It didn’t take long for the Baldwinsville girls tennis team to find out just how tough it was at the top of the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division, the new moniker for the former CNY Counties League.
The Bees had to face West Genesee in its Sept. 1 season opener, and only could manage a single point during a 6-1 defeat to the Wildcats. B’ville was playing for the first time, contrasted to WG having two matches, both wins, earlier that same week.
Alina Minkova won her third singles match for the Bees, sweeping past the Wildcats’ Allie Brusa 6-1, 6-2. WG countered with Mikayla Mannara beating Brooke Taylor 6-4, 6-2 in first singles and Katie Viau topping Paige Tromblee 6-1, 6-0 in second singles.
Moving to the doubles side, B’ville twice lost in three-set decisions. Blake Tripodi and Allison Delaney led early, but fell, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Mi Tran and Emma Yeager, with Jessica Rush and Taylor Tripodi falling to Andrea Andreeva and Danielle Bertelli 6-4, 3-6, 10-5.
Otherwise, it was Laueren Devine and Riley Warren shut out by Angelina Llanos and Noelle Thurston 6-0, 6-0, with Kathryn Grage and Emily Faladeau taking a 6-2, 6-4 feet to Anastasia Mello and Phoebe Nelson.
When B’ville returned to the court last Wednesday against Cicero-North Syracuse, things turned around in a big way as the Bees handled the Northstars 6-1, with the key to the outcome claiming two of the three singles matches in three sets.
Tutor had already routed Hanna Costello 6-0, 6-1 when Minkova and Gold both fell well behind in their singles matches. Both came back, though, as Minkova got past Ava Breitbeck 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 and Gold did the same to beat Cara Temple 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
B’ville also won three of the four doubles matches, with only Warren and Riley falling in three sets. Devine and Tromblee topped Nicole Perrigo and Miranda Szwej 6-3, 6-1, while Faldeau and Delaney got past Jenna Wilson and Vanessa Luangaphay 6-4, 6-2. The Tripodi sisters got together and won, 6-2, 6-3, over Danielle Dottler and Lexi Pyke.
Now the Bees faced its other neighbors from Liverpool on Friday afternoon, And it turned into quite a drama, with the contest settled by a comeback from the Tripodi sisters that produced a 4-3 victory over the Warriors.
Playing third doubles, the Tripodis lost the first set to Liverpool’s Aryanna Davia and Giana LaValle 6-4, but the sister tandem pulled out the second set 6-4, and then claimed the final set 6-3 to provide a clinching point.
All of the Bees’ other points came from straight-sets wins. In singles, Tutor routed Erin Chambrone 6-2, 6-0, with Minkova battling past Gabby Underwood 6-4, 6-4 as, in doubles, Warren and Rush beat Gibbs and Natalie Kidd 6-3, 6-2.
Otherwise, Gold lost, 6-2, 6-2, to Diana Kozenyatko, with two other doubles matches going to three sets as Tromblee and Devine fell to Meghan Blake and Julie Schewe 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, with Delaney and Faldeau taking a 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 loss to Crystal and Valerie Morgans.
After all this, B’ville would take its shot at the team on top, Fayetteville-Manlius, Monday before facing Syracuse East Wednesday and then a rematch Thursday with West Genesee.
