BY ALEX BUTELLI
Staff Writer

Last year the Pittsburgh Pirates ended a 20-year playoff drought. This year the Baldwin girls tennis outdid the Bucs, making the post-season for the first time in 25 years.

Baldwin defeated Woodland Hills this year to secure a spot in the playoffs. The team is very excited about the opportunity to play in the post-season.

“It’s awesome that we were the team to break the drought. We had a lot of hopes going into the season and we really proved ourselves,” Junior Sam Stark said.

Senior Alex Stojanoff agreed.

“As a senior, this was my last chance to make playoffs and I am happy my team gets to make a mark on Baldwin,” Stojanoff said.

Baldwin faced a new, realigned section this season. From now on, instead of playing nine teams twice each, the girls play 18 teams once.

Two significant section rivals, Mount Lebanon and Upper St. Clair, dropped out of Baldwin’s section. Skilled teams that were added include Oakland Catholic and Fox Chapel.

Tough teams like Shadyside Academy and Bethel Park still remain in Baldwin’s section.

With a 8-6 start this season, the Baldwin girls took down Taylor Allderdice in a crucial match.

Allderdice was a huge match for Baldwin. The first and second doubles and first singles both had a win to give Baldwin the match.

Senior Kyra Kinzler and junior Julianna Mamajek won the first doubles together against Allderdice. These two girls together are a great combination on the court, teammates said.

“Mamajek is really good at the net and Kinzler is consistent in the back,” Stojanoff said.

Stark said Allderdice was a potential turning point for their season.

The girls had tight losses against those new section opponents, Oakland Catholic and Fox Chapel.

Both of Baldwin’s doubles teams won against Fox Chapel, but all of the Baldwin singles matches took a loss.

Against Fox Chapel, Kinzler and senior Allison Melvin won their doubles match. They won in the third set; the match lasted about an hour and a half.

“They battled through three sets and came out with a great win,” Stojanoff said.

Morgan Schaming is the varsity team captain. She serves as the team’s first singles player.
Schaming arranged a lot of team-building activities and clinics for the girls over the summer. She’s built a lot chemistry and introduced the new big sister-little sister activity for the season.