Mia Williams made history this week in winning the WPIAL Class AAA girls tennis singles championship. With her 6-1, 6-0 victory in the final on Thursday, Williams became the first Penn-Trafford girl to secure tennis gold, and just the fifth freshman in district history to achieve the feat.

“I was very excited. I think I let out a very loud “lets go” and a fist pump,” Williams said following her win at Bethel Park High School. “The ultimate end goal was to win WPIALs, but I didn’t really want to come out and say that.”

Williams, who entered the two-day tournament as the top seed, left no doubt. Prior to her straight-sets victory against Upper St. Clair senior Maggie Stief in the championship, Williams cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win against Nichole Poltinnikov of Shady Side Academy in the semifinals, and a 10-0 triumph against Oakland Catholic’s Adelaide Kreutel in the quarterfinals. Williams received a bye in the first round.

Williams appeared unfazed by the windy and cooler conditions on Thursday, which was in contrast to the pleasant weather the players experienced in the earlier rounds on Wednesday at North Allegheny High School.

“I’ve been working on some strategic stuff for the past couple of weeks, so I think I was definitely able to put that into play,” she detailed.

The most recent freshman to capture the WPIAL crown was Knoch’s Laura Greb in 2017, and prior to that, no ninth-grader had accomplished the feat since Greater Latrobe’s Michaela Kissell in 2003.

The season is far from over for Williams, though, as she will continue playing team events with the Warriors over the next few weeks. Additionally, her title win qualified her for the PIAA Class AAA Championship, which will be held in Hershey on Nov. 4-5.