The work of an entire season for Baldwinsville girls tennis player Brooke Tutor rode on what happened in a single set during a single match on a Thursday afternoon at Drumlins.
That was where Tutor battled for a berth in this weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships at Latham after making it through the early rounds of the sectional state qualifying tournament without much stress.
Back in Tuesday’s opening round, Tutor was dominant in her first-round match against Marcellus star Danielle Copp, earning a 6-0, 6-0 shutout.
A quarterfinal match followed against Manlius-Pebble Hill’s Parmees Fazeli, who had needed three sets to win her opener over New Hartford’s Grace LaFountain. Tutor took full advantage, defeating Fazeli 6-2, 6-1.
But this led Tutor straight into the semifinal Thursday against the top seed, Christian Brothers Academy’s Gieselle Vlassis, who had not dropped a game in her first two matches.
The Brothers’ sensational freshman, already a two-time state tournament participant, overwhelmed Tutor 6-0, 6-1, which meant that Tutor had to beat another CBA star, Grace DelPino, in the third-place match to advance.
And Tutor did win a tough first set, 7-5, only to have DelPino take the second set 6-2. Now it all hinged on the third set, but DelPino’s momentum carried over and she defeated Tutor in another 6-2 decision.
B’ville’s other singles player in the state qualifier, Paige Tromblee, knew all too well about Vlassis, having lost to her in the sectional Division I semifinals a week earlier.
Here, in the state qualifier, Tromblee matched up with Utica-Notre Dame’s Emily Lyga in the first round. Tromblee won the first set 6-4, dropped the second set 6-2 and was tied in the third set before Lyga got the break and prevailed 7-5.
Emily Lyga went on to fall to DelPino in the quarterfinals while her sister, Ellen Lyga, made it all the way to the finals, clinching her own state tournament berth before Vlassis beat her 6-0, 6-1 in the championship round.
