ONONDAGA COUNTY – Resuming its rivalry in boys tennis, Skaneateles and Marcellus squared off last Tuesday afternoon with the visiting Lakers able to pull out a 4-1 victory over the Mustangs.
Claiming both of the doubles matches, Skaneateles had Hatcher Gutchess and Andrew Neumann pair up to beat Tyler Szalach and Austin Voss 6-3, 6-1, while Trevor Knupp and Duncan Raddant reversed those scores, winning 6-1, 6-3 over Mike Deveroux and Tucker Guerina.
The Mustangs’ lone point came from singles, where Matt Vitale rallied to beat Jake Salzhauer 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. But the Lakers countered with Marty McNeil handling Dan Fox 6-1, 6-0 and Max Karpinski topping Chris Barbaro 6-3, 6-0.
Marcellus bounced back on Thursday by shutting out Phoenix 5-0, with Vitale getting a 6-0, 6-0 win over Liam Sweeney as Barbaro beat Alex Olschewske 6-3, 6-0 and Fox winning 6-2, 6-2 over Isaiah Gordon. The doubles teams of Szalach-Voss and Deveroux-Guerina also won in straight sets.
Skaneateles, meanwhile, nearly knocked off another local foe on Friday when it faced West Genesee and claimed three doubles matches, but still lost 4-3 to the Wildcats.
All of the singles matches went in WG’s favor as Matt Mannara topped Karpinski 6-0, 6-1, Noah Ruston got past McNeil 6-2, 6-3 and Ben Paoli held off Marcus McClanahan 6-4, 7-6.
Countering in doubles, the Lakers had Gutchess and Neumann beat Dan Good and Jonathan Welles 6-4, 7-6, with Parker Glowacki and Mirco Kunz winning 6-0, 6-0 over Peter Sikovski and Denys Tsymbala.
Knupp and Raddant had their own 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Sam Barth and Joe Paoli, but the Wildcats notched the clinching point when Cade Duda and Alex Toumbacaris rallied for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Salzhauer and Marc Sapareto.
Back on Monday, WG took its latest shot at the SCAC Metro division’s reigning power, Fayetteville-Manlius, but managed just a single point in a 6-1 defeat to the Hornets.
Mannara and Ruston got that point in doubles, earning a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ben Farber-McEntee and Andy Sun. But WG did not gain a game in any of the singles matches as the teams of Good-Ben Paoli, Welles-Cade Duda and Toumbacaris-Joe Paoli
The Wildcats were on the court again last Wednesday, facing Cicero-North Syracuse, and WG’s strength in singles play made the difference as it beat the Northstars 4-3.
Ruston’s 6-0, 6-1 romp over Matt Jordan began a singles sweep as Mannara topped Wyatt Dupell 6-2, 6-2 and Ben Paoli also won in straight sets, handling Jamie Courtright 6-2, 6-3.
Needing just one point in doubles, the Wildcats got it when Good and Welles paired up to get past Ethan Dupell and Will Janusz 6-0, 7-5. Toumbacaris and Joe Paoli lost, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, to Joe DeGroat and Brandon Nguyen.
A day later, WG was shut out 7-0 by Baldwinsville, who did not give up a game in any of the singles matches. Mannara and Ruston also fell in straight sets while Good and Ben Paoli had a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Mason Doan and Leonardo Vona.
Trying to maintain its strong early-season pace, Onondadga-Westhill did so in Thursday’s match against LaFayette, earning a 4-1 victory over the Lancers.
Jon Massaro, Shay Smyth and Paul Okhman swept the three singles matches for the Warriors, with Smyth shutting out Hunter Martorella 6-0, 6-0. In doubles, OCS/Westhill dropped a point, but Hardsheep Banga and Sophia Featherstone prevailed 6-1, 6-1 over Lindsay Carroll and Mark Humphrey.
