SYRACUSE – Many different Liverpool girls tennis players would find varying degrees of success competing in last week’s Section III Division I tournament at Syracuse University’s Skytop Courts.
And no one did better for the Warriors than the doubles teams of Diana Kozenyatko and Gabby Underwood, who made it all the way to the championship round and, by doing so, earned a berth in this week’s sectional state qualifier at Drumlins Tennis Club.
After a 6-4, 6-2 win over Baldwinsville’s Audrey Benton and Ella Tromblee, Kozenyatko and Underwood handled the Fayetetville-Manlius duo of Ava Abruzzese and Brooke Tester 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
A tough 7-5, 7-6 win over F-M’s Angela Iskander and Maya McKenzie put Kozenyatko and Underwood in the final against West Genesee’s top-seeded duo of Angelina Llanos and Katie Viau.
Here, a close first set proved pivotal, tied at 5-5 until Llanos and Viau won the last two games and went on to take the second set 6-2 to claim the sectional title.
Liverpool also had, in doubles, Meghan Bell and Olivia Magnarelli survive a 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 match with Auburn’s Taylor Chadderdon and Elizabeth Spin to reach the quarterfinals, only to fall 6-1, 6-0 to Llanos and Viau.
Angelica Underwood made the longest run in singles to the semifinals. She beat West Genesee’s Helena Allen 6-0, 7-5 and got a 6-0, 6-4 decision over Baldwinsville’s Hannah Gould in the quarterfinal
It ended quickly in the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Fayetteville-Manlius’ Anna Manta, who ended up dropping the title match to Christian Brothers Academy’s Gieselle Vlassis.
Kelly Geiwitz got through two rounds, beating Clair Hayes (Central Square) 10-2 and Kalina Olson (West Genesee) 6-2, 6-3, only to run into Manta in the quarterfinals and take her own 6-0, 6-0 loss.
Cicero-North Syracuse put Autumn Brown in singles, where she beat Madison Hotchkiss (Fulton) 10-7 before a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Auburn’s Alexandra Vitale.
In doubles, both of the Northstars’ sides lost in the opening round. Golden Duru and Megan Mieves fell 10-6 to Chadderdon and Spin, with Eve Campitello and Megan Johnston taking a 10-5 defeat to Iskander and McKenzie.
