CENTRAL NEW YORK – Each of the area’s high school boys tennis teams would reach the end of the regular season having found a fair amount of challenges– but also a bit of success.
Skaneateles in particular earned a big victory last Tuesday afternoon when it took on Christian Brothers Academy and pulled out a 3-2 decision over the Brothers.
Both doubles matches went in the Lakers’ favor as Hatcher Gutchess and Andrew Neumann handled John Engle and Will Vandemeer 6-0, 6-2, with Parker Glowacki and Mirco Kunz winning 6-2, 7-5 over Caleb Buddie and Finn Doyle.
Up in singles, Jake Salzhauer and Marty McNeil could not get a game in their matches against Ben Vlassis and Soren Kang, but Marcus McClanahan, by beating Chris Cuomo 6-2, 6-2, emerged with the third and decisive points.
Before this, Sknaeateles leaned on its doubles teams to work past Manlius-Pebble Hill 3-2 on May 27, but still needed a singles point – and got it when McClanahan, in three sets, outlasted Alex Fung 6-3, 6-7, 6-1.
Gutchess and Neumann paired up to rout Matt Roberson and Deven Trikka 6-3, 6-0, while Trevor Knupp and Duncan Raddant got a 6-1, 6-0 win over Evan Cook and Abe Salomon.
That same day, Onondaga-Westhill lost to Mexico 4-1, its lone point coming in singles, where Shay Smyth got a 6-3, 4-6, 10-3 decision over Harley Wakeman, but the Tigers won the rest of the matches in straight sets.
OCS/Westhill could not snare a point from undefeated Cazenovia in last Tuesday’s 5-0 loss. Harshdeep Banga was in the closest of the three singles matches, falling to Jake Wardel 6-3, 6-4, while in doubles Jon Massaro and Paul Okhman had a 7-6, 7-5 loss to Andrew Falso and Garret Lounsbury.
When Skaneateles had its turn against Mexico last Wednesday, it won 4-1, helped by Max Karpinski’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 comeback singles win over Jacob Hill. McClanahan again won in singles, while in doubles the teams of Gutchess-Neumann and Glowacki-Raddant both prevailed in two sets.
Marcellus was limited to a single point during its 4-1 loss to Homer, the Mustangs only breaking through against the Trojans when Tyler Szalach and Austin Voss rallied past Nik Kruman and Conor Powers 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Tucker Guerina also went to three sets in singles, but lost to Jake Camp 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.
West Genesee challenged Fayetteville-Manlius again on May 27, and was unable to snare a point during a 7-0 defeat to the Hornets.
Blanked in singles, the Wildcats saw Noah Ruston and Jonathan Welles, in doubles, take a 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 defeat to Ben Farber-McEntee and Andy Sun, with the rest of the matches lost in two sets as Matt Mannara and Joe Paoli 6-1, 7-6.
WG was able to turn around on May 28 and blank East Syracuse 4-0. Before the rains arrived, Ben Paoli won in singles 10-0 over Krish Patel, with the doubles teams dropping just one game between them as Mannara was back with Noah Ruston, Welles paired with Dan Good and Michael Colon teamed with Alex Toumbacaris.
In last Wednesday’s 5-2 win over Auburn, WG had Ben Paoli win 6-2, 6-0 over Jack Carbonaro in singles, plus a forfeited point, while the Wildcats won three of four doubles matches.
Mannara and Ruston won 6-2, 6-3, over Michael Clark and Riley Fitzgerald. The teams of Toumbacaris-Cade Duda and Sam Barth-Josh Pierce both won in two sets, with Good and Welles taking a 7-5, 6-7, 7-5 loss to Ryan Stechuchak and Troy Wagner.
Staying busy, WG beat Central Square 4-3 on Friday, swept in singles by the Redhawks but seeing the doubles teams of Mannara-Ruston, Good-Welles, Toumbacaris-Ben Paoli and Colon-Duda all claim their points in straight sets.
