Even though they both were off to strong starts in 2017, it remains the case that the Cazenovia girls tennis team is a step or two in front of its neighbors from Chittenango.
That was what proved evident in last Monday afternoon’s head-to-head Madison County clash, with the Lakers not dropping a set in any of the matches against the Bears on the way to a 7-0 victory.
The singles sweep commenced with Cazenovia’s Alex Galle beating Chittenango’s Coralee Everett 6-0, 6-0. Lucy Langan surrendered some games, but still handled Nadia Cannistra 6-1, 6-2 as Julia Barrett got her own 6-0, 6-0 shutout over Keelin Davie.
In the closest of the four doubles matches, the Bears’ Katie Simmons and Chloe Foran pushed the Lakers’ Kaitlyn Puffer and Annie Gale in both sets, but Puffer and Gale still claimed a 7-5, 6-4 decision.
Elsewhere in doubles, Laura Connor and Julie Silverman took little time dismissing Shannon Koegel and Morgan-Shae Gondeck 6-0, 6-1, as Annika Burno and Lizzy Druke shut out Shelby Maring and Brenna Stanton 6-0, 6-0. Abby Burrell and Charlie Harris had a 6-1, 6-4 win over Anna Rooney and Alexandra Drake.
These same two teams met again a day later at Chittenango, part of a three-team event with Oneida. Again, the Lakers would shut out the Bears 7-0, though both sides would fall to the Indians as Cazenovia fell 6-1 and Chittenango took a 7-0 defeat.
Between them, Galle, Langan and Barrett lost just four games in six sets of singles play as Galle topped Koegel 6-1, 6-1, Langan stopped Emma Bailey 6-0, 6-1 and Barrett beat Alazne Perez 6-0, 6-1.
Silverman and Connor took a 6-2, 6-3 win over Everett and Gondeck, with Bruno and Druke handling Keelin Davie and Aime Daviau 6-0, 6-0. Puffer and Gale won, 6-2, 6-2, over Katie Moore and Brianna Kelly, with Burrell and Harris handling Emily White and Lizzy Goss 6-1, 6-0.
Turning to its matches against Oneida, Cazenovia got its only point when Bruno and Druke, in a third-set tie-breaker, completed a comeback with a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (10-8) win over Emily Marshall and Kathryn Brown.
Three other matches were decided in three-set tie-breakers, all in the Indians’ favor. Galle went through one of them, falling to Brianna Laureti 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-7), with Silverman and Connor unable to hold their own lead in a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-7) defeat to Julianna Cavanagh and Anna Hood.
Puffer and Royer endured a 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (10-5) loss to Mattie Hicks and Sophia Skinner. Langan and Barrett fell in straight sets, as did Harris and Burrell in doubles. Chittenango, meanwhile, did not get a set in any of the matches against Oneida, the closet of them Bailey’s 6-2, 6-1 singles loss to Skibitski.
This followed Cazenovia’s 7-0 romp over Bishop Grimes that was tightest in singles, with Galle beating the Cobras’ Liz Wolaver 6-3, 6-1 and Langan beating Katie Knittel 6-1, 6-3.
Connor won, 6-0, 6-0, over Michaela Marturano, with the teams of Barrett-Silverman and Puffer-Nina Royer not surrendering a game in any of their four sets of doubles play. Burrell and Harris beat Emily Cone and Lenora Cendone 6-2, 6-2 as Bruno and Druke won, 6-1, 6-0, over Abby Wilkinson and Abby Fletcher.
Cazenovia was set to go to Austin Park Thursday to face Skaneateles, but it got rained out. A day later, it dried up and the Lakers went to Jordan-Elbridge, where it blanked the Eagles 7-0.
Langan, Barrett and Silverman won 6-0, 6-0 singles matches over J-E’s singles trio of Abby Skotinski, Wendy Carter and Sarah Williams. Annie Gale and Eva Salzman had the closest of the four doubles matches, but still won, 6-2, 6-2, over Bella DeCola and Maddie Green.
This was the prelude to a week where the Lakers would play four times in as many days against Manlius-Pebble Hill, CBA, Westhill and Marcellus.
Back on Wednesday, Chittenango ran into CBA and didn’t gain much ground in a 7-0 defeat. In fact, only once did the Bears get as much as two games in any set – from Perez, playing singles, during a 6-0, 6-2 loss to Annie Kilmartin.
