Through its long atop Section III Class A boys tennis, Fayetteville-Manlius has rarely, if ever, faced a serious threat like Baldwinsville provided this season.
First, the Bees nearly ended the Hornets’ 14-year win streak in a 4-3 classic on May 4. Then, in last Tuesday’s Section III Class A tournament, F-M required a singles sweep to beat B’ville by one point, 60 to 59, as the rest of the field could not keep pace.
The pivot point came in first singles, where F-M’s Nick Westergaard met B’ville’s Matt Funicello in the finals, Westergaard having swept Justin Parow (Central Square) 6-3, 6-0 in the previous round.
Steady and relentless, Westergaard, just an eighth-grader, beat Funicello 6-2, 6-2, the only time B’ville had a chance in any of the singles finals.
Elsewhere, Wilbert Geng swept through second singles, blanking the Bees’ Ben Weiss 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals before romping past Central Square’s Brandon Payne 6-1, 6-1 in the title match. Mike Mintskovsky, in third singles, handled Mark Falinski (Cicero-North Syracuse) 6-2, 7-5 in the semifinal round before sweeping Nick Bonacorsi (Oswego) 6-0, 6-2 for the top spot.
In second doubles, the Hornets’ pair of Alex Martin and Sam Badalian beat Brandon Fernandes and Brennan Kirsche (Liverpool) 7-5, 6-1 in the semifinals, only to run into the Bees’ Alessandro Nieves and Grady Schmidt in a 6-2, 6-3 finals loss.
East Syracuse-Minoa’s first doubles team of Parker Stone and Daryll Johnson beat Mike Schneider and Ian Swenson (Liverpool) 6-2, 6-4 to reach the finals, only to lose to B’ville’s tandem of Danny Kot and Tom Hamm by those same scores.
