Sep 25, 2025 By Jonathan Guth 3 min read

Name: Gabby Dusi

Year: Senior

School: Belle Vernon

Sport: Tennis

Dusi’s week: The Duquesne University commit won her third-straight WPIAL Class 2A singles championship in girls tennis last Thursday at North Allegheny High School despite playing with severe discomfort in the left side of her abdominal area.

Dusi labored through the pain in a three-set battle with Quaker Valley sophomore Avery Allan to win the title, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

The senior had lost a total of two games in winning the championship during her sophomore and junior seasons, but Dusi dropped the second set to Allan.

“She (Allan) was definitely the hardest opponent I’ve had in the WPIAL,” Dusi said. “It was one of the toughest matches I’ve ever had to go through.”

Dusi also had to serve underhand during the third set against Allan, but she was able to overcome the obstacles to win the district title.

Dusi is the 11th player to win three WPIAL gold medals, as Shady Side Academy’s Meriwether McCargo won her third WPIAL championship in Class 3A earlier in the day.

Belle Vernon doesn’t have a girls tennis team, so Dusi plays in offseason tournaments and works on her game at the Upper St. Clair Development program under her personal coach, Jan Irwin.

Dusi’s parents, Jodi and Steve, coach her during high school competitions.

“It is really cool to say that I won three WPIAL titles,” Dusi said. “We don’t have a team at Belle Vernon, but all the girls that play support each other. Even though we are opponents, the game preaches being a good sport and being cordial. I am friends with most of the girls I play against.”

Section setback: Dusi entered the WPIAL tournament as the No. 1 seed, but she was second in the Section 2-2A championship after having to medically withdraw during the final to Oakland Catholic’s Mollie Schlichter. Dusi won the first set, 7-5, but knew something wasn’t right before the match began.

“I can’t pinpoint an exact moment when the injury occurred, but it started to affect me the second day of the section tournament when I was warming up,” Dusi said. “I decided to pull out after the first set because I knew I was going to be playing in the WPIAL tournament within the next week.”

Time will tell: Dusi will have a little over a month before she competes in the PIAA Class 2A Singles Tennis Championships on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at the Hershey Racquet Club.

Dusi finished second in last year’s state tournament to a senior, and if she is at the top of her game, the Leopards could have a second state tennis champion after Max Henson won the boys title this past spring, but Dusi’s health remains a question mark.

“Obviously, I want to play in the state tournament and see what I can do, but I have to think of my health because I am going to play tennis in college, and I don’t want to jeopardize that,” Dusi said. “I am going to be seeing a doctor regarding the injury and testing will follow. I am not sure right now. I have had my fair share of injuries and some sickness in my career but I have been able to play through them. This is probably the toughest one I’ve had to deal with.”

Compiled by Jonathan Guth