CENTRAL NEW YORK – The sudden swing from snow to record-high temperatures led to season-opening matches for the Cazenovia and Chittenango boys tennis teams, each of them successful ones.
In the case of the Lakers, it is attempting to build upon its remarkable 2023 season that saw it win Section III titles and advance all the way to the state Division II semifinals at the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
And the Lakers started 2024 by stuffing Mexico 5-0, with Traian Cherciu getting a 6-0 shutout over William Mills and Garret Lounsbury handling Owen Gilbert by those same scores. Though he took a bit longer, Gabe Reagan beat Jared Becker 6-0, 6-3.
Moving to doubles, Cazenovia pulled off two more shutouts. Evan Molloy and Max Reger roared past Sam Britton and Kevin Perlet 6-0, 6-0 and, by that same margin, Cy Lurie and Ethan Camp beat Norman Freeman and Ethan Gilbert.
Friday’s 5-0 shutout of Onondaga involved single-set matches to eight games. Reagan and Robbie Dorus got 8-0 singles wins over, respectively, Caleb Fowler and Melissa Sanborn, with Reger topping Brayden Cutri 8-2.
Getting a chance to play doubles, Cherciu and Lounsbury responded by blanking Maggieann Morris and Nolan Morris 8-0, while Godfred Assante and Fred Kagy earned a point, winning 8-0 over Olivia Bloom and Rylan Morris.
Chittenango has its own high expectations, too, which it began to fulfill with a 5-0 shutout of LaFayette.
Seth Boulter and Noah Edwards did not drop a game in their singles wins, Boulter beating Tom Somerlot and Edwards handling Hudson Borchert as, in first singles, Logan Bronner rolled past Ian Colburn 6-0, 6-1.
Both of the doubles matches were 6-0, 6-0 shutouts, too, Seamus Gardner and Vince DiNatale over Max Race and Darren Benjamin, Bernardo Bortovski and Cole Thomas taking out Ella Harris and Logan Hazeltine.
Playing again on Thursday, Chittenango topped Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 4-1, highlighted by a great singles match where Bronner, who lost his first set, rallied to top the Red Devils’ Lincoln Pelc 6-7, 6-2, 7-5.
Boulter handled Ryan Mitchell 6-1, 6-2, while in doubles Gardner and DiNatale got past Levi Lehnen and Owen Poppleton 6-1, 6-3. Thomas and Bartovski dominated Andrew Kaido and Hayden Klahs 6-1, 6-1.
Getting to 3-0 on Friday, Chittenango had its own match with Mexico and topped the Tigers 5-0, using the same eight-game single-set format used by Cazenovia against OCS.
Bronner beat Mills and Boulter topped Gilbert by equal 8-1 margins, Edwards shutting out Preston Searor 8-0. Bortovski and Thomas had their own 8-0 win over Freeman and Becker, with Gardner and DiNatale beating Britton and Perlet 8-1.
