As the defending Section III Class C champions, the Cazenovia girls tennis team is showing every sign that it could stay on top.
In a key early-season OHSL Liberty division match on Sept. 1, Cazenovia met up with Skaneateles, a rematch of the 2015 sectional team final. Again, Cazenovia would win the Laker battle, though this time by a score of 7-0, an improvement from the 5-2 decision of a year ago.
Alex Galle, competing in first singles, gave Cazenovia a 6-3, 6-3 win over Erica Byrne. Julia Barrett was just as good stopping Alex Ditch 6-2, 6-3, while Lucy Langan handled her match with Rachel Feeney, prevailing 6-1, 6-3.
Starting the doubles sweep, Laura and Lucy Connor got their own 6-3, 6-3 victory over Mary McNeil and Angela Krause. Summer Steinhorts and Meg Milmoe won, 6-2, 6-2, over Lily Datz and Hope Allyn.
Lizzy Druke, paired with Annaka Bruno, handled Isabella Kroon and Hope Glowacki 6-1, 6-2, and in order to preserve the shutout, Jana Harris and Abby Burrell had to go to three sets to defeat Shannan Roberts and Brinley Walawender 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
A day later, the Lakers met its Madison County neighbors from Chittenango and pulled off another shutout, handling the Bears 7-0.
Langan, in the closest singles match, beat Anna Norman 6-2, 7-5, with Galle getting past Shannon Koegel 6-2, 6-4 and Barrett routing Allie Choi 6-1, 6-1. The best of the four doubles matches saw Steinhorst and Milmoe need three sets to outlast Coralee Everett and Rachel Cleary 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
As that went on, the Connor sisters handled Mya Streif and Jessie Gilbert 6-2, 6-0, while Bruno and Druke beat Bailey and Nadia Cannistra 6-2, 7-5. Harris and Julie Silverman paired up for a 6-3, 6-2 win over Jennie Macintosh and Meghan Pexton.
Cazenovia went from there to shutting out Jordan-Elbridge 7-0 last Tuesday afternoon. Langan had the closest singles match, a 6-2, 6-0 win over Abbey Karlik, with Barrett blanking Kayla Corgnell 6-0, 6-0 and Galle nearly doing so to beat Amelia Younis 6-1, 6-0. J-E had to forfeit one doubles match, but the teams of Milmoe-Steinhorst and Bruno-Duke won in two sets, as did the Connor sisters.
Against Marcellus on Wednesday afternoon, the Lakers won again, 6-1. Langan blanked Courtney Otis 6-0, 6-0, with Galle handling Hannah Tarolli 6-0, 6-3 and Barrett beating Marcy Gosson by those exact same scores.
On the doubles side, the Connor sisters led early, but couldn’t hold on in a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 defeat to Abbey Vestch and Maddie Conklin. However, Silverman and Burrell would come back to beat Anna Canny and Alyssa Goodwin 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, with the teams of Steinhorst-Milmoe and Druke-Bruno each prevailing two sets.
This busy week concluded Friday with Cazenovia handling Westhill 7-0, Barrett beat Grace Lesselroth 6-4, 6-1 as Langan routed Kaleigh Danaher 6-2, 6-0 and Galle had a 6-1, 6-1 romp over Giovanna Buccina. The doubles teams of Steinhorst-Milmoe and Bruno-Duke also won in two sets.
Twice, doubles matches were pushed to three sets, but the Lakers won them both. Lucy and Laura Connor came back in a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 win over Katherine Missert and Abbey Mullen, with Harris and Silverman going deep into a third-set tie-breaker to pull out a 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (11-9) win over Zoe Hynes and Cami Cortez.
Chittenango had opened its September slate by defeating those same Westhill Warriors 5-2. Koegel was impressive in second singles, routing Giovanna Buccina 6-1, 6-0, while Norman beat Kaleigh Danaher 6-4, 6-4. Kelly Gloo lost in three sets to Missert.
Three of the four doubles matches went to three sets – and the Bears won all of them. Streiff and Gilbert rallied past Abbey Mullen and Lydia Stevenson 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, with Choi and Cleary doing the same to beat Grace and Katie Lesselroth. Bailey and Everett defeated Madelyn Sherlock and Elizabeth Mengucci 7-5, 5-7, 10-6.
Back in action last Wednesday, the Bears blanked Bishop Grimes 7-0, preserving that shutout when Norman rallied in three sets to top Katie Knittel 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.
This came after Gloo fought off Liz Wolaver 6-4, 7-5 and Koegel routed Rachel Christie 6-0, 6-2. Two of the doubles matches were forfeited, but the teams of Streif-Gilbert and Choi-Cleary each won in straight sets.
This win streak was halted Friday, when Chittenango fell 5-2 to Manlius-Pebble Hill. Both of the Bears’ points came in doubles, where the teams of Choi-Cleary and Everett-Bailey prevailed in straight sets. But the Trojans swept the singles, including a three-set battle where Koegel fell to Grace Walsh 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
