Twelve months ago, Skaneateles boys tennis players Ethan Wilcox and Ryan Sayko earned a place in the state championship tournament, played at the annual home of the United States Open at Flushing Meadows, Queens.
Now Sayko and Wilcox are on their way back to the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center after a victory in the Section III state qualifying tournament, which wrapped up Friday at Syracuse University’s SkyTop Courts.
After breezing to the Class C championship earlier in the week, Wilcox and Sayko entered the qualifier and advanced to the semifinals, where it played a tense thriller against East Syracuse-Minoa’s brother tandem of Parker and Brandon Stone.
Since a state tournament berth automatically went to both teams that made the finals, the match had extra pressure. Wilcox and Sayko won the first set 6-4, only to have the Stone brothers win the second set 6-2.
The final set turned into a tie-breaker, where Wilcox and Sayko came up with the clutch points to prevail, 7-6, and clinch a return to Queens.
Still, there was the matter of the final against another brother combination, this one from West Genesee. Brent and Garrett Boleslav were also tough, but this time Sayko and Wilcox won both sets by equal 6-4 margins to seize the title.
Parker and Brandon Stone beat Dan and James Miron (Fayetteville-Manlius) in the consolation match for the third and final doubles spot in the state tournament.
Yet another pair of brothers, CBA’s Matt and Colin Nardella, advanced in singles, as did Clinton’s Jacob Crawford, who like Sayko, Wilcox and Matt Nardella (a state semifinalist in 2011) are making their second straight state championship appearances.
Tournament play in Queens begins on Thursday with the opening round. The second and third rounds are on June 1, with the championships and consolation brackets decided on June 2.
