The girls varsity tennis team has begun the year in much the same way they left it– winning.
Sophomore star Cami Fisher cemented her name in the Bethel Park annals again with a section singles title on Sept. 12 on her home court.
Fisher joins an elite list of singles champs including most recently Mia Gorman (Class of 2021) and four others.
“Winning the section title means a lot to me, and it means more being the first since Mia,” Fisher said. “One of my goals for this season was winning the section, so it felt really great to be able to do it. I remember watching Mia play in sections, and for that to be me now is crazy.”
Fisher entered the section singles tournament as the No. 1 seed in Section 4. Her road to victory included 10-0 routes of Lindsey Worthington of West Allegheny in the first round and Neve Zuzek of Peters Township in the quarterfinals.
The semifinals featured Fisher and her teammate Mackenzie Smock. The sensational sophomores duked it out in two sets, Fisher winning the first 7-5 and the second 6-3.
“It was definitely not ideal having to play my teammate in the semifinals, but we played some really good tennis and were good sports about it,” Fisher said.
Smock went on to place third after defeating Michelle Yang of Mt. Lebanon 6-3 in the first set. Yang could not finish the second set due to injury.
In the finals, Fisher met the No. 2 seed Jackie Tang of Mt. Lebanon. Fisher rebuked the Blue Devil in two sets, winning 6-4 and 6-0.
“The key to me winning the finals was my mental game. I needed to stay focused on every point, one at a time, not looking into the future or getting upset over the past,” Fisher said.
The mental game, in addition to her talent and hard work, is what gives Fisher the edge in big matches.
She and then teammate Lily Sierka (Class of 2024) made history last season with the school’s first-ever WPIAL doubles championship.
Fisher also helped the team win its first-ever WPIAL championship.
With so much dominance in her freshman year, Fisher entered the season with a reputation to uphold.
“My personal goals going into the season were to win the section singles title, place at singles and team WPIALs, and qualify for the PIAA singles and team tournament,” Fisher said.
The WPIAL singles tournament begins at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at North Allegheny HS with the first round. They will play through the semifinal round.
The final round is Sept. 19 beginning at 1 p.m. at the BPHS tennis courts.
Fisher secured the No. 3 seed in the bracket. She will face the No. 14 seed Bayleigh Vilage of Norwin.
Smock is seeded ninth and will face eighth-seeded Michelle Yan of Franklin Regional in Round 1.
The No. 1 seed is returning WPIAL champion Meriwether McCargo of Shadyside Academy. Returning WPIAL runner-up Amelia Williams of Penn Trafford is the No. 2 seed.
The entire bracket can be seen here.