Kayleen Cubbal
New Castle News
NEW CASTLE —
Union High graduate Dennis Squeglia has raised some eyebrows around the WPIAL.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported that Squeglia resigned as Seton-La Salle High girls basketball coach last week, just five months after guiding the team to a perfect season.
Squeglia declined to discuss the reasons for his resignation. He told the Post-Gazette in a text message that he was “advised” not to comment. Attempts to reach Squeglia last night by The News were unsuccessful.
In just two seasons, Squeglia had a 57-3 record at Seton-La Salle. This past season, the Lady Rebels became only the third team in WPIAL girls history to finish a season with a perfect record at 30-0. The team won four WPIAL Class AA playoff games by an average of 35.5 points per game and five PIAA playoff games by an average of 28.2 ppg.
Seton-La Salle is expected to be a powerhouse again this season with four returning starters. This is the second time Squeglia walked away from a girls program after a successful season. In 2008, he resigned as Peters Township girls coach after guiding the Lady Indians to the WPIAL Class AAAA title game.
A 1982 Union graduate, Squeglia began his coaching career in 1986 as a football assistant at New Castle. He continued coaching various sports such as football, basketball, track, softball and wrestling before taking the Peters Township girls basketball job in 2004.
Squeglia is a physical education teacher at Harrison Middle School in the Baldwin-Whitehall district.
(Email: kcubbal@ncnewsonline.com).
