. We will learn from it and grow
from it, and, with such a young group, we will be prepared to
go at it again next year.”
“I am lucky to have a lot of experience and knowledge from
playing this sport for so long that I can share with the team,”
Charlotte said. “Although I try to help where I can, no one
can teach you certain aspects of competing. The girls, and
especially Carissa and Catherine, gutting out three-setters in
the finals, showed such mental toughness and composure. It
was so exciting for me to watch, and it is incredibly promising
considering they have a few years of high school tennis ahead
of them.”
Other members of the team were senior Amanda Schilcher;
juniors Molly Dean, Alexandria Morton, and Paige Theoret;
sophomores Baylin Bitar, Anna Ferris, and Katherine Voigt;
and freshmen Emilia Cody and Diya Reddy. The team
manager was junior Emily Fera.
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FOX CHAPEL AREA
The Fox Chapel Area High School state gold-medal winning girls tennis
team.