Shared Success Sows Four-Peat for Foxes

 

Winning a section title isn’t easy, but the Fox Chapel Area boys tennis team made it happen again this season for the fourth consecutive year. Along with the team honor, the duo of Frank Siegel and Grant Fenton is the section doubles champions. 

Throughout the season, Frank, a sophomore, and Grant, a junior, were the No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, respectively.  

“Frank and Grant pair well because Frank is offensive and Grant is more defensive,” says coach Alex Slezak. “They both are also great competitors in all sports. That drive helps them push one another to get more out of themselves.”

That drive fueled players, both individually and as a team, to their success, especially in the WPIAL Class 3A Section 3 match against Shady Side Academy, where they captured the section title.  

“It was a very close battle,” coach Slezak says. “After losing six of seven starters last year, Shady Side certainly was interested in using this as their year to pounce and get the title back. It was a match we prepared for all season. Grant was not the favorite to win his match. He even saved match point in the second set and won in a third set. Grant used his fitness to extend points and wear down his opponent. This advantage became apparent later in the match. It was the most memorable match I’ve seen in my high school coaching career.”

The doubles teams of senior Rocco DiDomenico and sophomore Harrison Soose, and junior Mason Hager and sophomore Chase Walters, also won their matches in straight sets.

But the team’s success goes well beyond playing style, with familiarity becoming one of its biggest strengths. 

'Basketball Brothers'

While Frank and Grant are not related, they describe themselves as “basketball brothers,” with a connection built through years on the hardwoods and summer tennis courts. 

They aren’t the only ones with strong ties. Three cousins – Frank, Rocco, and Harrison – all play key roles on the team. After earning the third singles spot after tryouts, Harrison chose to play on the top doubles team with Rocco, putting the team first. 

Rocco says his very first memories of playing tennis were fun ones when the cousins were playing on Frank’s driveway. Since then, they’ve come a long way, but they still enjoy joking around and making the game fun. Besides that, Frank, Rocco, and Harrison share other commonalities – they are all highly competitive and don’t like losing.

Harrison says, “I grew up playing hockey and baseball with Rocco, and soccer and baseball with Frank. However, as we got older, we all went our separate ways with sports. And that’s what makes tennis so special for us. Rocco, Frank, and I all play different sports, but tennis is the one thing we still all have in common.”   

Family and Friends

Off the court, those connections are just as important. 

Rocco, who is also an all-state player on the Foxes soccer team, explains, “I am really close with my cousins. We are all next-door neighbors, and they have been part of my life since I was born. I interact with Frank and Harrison every single day, and they never fail to make me laugh. 

Harrison says their relationship goes beyond family.

“They may be my cousins, but they are also two of my closest friends,” says Harrison, a Foxes tri-sport athlete who also plays golf in the fall and hockey during the winter. “We have a brotherly relationship. We are able to have fun and joke around, but we also know when it is time to focus. I do believe that tennis is an individual sport, but in many aspects, we are still a team. And I believe that the familiarity we have with each other plays a massive role in our team’s success.”                                                                           

Rocco also credits his development to playing with two other relatives – his older siblings Will and Sienna, former Foxes’ tennis team standouts. 

“Playing with older and stronger players helped elevate my game and gave me an edge,” Frank says.

He also pointed out the similarities and differences between playing tennis and basketball.

“Tennis is a little bit different than basketball, especially since I play singles tennis. However, basketball requires all five guys to be locked in and focused and to trust each other during a game. In tennis, we are all zoned in on our own match, but are all hoping to bring a collective win for the team.”

Having shared experiences with Rocco has led Grant to adopt a new approach.

“I’m pretty composed in both basketball and tennis,” Grant says. “What I’ve faced in basketball has helped make me better at dealing with the greater individual pressure that all tennis players have to face. You have to be able to count on yourself out there, and I think that playing in an opponent’s packed gym (for basketball) has helped me not crumble under pressure on the tennis court. 

Grant says something he admires about Frank is that he likes to be aggressive in the sports he plays. “He doesn’t like to sit back and wait for anything. I’ve tried to take a page out of his book with that because I’m generally more cautious and like to get in a rhythm before I get aggressive.

“A lot of people think power determines matches, but I like to analyze my opponents. I think of tennis like a chess match – if you’re mentally stronger, you’re more likely to win,” Grant says.