Each of the area’s high school girls tennis teams fit in matches during the last week of the regular season before it was time for the Section III team tournaments.
Once the sectional Class C tournament started, Skaneateles held the no. 3 seed in Class C, Marcellus had the no. 5 seed and Jordan-Elbridge the no. 11 seed – and each of them won their opening-round matches last Friday afternoon.
The Lakers prevailed 4-1 over no. 14 seed South Jefferson as the teams of Ella Danforth-Emma Miller and Sofia Capozza-Sophia Soderberge each won in two sets.
In singles, Isabella Kroon beat Hannah Babcock 6-1, 6-3, with Lily Miller blanking Mia Moukaiel 6-0, 6-0. Skaneateles, who beat Phoenix 6-1 earlier in the week in its regular-season finale, will face Manlius-Pebble Hill in the quarterfinals.
Marcellus, who had two matches postponed earlier in the week, was refreshed for its first-round sectional battle with no. 12 seed General Brown and proceeded to shut out the Lions 5-0.
Danielle Copp’s 6-4, 6-7, 10-4 singles win over Willow Boyce was the only three-set battle for the Mustangs. Kathleen DeMarle beat Maria Covey 6-0, 6-0 as Colleen Marsh beat Natalie Sheen 6-0, 6-1, while in doubles the teams of Elaina Mahoney-Megan Mitchell and Katilyn Kemp-Morgan Walsh both prevailed, too.
J-E, relatively new to sectional tournament pressure, traveled to no. 6 seed Holland Patent and knocked off the Golden Knights 3-2 to earn a quarterfinal berth against Marcellus.
Anisa Bort prevailed in singles over Julia Cucci 6-1, 6-4, while Meghan Whalen topped Emma Shoemaker 7-5, 6-2. Needing just one doubles point, the Eagles earned it when Katelyn Precourt and Gabby Skotinski beat Bella Adamo and Madison Parks 6-4, 6-2.
Elsewhere in local tennis, Westhill relied on its singles players to beat Mexico 4-3, with Sophia Frost shutting out Caitlyn Hackett 6-0, 6-0 as Mikayla Carroll beat Grace Schipper 6-2, 6-1 and Katie Hagrman handling Amy Gilbert 6-0, 6-1.
The lone doubles point needed came when Sophie Langdon and Grace Lesselroth rallied past Juliana Hernandez and Alivia Kelsey 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. Jillian Eckert and Bridget Thornton lost a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 decision to Mia Morris and Juliana Smith as Delaney Carroll and Hannah Johnston lost to Paige Masrouri and Shelby Schumacher 6-3, 4-6, 10-1.
A day later, Westhill got another 4-3 win, this one over Bishop Grimes, largely because the Cobras had to forfeit three of the matches.
Thornton and Madison Thomas earned the Warriors’ lone win on the court 6-2, 6-3 over Brina Deppoliti and Nadia Fenu. Frost had a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 loss to Katie Knittel as Langdon and Lesselroth, one game from a victory, fell 3-6, 7-6, 7-3 to Sarah Falgiatano and Sofia Ziankoski.
But when Westhill went to the sectional Class B tournament as the no. 10 seed, it lost 5-2 to no. 7 seed Cortland last Friday, the only points gained when Lesselroth and Carroll earned straight-set singles wins.
Twice in doubles, the Warriors led but could not hold on as Eckert and Thomas fell 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to Lelyzaveta Antonova and Oumou Diakite, while Isabel Dickinson-Cimonili and Kaley Richmond lost to Ellen Conlon and Arianna DeFranco 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.
West Genesee, who did not enter the sectional Class A team tournament, took on Auburn last Monday afternoon and defeated the Maroons 5-2. Katie Viau and Angelina Llanos both played singles, and both won with ease as Viau beat Makayla Huntley 6-0, 6-1 and Llanos blanked Erin Calkins 6-0, 6-0.
Alyssa Congel and Margaret Mello beat Kathryn Brown and Alexis Calkins 6-1, 6-4. In three sets, Kara Chawgo and Isabelle Wells held off Taylor Chadderdon and Gabrielle McGinn 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, with Madelyn Chuff and Olivia Grome overcoming an early deficit to beat Sophie Lesch and Lillianna Spin 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.
A day later, though, WG lost, 4-3, to the same Liverpool team it beat 5-2 on Sept. 12, the turnaround mostly based on the Warriors winning three of four doubles matches.
Chuff and Aislin Down did beat Lea Prusinowski and Kaia Wallingford 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, with Viau and Llanos both taking singles matches. Liverpool earned the rest, including a doubles match where Chawgo and Wells fell to Kelly Geiwitz and Megan Polhamus 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
WG did prevail 7-0 over Syracuse East as Lowry beat Roshika Sharma 6-0, 6-1 in singles, while Katie Anson got past Eh Hso 6-2, 6-4 and Angelina Allen won 6-4, 6-2 over Hsar Eh Se. Four doubles teams lost just two games in eight combined sets.
