Given their excellent regular-season marks, it only figured that the Jamesville-DeWitt and Christian Brothers Academy boys tennis teams would dominate most of the Section III Class B tournament at Utica’s Mott Courts.
But when all the results were added up, the Red Rams, who had a 14-0 mark this spring, stayed perfect, earning 57 points as the Brothers finished second with 36 points and New Hartford, with 30 points, got third place.
In first singles, J-D’s Robert Dotterer and CBA’s Dean Vlassis met in the quarterfinals, with Dotterer prevailing 6-2, 6-2 before he beat John Robert Corasaniti (New Hartford) 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals and, in the title match, took on Mexico’s Maximilian Lueders and won another two-set decision by scores of 6-2 and 6-4.
In second doubles, J-D’s Jake Cline and Josh Frank met East Syracuse Minoa’s Brett Dufore and Ryan Vollmer, who beat Michael Dean and Robert Stevens (Camden) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round.
Far fresher, Cline and Frank stopped Dufore and Vollmer 6-0, 6-0, and then, in the semifinals, met Whitesboro’s Mark Giruzzi and Shubham Sharma, who had won a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 quarterfinal over CBA’s Geoff Parkes and Josh Popp. Again, Cline and Frank prevailed with ease, 6-0, 6-2, setting up a final where they swept Oneida’s duo of Andrew Palmer and Brad Vrooman 6-2, 6-2 to earn the title.
Greg Maziuk put the Brothers in the second singles final, sweeping Rafael Ramos (New Hartford) and Steve Larison (Marcellus) and dropping just three games in four sets as J-D’s Josh Rothenberg got past Collin Lake (Homer) 6-4, 6-0, but lost to Seth Brewster (Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) in a dramatic semifinal 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Maziuk then tamed Brewster 6-2, 6-2 in the title match.
Another CBA-J-D showdown came in third singles, where CBA’s Jameson Keppeler, having got past Colin Catone (Westhill) and Harri Ernits (New Hartford) in straight sets, met J-D’s David Benaroch, who handled Brandon Dibble (Oneida) and Tanner Waterman (Camden) in two sets. Both sets were close, but Keppeler beat Benaroch 6-4, 7-5.
East Syracuse Minoa’s tandem of Brandon Stone and Tyler Underwood would shine in first doubles, getting past Logan Jakubowicz and Dylan Miller (Whitesboro) 6-2, 6-0 and then beating Sean Saltzgaber and Blake Walters (New Hartford) 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinals. The final against J-D’s Ishan Gajra and Alex Tso was just as lopsided, Stone and Underwood prevailing 6-0, 6-1.
Just to get to the final, Gajra and Alex won three matches, sweeping Ian and Noah LaFever (Marcellus) 6-1, 6-0, Nate Moyer and Spencer Rich (Oneida) 6-2, 6-2 and Brian Sheridan and Matt Zabycz (Westhill) 6-0, 6-1 to set up a final against Stone and Underwood. Sheridan and Zabycz had knocked out CBA’s Steve Castellini and Tommy Daviau in a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 quarterfinal classic.