Far from content with just making an appearance at last weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association girls tennis championships, the Fayetteville-Manlius doubles team of Katerina Atallah and Maggie Bonomo would last beyond the opening rounds and get within a few points of making it all the way to the semifinals.
Though unseeded entering the tournament, Atallah and Bonomo had roared through various Section III tournaments to make the trip downstate to Sound Shore Indoor Tennis Center in Port Chester, where they won twice in last Saturday’s opening rounds.
Against Southwestern’s Mikayla Johnson and Olivia Persia, Attalah and Bonomo dropped just three games on the way to a 6-2, 6-1 victory. Then, in the round of 16, the F-M pair met the no. 5 seeds, Ajla Karabegovic and Sarah Marro (Victor), and after winning a tough first set 7-5, claimed the second set 6-3.
So Attalah and Bonomo were in Sunday’s quarterfinals, going up against the no. 3 seeded duo of Clarkstown North’s Sydney Miller and Martyna Czarnik. The Hornets’ pair lost the first set 6-2, but rebounded to win the second set 6-4 and pushed Miller and Czarnik to a third set tie-breaker, only to fall by a 7-2 margin, just missing out on a semifinal berth.
Each of the other two Section III doubles teams won their opening-round matches, too. Oneida’s Lauren Skibitski and Briana Laureti would fall in the round of 16 to no. 5 seed Katherine Orgieliewicz and Juliette Nask (Mamaroneck), while West Genesee’s Mikayla Mannara and Katie Viau fell to no. 8 seed Joyce Luo and Jess Bowedes (Pittsford Mendon), each of those matches decided in straight sets.
Meanwhile, F-M’s singles player in the state tournament, Kristina Liu, would go 1-1, matching New Hartford’s Sarah Corasanti. Liu won her opening-round match Saturday over Great Neck North’s Tatum Benesh, overcoming a 6-4 defeat in the first set to prevail 6-4 and 6-2 in the next two sets, but had little left against top seed Merri-Kelly Hannity (Cold Spring Harbor), who won their round of 16 match 6-0, 6-0.
As for Corasanti, she beat Elise White (Binghamton) 6-1,6 -2 in the first round but lost her next match to no. 4 seed Rebecca Lim (Briarcliff) 6-0, 6-1. Auburn’s Julia Wagner, who won the sectional state qualifier at Drumlins in an epic three-set match over Corasanti, was hampered by an injury and lost, 6-2, 6-1, to Ward Melville’s Denise Lai.
