Bethel Park girls tennis top player Cami Fisher celebrates strong season

By means of: Ray Visser


Saturday November 16, 2024 | 11:01 am

It's been a whirlwind of a season for Bethel Park's No. 2 tennis star Cami Fisher.

“I was very happy with my performance this season,” Fisher said. “At the beginning of the year I had a few goals I wanted to achieve, and I was able to achieve them.”

Fisher won the sectional championship, qualified for the PIAA Class 3A tournament with a third-place finish at WPIALs and saw her season end in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.

Fisher & Co. also advanced to the PIAA team tournament by finishing second in WPIAL 3A. The Black Hawks rolled past District 10 champion Fairview 4-1 in the first round at the Westwood Raquet Club in Erie.

“Our team played really well,” Fisher said. “We all competed in our matches and motivated each other to really persevere.”

Fisher, sophomore Mackenzie Smock and senior Julia Gobbie won the three singles matches. Cassie Sierka, a sophomore, and Keira Ross, a junior, won first doubles; seniors Amelia Lancet and Sara Walters lost at second doubles.

“Everyone gave their best and it was a real team effort,” Smock said after the game. “It's exciting to still be playing together since we started playing in Glen Creek as little kids.

“We played really hard in the WPIAL tournament, and it's great that we finished second in such a competitive (tournament).”

The Black Hawks lost 3–0 to District 1 runner-up Council Rock South in the PIAA quarterfinals, finishing their season with a 16–3 record.

Fisher, seeded No. 1, and Smock, seeded No. 4, represented Bethel Park in the singles qualifying match, with Fisher topping Mt. Lebanon junior and No. 2 seed Jackie Tang, 6-4, 6-0, in the championship round.

Smock advanced to the semifinals, where she lost to Fisher 7-5, 6-3. Smock then won her consolation round match against Tang.

At WPIALs, Fisher rolled into the semifinals by defeating a pair of freshmen, No. 14 Bayleigh Vilage of Norwin, 10-1, and No. 6 Cassandra Lapina of Pine-Richland, 10-3.

Fisher, seeded third, lost in the semifinals to Penn-Trafford junior and No. 2 seed Amelia Williams 6-2, 6-3. The Bethel Park underclassman qualified for the PIAA tournament with a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Shady Side Academy freshman Brooke Henderson, the fifth seed, in the third-place match.

Williams lost to Shady Side Academy sophomore and No. 1 seed Meriwether McCargo, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5), in the championship match.

Smock defeated junior and No. 8 seed Michelle Yan of Franklin Regional, 11-9, in the first round, but lost to McCargo, 10-4, in the quarterfinals.

Fisher faced Central Bucks South senior Grace Piro in the PIAA playoffs. Piro, the District 1 champion, won 6-3, 6-3 in the first round.

Fisher posted an impressive 24-1 record in the PIAA Championships.

Bethel Park also qualified for the PIAA Class 3A team tournament by finishing second in the WPIAL playoffs. No. 1 Mt. Lebanon defeated the defending champions 3-2 in the final at Washington & Jefferson.

Fisher and Gobbie won for the No. 3 Black Hawks against Mt. Lebanon on the first and third singles.

“I am really proud of the performance of our tennis team this season,” Fisher said. “I think everyone was a bit cautious before the season because we lost three starters last season and we didn't know how we would perform.

“But everyone did their best and played a huge role in the huge success of this season.”

Fisher defeated Tang 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles match, while Gobbie defeated senior Elena Tatel 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 3 singles.

“Our game was close,” Gobbie said, “and it's unfortunate that we came up short. But I'm proud of us that we made it to the championship. We all played well. Mount Lebanon is just tough.

“I am very proud of our tennis team. We had high expectations coming into the season after our great performance last year, and we didn't think we would go very far after losing some key seniors. However, we had a great performance in the WPIAL playoffs and I couldn't be more proud of what we accomplished this year.”

Mount Lebanon won first and second doubles matches against the Black Hawks, then junior Michelle Yang gave her team the margin of victory with a 6-2, 7-5 victory against Smock.

In previous WPIAL rounds, Bethel Park defeated No. 14 Thomas Jefferson, 4-1, No. 11 Peters Township, 4-1, and No. 2 Shady Side Academy, 3-2, to qualify for the championship game.

“I thought our team played really well in the WPIAL playoffs,” Fisher said. “We were very motivated, fought hard and played our best tennis.”

Three seniors – Molly Welch, Katelyn Wolf and Katie Yonish – and three juniors – Laura Casaldi, Samira Gorman and Grace Perdziola – rounded out the 2024 Bethel Park squad.

“It will be an adjustment for next year because we lose three starting players again,” Fisher said, “but I still think we will be solid and can keep Bethel Park tennis in people's minds and go far as well in the WPIAL class. .”

Bethel Park was second in Section 4-3A this season. Mount Lebanon claimed first place with an 8-0 record, followed by the Black Hawks (7-1), Upper St. Clair (6-2), Peters Township (5-3), Chartiers Valley (4-4 ), Canon-McMillan (3-5), South Fayette (2-6), Trinity (1-7) and West Allegheny (0-8).

Gobbie was proud of the Black Hawks' achievements in 2024.

“Everyone came through in their matches,” she said. “I'm really proud of everyone and I think they should all be proud of themselves.

“It's super exciting how far we've come in the play-offs this year. After losing three key players last year, we didn't expect to get this far. But I think what we have done is a huge achievement.”

Keywords: Bethel Park