For their second regular-season encounter last Tuesday afternoon, the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse boys tennis teams kept things close –and this time, the Warriors got the best of it.
Liverpool’s 4-3 victory over the Northstars was its first of the season, ending an eight-match skid against CNY Counties League foes that included a 6-1 defeat to that same C-NS side back on April 20.
The key was that the Warriors won three of four doubles matches, starting with Evan Maestri and Ben White getting through a second-set tie-breaker to finish off John Barraco and Trey Nordin-Abbey 6-0, 7-6 (7-3).
Jonathan Kline and Brayden Cabrey earned another Liverpool point when they took down Ryan Houser and Jerrod Stranger 6-2, 7-5, while Alex Alejo and Caleb Arnold got thorugh a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 decision over Josh Matyasik and Gehrig Sarosey.
C-NS did get a doubles point when James Coral and Evan Harberek rallied past Andrew Johnson and Jeff Noll 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, while in singles Connor Millias handled Brandon Davis 6-0, 6-0 and Justin Kegebein topped Anthony Puma 6-0, 6-4. But Caleb Munski gave the Warriors the clinching point with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Edwin Hirsh.
Without any time to rest, C-NS had to face another tough opponent, Baldwinsville, on Wednesday afternoon and lost, 5-2, to the Bees.
Millias and Kegebein paired up in doubles and, in straight setse, beat Sam Damato and Scott Ferrari 6-4, 6-2, while in three sets Barraco and Nordin-Abbey rallied, two games from defeat, to beat Ryan Shirk and Isiah Demoski 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
However, Houser and Stranger lost, 6-3, 6-0, to Max Funicello and Anthony Pompo, with Sarosey and Matyasik losing to Kyle Robinson and Mark Dickson 6-3, 6-1. In singles, Evan Haberek had a 6-0, 6-2 loss to David Rush, with Hirsh falling to Alex Shaban 6-1, 6-1 and Jake Tesfai absorbing a 6-1, 6-0 defeat to Antonio Marsallo.
When Liverpool had its own turn against B’ville on Thursday, the result was a 6-1 defeat, with Munski earning the only point by beating Dickson 7-5, 6-4 in singles play.
The Bees won five of its six matches in straight sets, the lone exception a doubles battle where Davis and Maestri led early, but could not hold on in a 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 loss to Damato and Ferrari.
