Battling the heat as much as it did its competition, most of the area’s high school girls tennis teams got their 2018 seasons underway.
Jamesville-DeWitt went head-to-head with East Syracuse Minoa last Wednesday morning, and it was all Red Rams as it put away the Spartans 7-0.
Tara Pollock played first singles for J-D and won, 6-0, 6-0 over ESM’s Julia Barnwell as Anna Sofia Hege beat Jessica Vollmer by those same scores and Inika Gajra beat Ann Bradley 6-1, 6-0.
It was a bit closer in doubles, where the Rams had Olivia DeHoog and Margaret Frank turn back Erin Houghtaling and Alexis Stone 6-1, 6-4. Olivia Frison DeAngelis and Lena Jones won a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Shaina Brilbeck and MaryLouise Pontius.
Elsewhere in doubles, Lily Fleet paired with Riya Sharma to beat Sophia Rogers and Megan Volz 6-2, 6-2, just as Sydney Cline and Sophie Proe claimed a 6-3, 6-1 match over Lauren Postma and Nora Reed.
J-D had, before that, faced Auburn and had some success in singles, but was swept in doubles during a 5-2 defeat to the Maroons. Taking a turn in singles, DeHoog won 6-4, 6-4 over Makayla Huntley as Gajra got past Rosalia Bartolotta 6-0, 6-1.
Hege lost to Celia Mattie 6-2, 6-2 as Auburn did not drop a set in doubles, though Proe and Shannon Beaudry twice got close, only to fall to Kathryn Brown and Samantha Lesch 6-4, 7-6. Cline and Libby Blair had a 6-2, 7-5 loss to Abby Micglire and Lillianna Spin.
ESM started with Fulton and, despite great work in doubles, lost, 4-3, to the Red Raiders. Houghtaling and Stone got the Spartans on the board, topping Abigail Cuyler and Katie Distin 6-1, 6-4.
Barnwell and Christine Andrews had a 6-2, 6-2 win over Shaylee Cealie and Leah Kingsbury as Brilbeck and Pontius got past Leah Kingsbury and Katelyn Perkins 6-0, 7-6.
In two of the singles matches, ESM got close to earning sets. Vollmer lost to Fulton’s Kelsey Rosenbarker 7-6, 7-5 as Bradley had a 7-5, 6-3 defeat to Ana Snyder.
On Thursday, ESM lost, 5-2, to Mexico, with Caitlin Abbott prevailing in singles 6-1, 3-6, 10-7 over Juliana Smith, but Barnwell unable to hold on in a 4-6, 6-1, 8-6 loss to Juliana Hernandez and Lizzy Phillips falling to Kim Heagerty 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.
Kylie Bachman, paired with Jade Burgen, won 6-4, 4-6, 10-0 over Marissa Hammond and Grace Mason, only to have Victoria Bodarenko and Dorie Karandy fall to Caitlyn Hackett and Emma Teeter 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
Christian Brothers Academy met Bishop Grimes and the Brothers claimed a 7-0 shutout. In singles, Gieselle Vlassis blanked Katie Knittel 6-0, 6-0, with Grace Glowaki topping Michela Marturano 6-2, 6-2 and Calista Albring beating Kate Mathewson 6-0, 6-1.
Moving to doubles, CBA’s teams of Grace Coyne-Grace DelPino and Mary Kilmartin-Isabella Mead did not drop a game in any of the four sets they played, nor did the duos of Grace Catalano-Aubrey Mills and Annie Kilmartin-Maddie Tallman.
Manlius-Pebble Hill also won its opener, rolling past Pulaski 6-1sparked by Parmees Fazeli and Genevieve Morrow each getting 6-0, 6-0 singles wins over, respectively, Chyanna LaCelle and Olivia Taylor.
The Trojans had to default a singles match, but dominated doubles as the teams of Sara Atenovich-Ava Benedict, Eva Englich-Eden Hildebrandt, Emma Gross-Grace Zhang and Ileana Anghel-Caroline Mezzalingua lost just seven total games in eight sets.
Grimes picked up a pair of points in a 5-2 defeat to Marcellus. Both came in singles as Knittel beat Kathleen DeMarie 6-2, 6-4 and Marturano outlasted Danielle Copp 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.
Twice, though, the Cobras had matches go to three sets and turn the other way, starting with Mathewson’s 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 defeat to Colleen Marsh and continuing when Sarah Falgiatano and Abby Fletcher fell to Elaina Mahoney and Megan Mitchell 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.
