South Fayette’s Jubas serving notice as tennis player
Sara Jubas’ tennis career began five years ago with a handful of casual lessons. She developed an interest in the sport after playing with her aunt, but it remained a hobby outside her true love – softball.
A sophomore at South Fayette, Jubas was an Observer-Reporter Second Team All-District selection as a catcher and middle infielder last spring. She led the Lions with a .648 batting average while driving in 19 runs.
Her success in softball is the byproduct of countless hours spent on the field, but tennis is a different story. As Jubas prepared to enter her freshman year, she made a decision to give organized tennis a try.
With South Fayette not having its own tennis program, she joined the co-op team with Fort Cherry. The decision began an improbable ascension up the WPIAL single ranks. Last year, she finished third in the Section 5-AA tournament to qualify for the WPIAL Individual Championships.
Realignment put Fort Cherry in a section with many catholic schools, but that did not deter Jubas. Last week at the Section 4-AA tournament, she left with a second-place finish after losing to Carlynton junior Hannah Phillips in the finals and qualified for the WPIAL tournament for the second straight year. Her first match in the Class AA championships is today against Emily Armstrong of Valley,
“I think I’m a little bit more confident after my freshman year,” Jubas said. “I know the girls now and I’m used to playing more. It’s different though because it’s an independent sport. It’s not like softball where you have teammates. It’s just you out there.”
Fort Cherry head coach Carl Zeno has been a teacher and coach for more than 40 years. From wrestling to baseball, he has developed athletes and few have impressed him as much as Jubas.
He watched her develop last year into one of the top singles players in Class AA and is one of her strongest supporters. From Jubas’ coachable personality to her athleticism, Zeno has seen the softball player flourish on the tennis court.
“She can move on that court like no other person in the WPIAL,” Zeno said. “She is that good on the court. She can switch directions better than any of them. I told her at practice Monday that I’d put anyone up against you. She just has to play more. I can only imagine how good she could be.”
The skills of a softball player have translated to tennis seamlessly for Jubas. As a middle infielder, she must be able to track a softball to her left or right without hesitation. Lateral movement is pivotal in both sports and what she lacks in experience, Jubas makes up for in her pure athleticism.
“It’s actually really similar to softball, especially defense,” Jubas said. “You always have to be in a ready stance and on your toes. In both, you have to anticipate what your opponent is going to do.”
Jubas has complimented her precise hits on the offensive end to her defensive skills in tennis. She won three matches in the section qualifier before falling in the finals to Phillips. After losing in the sectional semifinals last year, she progressed to the championship with less than two years of experience in organized tennis.
“She’s improved with all of her strokes,” Zeno said. “She knows where to put the ball. She’s just improved all the way around in her whole game. She’s really worked hard. She has excelled being that she was not a tennis player.”
Section qualifiers began Monday for the WPIAL Golf Individual Championships and several local players made the cut.
In Section 4-AA, Bentworth junior Jacob Crockett placed second behind Sam Smallhover of Bishop Canevin. Following Crockett were three Burgettstown golfers: junior Cody Dobbin, senior Hunter Lecker and sophomore Austin Lis.
In Section 7-AA, South Fayette senior Wes Keeling took first place at the qualifier by shooting a 74 at South Park Golf Course. He was the only Lion to qualify.
Peters Township’s boys soccer team has rolled through the first leg of its schedule and coaches around the state have taken notice.
The Indians (4-0, 7-0) are the state’s top-ranked team in the large schools division, according to the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association.
The rankings also have Peters Township’s girls team (4-0, 7-0) at No. 3.