Belle Vernon鈥檚 Dusi selects Duquesne
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One of Gabby Dusi’s goals was to play tennis at the Division I level.
She thought she had achieved that on Dec. 26 when she posted on her Instagram account that she would continue her academic and tennis careers at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa.
Roughly three months later, Saint Francis announced its athletic programs would move to Division III at the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year. The Red Flash will begin competition in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) in the fall of 2026.
Dusi, who just completed her junior year at Belle Vernon, decided to make a change to accomplish her goal. She will attend Duquesne University following her graduation from Belle Vernon next year.
“If I stayed at Saint Francis, they would be going Division III my freshman year, and one of my goals has been to play Division I, so I decided to look elsewhere,” Dusi said. “I did take a couple of weeks to consider my options, and I started talking to Duquesne. I loved the campus and everyone I met there. They also have a great PA (physician assistant) program at Duquesne, which is what I was originally going to do at Saint Francis.”
The Duquesne campus lies in the city of Pittsburgh, and is in close proximity to health care facilities, which Dusi believes will be beneficial to her.
Dusi’s mother, Jodi, earned her bachelor and master’s degree, and PhD at Duquesne.
“She is very excited that I am going to Duquesne,” Dusi said.
While Dusi is pleased to have made her decision, she is looking forward to her senior season playing for the Lady Leopards.
Dusi is the two-time defending WPIAL Class 2A champion, and was second in the state this past season.
“It is nice to have my college commitment all wrapped up now,” Dusi said. “I can now focus on winning a state title. I am going to have fun and enjoy my last year of high school tennis. I just have to take it one match at a time.”
Belle Vernon doesn’t have a girls tennis team, but Dusi sharpens her skills at the Upper St. Clair Development program under her personal coach, Jan Irwin.
Dusi is coached when she plays for the Lady Leopards by her mother and her father, Steve. She plans on playing several tournaments this summer to stay sharp before working with Irwin and the other players at the Upper St. Clair Development program.
“I am still training at Upper St. Clair,” Dusi said. “I get lots of work in there, and it really helps me prepare when I start the postseason tournaments.”
Dusi isn’t the lone Belle Vernon tennis star, as fellow junior Max Henson won the WPIAL and state championships this past season on the boys side in Class 2A. Henson also participates individually, as the Leopards don’t have a boys team. He has committed to play at Cleveland State in college.
“I believe myself and Max have proved that kids from Belle Vernon can make it pretty far in tennis,” Dusi said. “Hopefully, the sport becomes more popular in our area. My dad actually coached Max during the high school season.”