ONONDAGA COUNTY – For years now, the East Syracuse Minoa girls tennis team never could get close to challenging its neighbors from Jamesville-DeWitt.
All of that changed last Monday afternoon when the Spartans stunned the previously unbeaten Red Rams 4-3, improving its overall record to 5-2.
Three of the four doubles matches went in ESM’s favor, two of them going to three sets to go with Rhiannon Axtman and Angelina Baxter’s 6-3, 6-1 win over Ella Brann and Ava Harle.
Amelia Cooper and Presley DeJulio outlasted Shahina Alibekova and Tamana Nafri 6-4, 2-6, 10-3, and a clutch comeback helped Tierrah Bauer and Bella Sylvester win over Emilia Muradova and Alaira Otteson 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
J-D countered with Hailie Bouchard and Ebi Oguntola topping Jessica Baker and Brooke Kirkpatrick 7-5, 6-0, and in singles saw Mona Farah blank Lizzy Phillips 6-0, 6-0 as Sevara Abduvalieva topped Gianna Brilbeck 6-4, 6-2. But the Spartans got the point it needed when Adrianna Byrd handled Adelaide Anello 6-3, 6-0.
Then J-D was shut out 7-0 by Auburn a day later, with only one match going to three sets, in doubles. Anello and Muradova went that far, but fell to the Maroons’ duo of Emma Merkley and Cara Vasile 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
Staying unbeaten wasn’t a problem for Fayetteville-Manilus, who went to West Genesee last Tuesday and prevailed 6-1 over the Wildcats.
Anna Manta routed Katie Viau 6-0, 6-1 days after Manta became the third WG player to reach 100 career wins. Angela Iskander also won in singles for the Hornets, handling Gwenyth Shope by those same scores.
F-M swept the doubles, preserving it when Parisa Ahmed and Brooke Tester rallied past Helena Allen and Hannah Sparks 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. The teams of Ava Abruzzese-Maya McKenzie, Trisha Adavikolanu-Natalie Hugo and Madison Chamberlain-Laura Scalzetti each won in two sets.
Back in action on Friday, F-M blanked Syracuse East 7-0, not dropping more than two games in any of the 14 sets. Angelina Fang, Selena Chen and Jeanette Ward each played in singles and got those wins.
Christian Brothers Academy kept itself unbeaten, too, roaring past Mexico 7-0 last Monday as the Brothers gave up only five games in 12 sets to the Tigers in the matches which went that long.
It proved a lot tougher against Manlius-Pebble Hill a day later, but CBA still prevailed 5-2, giving up just one game in four doubles matches to go with Gieselle Vlassis beating Parmees Fazeli 6-0, 6-1.
As the teams of Grace Catalano-Aubrey Mills, Lily Geneocco-Isabella Meade, Hana Kang-Allie Mancini and Audrey Schaefer-Meredith Sommers rolled, the Trojans earned points when Amitees Fazeli beat Julia DelPino 6-2, 6-2, with Emily Zeitsev earning a 7-5, 7-5 decision over Rowan Doyle.
Just before this, MPH took a 4-3 defeat to Homer last Monday, the decisive match going to a long third-set tie-breaker where Eden Hildebrandt and Caroline Mezzalingua fell to Georgianna Goodwin and Charlotte Wallis 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8).
Then MPH offered its challenge to unbeaten Skaneateles on Friday and snagged a couple of points, but still lost 5-2 to the Lakers, who swept the doubles to negate Amitees Fazeli’s 6-0, 6-1 romp over Lily Miller and Parmees Fazeli defeating Kenna Ellis 6-3, 6-1.
Two points for the Trojans came from singles, where Parmees Fazeli handled Emma Effinger 6-0, 6-1 and Amitees Fazeli blanked Ella Spanbauer 6-0, 6-0. In doubles, Ileana Anghel and Sabrina Loop earned a point by beating Rachel Bouwens and Georgia Wallis 6-4, 6-3.
Bishop Grimes earned a pair of points from its 4-2 defeat to Pulaski on Friday. Sofia Ziankoski rolled past Holly Pacyon 6-1, 6-0, with Juila Simo topping Caroline Uebing 6-2, 6-1, while Riley Broton got within two games of a win, only to fall 3-6, 7-5, 10-6 to Lexi Charsky.
