CENTRAL NEW YORK – In their own way, and for their own reasons, the Fayetteville-Manlius and Jamesville-DeWitt girls tennis teams wanted to bring home Section III championships.
F-M simply wanted to hang on to the crown it had held for so long while, at the same time, gain payback for a rare defeat.
Such was the theme of last Thursday’s title match at Utica Parkway Courts between the no. 2 seed Hornets and top seed Baldwinsville, but it ended just like their early-September regular-season clash, with F-M falling to the Bees 4-3.
Two points were quickly secured in singles by B’ville’s Mira Nadzan and Ayla Kalfass as Nadzan put away Kayla Quinn 6-0, 6-0 and Kalfass topped Samreen Mangat 6-1, 6-0 win over Samreen Mangat.
Moving to first doubles, Hannah Gould and Elaina Nesbitt also needed just two sets to put away Trisha Adavikolanu and Lina Limam 6-3, 6-3, putting the Bees within one point of the title.
F-M countered with Lindsey Chong, in third singles, beating Ella Clary 6-1, 6-0, while in doubles Selena Chen and Shreya Bhattacharya claimed a long first-set tie-breaker to beat Reagan Doan and Julia Quinn 7-6 (12-10), 6-0.
Caitlyn McLain and Sofia Kenney rallied past Livia Zoanetti and Keagan Downes 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, but in fourth doubles Angelina Fang and Julia Comprix got to a third set, only to fall to Laine Zoanetti and Eva Pawelek 6-1, 6-7 (7-3), 6-4
As the no. 4 seed in Class B, J-D shut out no. 5 seed Indian River 5-0 in last Monday’s quarterfinals, where Yara Farah’s come-from-behind 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over Reanna De Los Santos in singles complemented straight-set wins by Mona Farah and Ebu Ogontola.
Then the Rams won a 4-3 semifinal over top seed Whitesboro a day later. Mona Farah’s 6-1, 6-0 singles win over Emma Kane set a good tone, with Yara Farah needing a first-set tie-breaker to get control against Katherin Mullen and win 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.
Tara Pollock and Hallie Bouchard beat Karina Andronovich and Julia Dzeravenets 6-2, 6-3, and needing one more point, the Rams got it when Olivia Quackenbush and Jaeda Robinson, in fourth doubles, rallied from a set down to top Liyah Schneider and Angelina Levkovets 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
When Oneida upended no. 2 seed New Hartford 4-3 in the other semifinal, it set up a title match between the Red Rams and Indians that would also get decided 4-3, but not in J-D’s favor.
Following Mona Farah’s 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Ella McKay, Oguntola overcame a slow start to beat Saige Meehan 4-6, 6-1,6-2, with Pollock and Bouchard topping Myah Rainbow and Madison Castle 6-1, 6-3.
Oneida countered with three points in doubles, all won in straight sets, and the only point it needed in singles when Yara Farah ran into Lilly Gormley and lost 6-2, 6-2. It was the Indians’ fourth consecutive sectional title.
Back in Class A, B’ville upended Christian Brothers Academy 5-2 in last Tuesday’s semifinal, overcoming singles wins by Giselle Vlassis and Allie Mancini with a doubles sweep, the key match of which was Quinn and Doan rallying past the Brothers’ Meredith Sommers and Audrey Schaefer 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.
CBA had blanked no. 4 seed Central Square in its quarterfinal a day before facing B’ville. Vlassis and Mancini had singles shutouts as Doyle beat Grace Roberts 6-1, 6-1, while in doubles Maddie Kanervko and Claire Schaefer rallied for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Finley Harwood and Chloe Giblin.
F-M, meanwhile, had won its quarterfinal 7-0 over no. 7 seed Rome Free Academy. Adavikolanu beat Jenavieve Cianfrocco 6-1, 6-2 in the closest of the three singles matches, with all four doubles matches also won in two sets.
Then the Hornets swept Auburn 7-0 in the semifinals. Adavikolanu’s 6-4, 6-4 win over Alexandra Vitale was the feature of a singles sweep that included Mangrat and Chen.
In doubles the teams of Liman-Quinn, Bhattachyra-Chong, Kenney-McClain and Comprix-Aimee Fousek all won in two sets, none of them giving up more than four games in any set.
