As the Section III girls tennis tournaments got underway, four local sides were involved. Of them, only Cazenovia, the no. 2 seed in Class B, had a first-round bye.
Chittenango, as the no. 7 seed, had a chance to advance and face the Lakers, but lost a narrow 4-3 decision to no. 10 seed Christian Brothers Academy in Tuesday’s opening round.
The two sides had played twice in recent weeks, splitting those matches. Here, the Bears had to rely on doubles play as Ami Petosa, Shelby Bogle and Sierra Sleight all lost their singles matches in straight sets.
Camen Hunn and Kaleigh Koegel put Chittenango on the board, sweeping Laura Bulman and Sarah Kitts 6-2, 6-4. McKenzie Doig and Haley Landers earned a 6-4, 6-1 win over Shannon Fitch and Lauren Mastroeni.
The other doubles matches went to three sets. Kaitlyn Brant and Rose Mashie rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 win over Amanda Ojugbeli and Chrissy Thomson-Basha. Brandyn McDermott and Tanya Cziesler were two games from victory, but Nicole Kalhorn and Becky Scullin beat them 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
Then Cazenovia got its turn against CBA in Wednesday’s quarterfinals – and only managed a single point as the Brothers eliminated them in a 6-1 decision.
That point came in doubles, where Grace Gara and Sienna Lints beat Fitch and Mastroeni 6-3, 6-4. Marissa Barrett and Kelly Furlong went to three sets, but lost to Bulman and Kitts 6-3, 2-6, 6-1. CBA won every other match in straight sets, with the singles trio of Elizabeth Palmer, Laura Gregg and Sarah Kate Glass winning just four games in six combined sets.
Oneida, the no. 8 seed, fought to a 4-3 victory over no. 9 seed Homer. Beaten in the first two singles, the Indians needed Connie Froass to get a point – and she did, beating Laura Dart 7-6, 7-5.
Over in doubles, Shannon Hollenbeck and Julie Sarensky ripped past Emily Canaski and Samantha Peckham 6-1, 6-2, while Allison Patricia and Chelsea Smith beat Lizzy Kniffin and Hannah Teter 6-1, 6-4. Brittany Buschatzke and Paige Pendleton strung together their own 6-1, 6-4 win, this one over Molly Gray and Katie Sinclair.
But the Indians’ playoff run ended in the quarterfinals with a 6-1 defeat to top seed New Hartford, the only point arriving in a third-set tie-breaker as Sarensky and Hollenbeck beat Emily Acquaviva and Ooha Kambhampati 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3). The Spartans took every other match in straight sets and also finished off a 6-1 victory from earlier in the season.
Canastota lost in Class C’s opening round to Westmoreland 3-2. Stephanie Patterson earned a singles point for the Raiders, beating Ashley Russell 6-2, 6-4, with Jessica Campbell and Lena Suchier gaining a 6-1, 6-2 win over Jill Crane and Lindsay Cornacchia. The Bulldogs won every other match in straight sets as Tracy O’Hern and Lindsay Rossello lost in singles play.
Vernon-Verona-Sherrill kept playing, too, beating Clinton 4-3 by sweeping all the doubles matches, but losing 7-0 to New Hartford before the Spartans started its playoff run.