SKANEATELES – With its 26-game match streak broken up by Christian Brothers Academy, the Skaneateles girls tennis team sought to recover by winning the Section III Class C team tournament – which it did.
And it all boiled down to a championship game on a warm Friday afternoon at Austin Park between the two sets of Lakers, top-seeded Skaneateles hosting no. 2 seed Cazenovia, whom it beat 6-1 earlier this season.
Here, Skaneateles did not even surrender a set, much less a full point, to Cazenovia, prevailing 7-0 to easily secure its state tournament bid.
To get it going in singles, Isabelle Soderberg beat Rachel Molloy in straight sets as Kenna Ellis took out Clare Douglas 6-1, 6-3 and Lily Miller handled Baylee Pierce 6-2, 6-0.
Only in doubles did any of the matches require a tie-breaker, with Bella Karpinski and Emma Whipple taking it against Erin Kuhn and Katie Pavelchak on the way to a 7-6, 6-1 victory.
Ella Danforth and Sophia Soderberg routed Julia Knutsen and Emma Schwartz 6-1, 6-1, with Sofia Capozza and Kelsey Rutledge handling Quinlan Emhoff and Megan Kuhn 6-0, 6-2. Another point was gained when Katie Kissel and Ellie Torrisi won 6-2, 7-5 over Kiana Vazquez and Faith Widrick.
In its quarterfinal match last Tuesday, Skaneateles was challenged by Manlius-Pebble Hill, but claimed all the doubles points in a 5-2 win over the Trojans.
Danforth and Sophia Soderberg got it going with a 6-1, 6-1 romp over Ava Benedict and Caroline Mezzalingua, with Capozza and Rachel Hackler winning over Sophia Menacho and Arielle Nemes 6-3, 6-0.
Falling behind early, Rutledge and Whipple rallied past Eden Hildebrandt and Sabrina Loop 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 as Karpinksi and Kissel got a 6-0, 6-0 shutout over Ileana Anghel and Schuyler King.
Up in singles, Ellis and Miller took straight-set defeats, but Isabelle Soderberg got a point when she handled MPH’s Emily Zeitsev 6-2, 6-2.
Then it was on to the semifinals Thursday against Little Falls, who had edged Westmoreland 3-2 a day earlier, but were never close against the Lakers, who easily prevailed 5-0.
Miller blanked Chloe Willett 6-0, 6-0, with Ellis topping Alexa Johns 6-1, 6-2 and Isabelle Soderberg rolling past Lucy Johns 6-1, 6-0.
The doubles matches were just as lopsided as Capozza and Rutledge paired up to blank Natalie Nolan and Rachel Thomas 6-0, 6-0,. Danforth and Sophia Soderberg handled Madison Brand and Marcella Venettozzi 6-1, 6-1.
Meanwhile, Marcellus got through its own first-round match in the Class B bracket against Camden, doing just enough to edge the Blue Devils 4-3.
Danielle Copp got the lone singles point, topping Morgan Keil 6-4, 6-3, but with Maddie Vetsch and Lila Kelly taking defeats, the Mustangs needed three points in doubles – and got them.
Sophie Clarke and Shaelyn Kelly had the longest match, outlasting Alex Corcoran and Maggie Plumley 7-6, 7-5, while Sydney Colon and Kara Wangsness beat Gabe Castelluzzo and Lainie Liberatore 6-4, 6-3. Also in two sets, Ella Lutwin and Grace Rynkiewicz beat Chelsea Coady and Madison Smith 6-3, 6-2.
The Mustangs’ run ended a round later, in the semifinals, where it fell to Whitesboro 7-0 in a match where, twice, it pushed the Warriors to three sets without gaining a point.
It happened in singles, where Copp led early against Olivia MacArthur but still took a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 loss, and again in doubles,with Colon and Wangness falling 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 to Jocelyn Kulis and Sarah Mullen.
