Zach Skorupka had been suffering from a virus that made him ill much of this month. But that doesn't compare with how sick he feels when faced with the unenviable decision he has to make.

	Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette North Allegheny's Zach Skorupka returns a shot against Shady Side Academy's Jon Spero in the WPIAL Class AAA boys' singles championship match at the Shady Side Academy courts. Click photo for larger image.

Skorupka became what is believed to be the first athlete to win a WPIAL singles tournament in each classification when he won the Class AAA championship Wednesday at Shady Side Academy.

Along with a gold medal and the acknowledgment of being recognized as the top tennis player in the WPIAL, this North Allegheny senior earned the right to represent the WPIAL as its No. 1 entry at the PIAA singles tournament.

That championship will be decided at the Hershey Racquet Club May 26-27-- days that also just happen to coincide with the North Allegheny senior prom.

Skorupka is faced with the difficult choice of which to attend. And he's going to take his time doing it.

"I spent my whole weekend thinking about it," Skorupka said Sunday evening. "I talked to a lot of people, my family, my friends, my brothers ... It's a tough call."

Skorupka, who missed much of his practice time in the weeks prior to the tournament with a hacking cough and other symptoms, indicated he was leaning toward attending the prom. That makes sense in that while a recognized state championship tournament and a senior prom are each considered a once-in-a-lifetime event, for Skorupka, it's not. He has played in a PIAA tournament each of his three high school seasons.

Then again, while participating in a PIAA tournament might not be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Skorupka, WINNING one is.

"You just have to leave [the decision] up to the kid," Tigers coach John Woffington said. "It's tough."

One decision Skorupka already has made is that he will attend Penn State in the fall and join the Nittany Lions tennis team.

Skorupka, who has always lived within the boundaries of the North Allegheny School District, attended Sewickley Academy as a freshman and sophomore.

He was third in WPIAL Class AA as a freshman and won the title the following year. Each season, he advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals.

Skorupka earned silver medals at both the WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA tournaments last season before adding AAA gold to his resume last week by defeating Shady Side Academy senior Jon Spero in the final, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.

"This was a new feeling, to add AAA," Skorupka said. "It's also special because it is my senior year and that means a lot more than winning it any other year."

Spero is PIAA-bound

Shady Side Academy coach Jeff Miller and Spero agree that last season was an "off" year for the player. And they are right. Spero's junior year is the only one in which he did not play for a WPIAL championship of some sort.

Spero was a key member of the 2003 WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA team champion Indians as a freshman and won the WPIAL singles championship as a sophomore in 2004.

"He was concentrating on his academics last year," Miller said. "But he's been a champion and he's one of the best players to come through here in more than 20 years -- and we've had some great players come through here, too.

"He's just a great kid and a blue-chip tennis player."

Spero disputes the notion he is the best Shady Side player of the past two decades -- "They had [three-time WPIAL champion Brandon Tung] in the '90s," he said. "But just being in the same sentence as him is a great honor and it's really rewarding to be in that category."

But there is no doubt he's one of the best in the WPIAL this decade.

Spero, of Shadyside, will attend Carnegie Mellon. He has known Skorupka for years and developed a friendly rivalry with him and Upper St. Clair senior Evan Reese. The three classmates have combined to qualify for eight PIAA singles tournaments.