John Rohrkaste will have plenty to play for Friday when he faces off against Jonah Jasek in the consolation finals of the WPIAL Class 2A Boys Tennis Singles Championships at Bethel Park High School.
Rohrkaste, the Montour High School senior, and Jasek, a junior from South Park, will battle for the WPIAL’s final spot in the PIAA Singles Championships, scheduled to take place May 23-24 at Hershey Racquet Club.
The top three finishers in the 16-player WPIAL field earn berths in next month’s PIAA event. Max Henson, a junior from Belle Vernon and the top seed in the WPIAL tournament, and Justin Garvey, the No. 2 seed from North Catholic, already have wrapped up spots in the PIAA tournament.
They’ll meet for the WPIAL singles title Friday at Bethel Park.
It was Henson who dealt Rohrkaste his first loss Thursday after the Spartans’ standout opened play with two straight wins.
Rohrkaste, who reached the PIAA tournament as a sophomore but was eliminated in the quarterfinals of last year’s WPIAL tournament, opened this year’s WPIAL tournament Thursday with a 10-1 victory over No. 12 seed Aydan Gross of Mt. Pleasant.
Rohrkaste, the tournament’s No. 5 seed, then captured his second straight win, 10-5 over Landon Harderode, the No. 5 seed from Valley.
That vaulted Rohrkaste into the semifinals, where he lost to Henson, 6-1, 6-0.
Garvey topped Jasek, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6) in the other semifinal, setting up Friday’s third-place consolation match between Rohrkaste and Jasek.
Rohrkaste said he thought he played well all day. He overcame a calf cramp in his match against Harderode. “It was a bit concerning, but I stretched it out and it never was an issue the rest of the day.”
That match was tight, with Rohrkaste leading just 6-5 before pulling away for the win.
Rohrkaste said he was pleased his next match isn’t until Friday; the original schedule called for the championship final and consolation match to be played Thursday, but a questionable weather forecast prompted officials to wait an extra day.
“I’m glad I get a bit of a break (Thursday),” Rohrkaste said.
Rohrkaste said he’s played Jasek twice before and lost both times, but he’s not thinking about that.
“I’m going in with a healthy mindset,” he said. “To be honest, I’m happy with what I’ve done, whether I win or lose.”
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