SKANEATELES – An entire season of work and conquest for the Skaneateles girls tennis team boiled down to a single match to see if it could reach perfection again.
It was the Lakers against Christian Brothers Academy Thursday afternoon at Austin Park, two undefeated teams clashing at Austin Park and providing an instant classic.
But when the Brothers prevailed 4-3, it put an end to a remarkable 26-match win streak Sknaeateles had accumulated over the past few seasons.
It didn’t take long for the Brothers to earn a pair of singles points. Gieselle Vlassis shut out Kenna Ellis 6-0, 6-0, with Julia DelPino getting a 6-1, 6-3 decision over Isabelle Soderberg.
Skaneateles countered with Lily Miller topping Rowan Doyle 6-3, 6-3, but CBA got a doubles point when Lily Geneocco and Isabella Meade held off Sofia Cappoza and Rachel Hackler 6-4, 6-4.
Catching up, the Lakers had Kelsey Rutledge and Emma Whipple top Hana Kang and Allie Mancini 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), while a three-set drama had Bella Karpinski and Kate Kissel take a third-set tie-breaker on the way to edging Audrey Schaefer and Meredith Sommers 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
It all turned on first doubles, where Ella Danforth and Sophia Soderberg won the first set 6-2 over Aubrey Mills and Grace Catalno and led 5-2 in the second set, one game from a 27th straight team win.
Somehow, Mills and Catalano changed their tactics, claimed five straight games to win that set and, in the third set, took command to win 6-2. All told, Mills and Catalano won 11 of the last 13 games.
Skaneateles had started the week by shutting out Mexico 7-0. Ellis, with her 6-1, 6-2 singles win over Paige Masrouri, had the closest match as the Lakers dropped just five total games in the other 12 sets they played.
Isabelle Soderberg blanked Isabella Ponzi 6-0, 6-0, with Miller taking out Amita Druce 6-0, 6-0. The teams of Danforth-Sophia Soderberg, Capozza-Hackler,Rutledge-Whipple and Karpinski-Kissel also prevailed.
Senior Day featured another 7-0 shutout, this time over Homer, the Lakers getting Ellie Torrisi on the court to pair with Kissel and beat Ginny Park and Nina Svereika 6-2, 6-4. Ellis, Miller and Isabelle Soderberg swept through singles.
Yet another shutout on Wednesday helped Skaneateles subdue rival Marcellus 7-0, with only two of the matches getting close to a third set.
Ellis had to go through close competition with Danielle Copp, but won 7-5, 6-4, while in doubles the Lakers controlled things, too. Rutledge and Whipple were pushed to a second-set tie-breaker, but prevailed 6-3, 7-6.
Otherwise, it was Miller taming Maddie Vetsch 6-1, 6-2, while Isabelle Soderberg beat Lila Kelly 6-3, 6-1, with three more lopsided wins in doubles.
Danforth and Sophia Soderberg got their own 6-1, 6-2 win over Korrine Kemp and Claire Wrona, with Capozza and Hackler handling Sydney Colon and Cara Wangsness 6-1, 6-1. Karpinski and Kissel earned a 6-0, 6-0 shutout over Ella Lutwin and Grace Rynkiewicz.
