Council Rock North brother duo capture District One doubles title

Springfield – The Council Rock North brother duo of senior Alex Whalen and sophomore Matt Whalen was a happy and relieved pair after defeating Upper Dublin’s Bryan Szayna and Danny Katz in a grueling PIAA Class AAA District One doubles championship final, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-5, Saturday afternoon at the Healthplex In Springfield.

After the Whalen brothers won the first set on a tiebreaker, Szayna and Katz roared back in the second set to win by a comfortable margin. In the final set, the Whalen brothers got off to a 5-3 lead, then Szayna and Katz fought back to tie at 5-5. The Council Rock North pair prevailed in the final two games to win, 7-5.
Alex Whalen, who has held down the first singles spot for Council Rock North the past two years, said, “We turned up the intensity after the second set – it was tough going against Bryan’s returns.”
Matt Whalen, who has filled the second singles position for CRN the last two years, said, “We kept telling ourselves to hang in there, to keep (battling).”
Ironically, the Whalen brothers faced each other in the second round of the PIAA Class AAA District One singles tournament, with Alex winning. Alex then lost in the third round of district singles, and the two brothers paired up in the district doubles tourney.
Alex said, “We’ve played in (various) doubles matches since we were age 10 and 12. Matt keeps me calm and energized.”
Matt added, “Alex has closing skills that are so much better than mine.”
The Whalen brothers advanced to the district doubles finals with a 6-1, 6-2 win against top seeded Dale Johnson and Brad Johnson of Central Bucks West in the district semifinals held earlier in the day at the Healthplex.
The Upper Dublin pair of junior Bryan Szayna and sophomore Danny Katz, the third seed in the district doubles tourney, advanced to the district final by defeating the No. 2 seed pair of Will Frigerio and Josh Taylor of Radnor, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, early Saturday afternoon.
The Upper Dublin pair was pleased to make it into the district finals.
Szayna noted, “(Against Radnor and in the second set against Council Rock North) we were consistently (hitting) the ball cross court, holding serve and being active at the net.”
Katz added, “(When we were winning today) we were a lot more consistent on serve returns, and aggressive at the net.”
The top four duos at the PIAA Class AAA District One doubles tournament advance to the PIAA Class AAA state doubles tourney. In the third place match between Central Bucks West and Radnor Saturday afternoon, CB West won by forfeit.
In the PIAA Class AA District One doubles tournament final Saturday at the Healthplex, Brandon Fritz and Mark Pabalan of Holy Ghost defeated Matt Titus and Michael Litz of Lower Moreland, 6-3, 6-4.