The Upper St. Clair boys' tennis team is a difficult group to satisfy.

The Panthers have reigned supreme over the WPIAL for the past three seasons, with none of the team's current seniors knowing anything but earning WPIAL gold medals for team play each spring.

The senior class is on track to make another run at achieving the feat of winning the WPIAL Class AAA team title each year they have been in high school ... but not even that would satisfy them.

"Of course going 4-for-4 with WPIAL titles would be absolutely huge," said second singles player Chris Foster, who has started for the Panthers his entire career.

"But ... it's kind of bad to say ... but you sort of raise expectations for yourself when you look at being 4-for-4 in the WPIAL and 0-for-3 in [PIAA championship matches], so you have your sights on that."

Upper St. Clair has followed up its WPIAL titles in each of the previous three seasons with lengthy PIAA tournament runs -- but runs that ended with a loss in the PIAA Class AAA team championship match.

"It would be very impressive for the senior class to win all four [WPIAL titles]," Panthers coach Ron Mercer said. "But the team [Lower Merion, from suburban Philadelphia] that won [the PIAA] last year has everyone back.

"But I feel that our team is just as strong -- if not better -- than last year. Our goal is to try to win the WPIAL [title] and try to play that team again. And we want to win this time."

Funny how expectations can grow. While most schools would kill for a WPIAL title or PIAA tournament appearance, the Panthers yawn at those prospects and instead yearn for the one thing that has been missing from their resume in the school's glorious boys' tennis history: A team PIAA crown.

Upper St. Clair has won the WPIAL championship seven of the past 12 seasons but has yet to win a PIAA tournament crown. That event has only been staged since 2001.

The Panthers are awaiting their PIAA championship match breakthrough.

"It's not any more guaranteed this year than in other years, we might have had a greater chance of winning it than this year," Foster said. "It's certainly possible this year, but there's a lot of strong teams out there that always play well."

Upper St. Clair has no real weaknesses. At 10-1 heading into the week, the Panthers have gone 50-5 in individual matches, with the second singles and second doubles spots having gone undefeated.

There is top-flight talent. Foster and sophomore Jay Jones each were WPIAL singles quarterfinalists this season and teamed up to win the bronze medal at last season's PIAA doubles tournament. Each is ranked in the top 20 of the national USTA's Middle States region, and the duo captured the Section 4-AAA doubles championship earlier this week.

Mercer said he believed Foster, who will play at Allegheny College next season, could be the best second singles player in the state. Foster has been a singles player for Upper St. Clair in each of the past three WPIAL championship seasons, and he gave WPIAL champion Casey Watt of Pine-Richland a better match than anyone else at the WPIAL singles tournament last week.

But the depth of Upper St. Clair is just as remarkable. Competition is fierce for seven open spots for individuals in the starting lineup. Mercer said there are more than two dozen players on the team that could start for virtually any other school in the WPIAL.

"All those guys will be ready to play the next few years," Mercer said. "That makes it fun to practice."

That has been the case in previous seasons, when players who now help anchor Upper St. Clair's lineup were waiting in the wings for their chance in the spotlight.

Junior Scott Yanak has taken over at third singles. Seniors Matt Hough and Arjun Prabhu are slotted at first doubles and also finished third in the section doubles tournament together this week, qualifying them for next week's WPIAL tournament. Seniors Jon Hendrerson and Alex Romanias are undefeated at second doubles.

"Our team is stronger than it's ever been before," Foster said. "Most importantly, it's hungrier. We want a state title."