Greensburg Salem

The past week: Matthews scored 17 points in the Lions' 46-45 victory against Hampton in the PIAA Class AAA basketball semifinals Tuesday. He had 22 in a 66-65 victory against Farrell in the quarterfinals Friday.

Check this out: Matthews, a 6-foot-2, 150-pound junior guard, averages 15 points a game, but is averaging 18 the past three games. His brother, Paul, was a standout guard at Greensburg Salem a few years ago. Their father and grandfather are both named Bernie. Bernie the grandfather won more than 500 games as Saint Vincent College's coach from 1968-2003. Bernie the father played at Gateway and then at Samford in Alabama.

• Your scoring has gone up in the PIAA playoffs. Why? My confidence in shooting is definitely higher now. Every shot I take feels like it's going in.

• Do you realize probably no one gives you a shot in the [PIAA] championship against Archbishop Carroll? Yeah, but that doesn't mean that much. We know we're the underdog. But to me, I feel like we don't have any pressure on us.

• What roles have your father and grandfather played in your career? A lot. All through middle school and recreational leagues, my dad was always the coach. When I was younger and my grandfather was at Saint Vincent, he would work with me all the time in the summer and work with me on my game.

• Will you play an NCAA pool and who do you have winning it all? I just filled it out a couple of days ago. My Final Four is Duke, Oklahoma, Connecticut and Kansas. I have Connecticut and Oklahoma in the final with Oklahoma winning it.

• No Pitt? Actually, I'm not that big of a Pitt fan. I'm a Duke fan.

• People might be surprised to know that ... ? I'm real good at gym class volleyball.

-- By Mike White

Lindsey Vrooman

Ambridge

The past week: Vrooman won the 200- and 500-yard freestyle in Class AA at the PIAA swimming championships this past weekend.

Check this out: Vrooman, a junior with a 4.0 grade point average, also won two PIAA titles as a freshman. She also won both events at the WPIAL level as a freshman and junior. Vrooman did not compete in high school swimming as a sophomore. She concentrated on USA meets outside of high school. She has been successful even though Ambridge doesn't have a team. She trains at Pine-Richland.

• After taking a year off high school swimming, did you realize how much you missed it? Definitely. It's a lot different than USA meets. There is a lot more energy and the fans are more excited to be there. It kind of makes you more excited to swim.

• Will you swim high school next year? As of right now, I'm planning on it.

• Your brother, Chris, was a good volleyball player at Ambridge. Did you ever play volleyball? No. Me and contact sports don't get along. I stick to swimming.

• You could go to college anywhere in the country for swimming. Where would you go? Probably Georgia.

• Best nickname of anyone at your school? There is a guy they call "Rhino."

• When you're practicing swimming, ever wonder why you're doing it? Sometimes the fun level isn't very high in swimming. But it's great exercise and I basically just love racing.

-- By Mike White