Spring-Ford’s Matriccino wins PAC singles title in rematch with Owen J. Roberts’ Root

GRATERFORD >> They have considerable tennis-match history between them.

It’s estimated Mia Matriccino and Allison Root have played each other previously at least six times — 3-4 times in high school. So when they faced off Saturday in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Singles Tournament championship match at Perkiomen Valley, the two did so with well-established measures of each other’s abilities and tendencies.

Matriccino measured up a bit taller in this replay of the PAC’s 2020 singles final. The Spring-Ford sophomore posted another straight-set win over Owen J. Roberts’ Root, 6-3, 6-1, to repeat as the PAC’s singles champion.

Still, Matriccino conceded facing Root is no one-size-fits-all game plan.

“It’s tough to say, because she plays different,” Matriccino said of her OJR adversary. “I try to keep her back using heavy balls, hitting hard returns and being aggressive.”

Root, also a sophomore, has her own time-developed assessment of Matriccino and the best way to keep her from scoring points.

“She’s definitely strong,” Root noted. “I try to hit deep so she can’t attack, and when I get a short ball, to attack.”

The rivals came into the championship match off semifinal-round wins over Methacton representatives Hana Nouiame and Alice Liang. Matriccino dispatched Nouaime 6-1, 6-1 while Root handled Liang 6-3, 6-0, sending both into an all-Warrior third-place pairing.

The championship sets started out in similar fashion, Matriccino taking initial 3-0 leads. In the first, though, Root cut the deficit down to 4-3 before Matriccino came on with a strong finish.

“I calmed down more,” Root said of the first set. “I was nervous, shaky at the start.”

In the second set, Root was visibly more frustrated by misses. Matriccino worked to put that to her advantage.

“I had to keep my foot on the gas pedal,” she said.

Another difference in the second set was Matriccino closing it out when the score was 4-1, as opposed to Root winning the back-to-back games when the score was 4-1 in the first.

“She’s such a good adaptor,” SF head coach Todd Reagan said of his super soph. “On people’s weaknesses, she tries to exploit them. With their strengths, she works to adjust to them.”

Spring-Ford’s memorable 2020 season — championships in the District 1 and PIAA Class 3A team tournaments — started with Matriccino winning PACs, then finishing as runner-up at districts, Her heady start to the postseason could serve as a good omen for the Rams in their bid to match 2020’s results.

Reagan, though, sees the road this year holding more obstacles.

“In districts this year, there will be 28 player instead of eight,” he said. “Last year, the Central League didn’t play because the schools started late. We hope Mia can stack up against them.”

Matriccino will be joined at 3-A districts by teammate Cady Krause, winner of the PAC’s fifth-place match. Krause, a 10-3 pro-set winner over Perkiomen Valley’s Gracie Strohecker in their consolation semifinal, ended up facing fellow Ram Isabel Mejia after her 10-1 win over Boyertown’s Kara Bussinger.

Krause got the league’s fifth and final slot with her 7-5, 6-1 win over Mejia.

“That’s a weird coaching moment,” Reagan admitted. “I’m invested in our girls in matches with other schools, but to have two of them playing each other …

“Fortunately, we’re able to divide coaching duties. I have assistants who are all capable of getting the girls motivated.”

Methacton representatives Nouaime and Liang — who paired together as the PAC’s doubles champions in 2020 — also qualified for 3-A districts with their high PAC finishes. The third-place final saw Liang beat Nouaime in two sets, 7-6 (8-6 tiebreaker) and 6-4.