CENTRAL NEW YORK – In order to reclaim the Section III Class C team title, the Skaneateles boys tennis team would have to leapfrog past two Onondaga High School League Liberty division opponents – but never got past the first.
With undefeated top seed and defending champion Cazenovia looming in the championship round, the no. 7 seed Lakers met no. 6 seed Manlius Pebble Hill after both had knocked out higher seeds in the quarterfinals by 4-1 margins – Skaneateles topping no. 2 seed Cooperstown, MPH ousting no. 3 seed Mount Markham.
But the season would end just as it started, with a 3-2 defeat to the Trojans Thursday afternoon that exactly matched the score of the April 9 season opener that went in MPH’s favor.
One point for Skaneateles came quickly from Peter Salzhauer, who in second singles routed Jon Howard 6-1, 6-0. Far more difficult was first singles, where Noah Soderberg lost the first set 6-3 to Jaasim Zaman, but rallied in the next two sets 6-3 and 6-2.
James Lovier got to a first-set tiebreak but was overwhelmed from there by Savir Gambhir 7-6 (7-0), 6-0 as, in doubles, Case Pavlus and Lucas Woodcock lost to Andy and Sam Lurvey 6-0, 6-2.
It ultimately hinged on first doubles, where the Skaneateles team of Jake Salzhauer and Kevin Torrisi pushed MPH’s Abe Salomon and Devon Trikha to a third set before taking a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 loss.
Rain had postponed this match for two days following the Lakers’ 4-1 win over no. 2 seed Cooperstown in last Monday’s quarterfinal round.
Keying the Lakers’ efforts against the Hawkeyes was Lovier and Torrisi going to three sets in doubles against Bianca Adam and Alexis Wolfe and pulling out a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 decision.
Prior to that, Soderberg initiated a doubles sweep by beating Isaiah George 6-1, 6-2. Jake Salzhauer went a bit longer to put away Eero Arho 6-3, 6-1 as Peter Salzhauer, after a close first set, handled Hayden Spencer 6-3, 6-1. Pavlus and Woodcock lost to Alfred Horn and Owen Marling 6-0, 6-4 .
