ONONDAGA COUNTY – As many had expected, it came down to the Baldwinsville boys tennis team trying, once again, to top Fayetteville-Manlius, this time with the Section III Class A team title on the line.
They met last Friday afternoon at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, just two weeks removed from the narrow 4-3 decision the Hornets had pulled out in their lone regular-season encounter.
The rematch, though, would prove more decisive in F-M’s favor as it topped the Bees 6-1.
Nathan Smith gained a point for B’ville when, in third singles, he rolled past Jonathan So 6-1, 6-1. Eric Ventura was close in both sets with Colin Byer before taking a 6-4, 7-5 defeat as Mason Doan lost to Cameron Lukasik 6-2, 6-3.
F-M swept all the doubles. B’ville’s Nick Helbig and Andrew Jung lost to Dan Manta and Justin Dunn 6-1, 6-4, with Zach Pendergast and Ethan Haahr taking a 6-3, 6-3 defeat to Xavier Sul and John Gilligan.
By the same 6-3, 6-2 scores, Kai Wilson and Nick Fogu loss to Sawyer Brown and Jared Duggal and, in the other doubles match, Connor Donovan and Tom Canfield fell to Zach Costanza and Will Ferguson.
Before all this, B’ville first had to get through two early rounds, starting last Monday when, for the second time in seven days, the Bees dominated C-NS, knocking out the no. 7 seed Northstars 5-0.
Smith beat Zarin Liangsiri 6-1, 6-4, the exact same scores by which Doan beat Mike DeGroat as Ventura went quicker than either of them, beating Parker Cook 6-1, 6-1.
Haahr and Pendergast worked past Joe Johnston and Austin Fosberg 6-0, 6-4 as, in the other doubles match, Wilson and Fogu won 6-4, 6-3 over Tom Christou and Dylan Fournier.
Two days of rain followed before the Bees played the semifinal against no. 6 seed East Syracuse Minoa, but that didn’t keep B’ville from handling the Spartans in a 7-0 shutout.
Neither Doan nor Smith dropped any games in their singles matches against, respectively, Noah Satterlee and Aaron Martin, and Ventura was close to a shutout, too, handling Jacob McGuigan 6-1, 6-0.
In the closest of the doubles matches, Haahr and Pendergast saw the second set with Brett Hockey and Donovan Randall get a bit nervous, but the Bees’ pair still won 6-2, 6-4.
Helbig and Jung pounded Jayce Domres and Jacob Harmon 6-0, 6-1, with Wilson and Fogu rolling past Carter Jacobs and Owen Tompkins 6-2, 6-1. Connor Donovan and Greg Ramin got a 6-1, 6-1 win over Philip Evans and Jude Rudnick.
B’ville’s singles and doubles players would compete Monday in the individual sectional Division I tournament, hoping to advance to semifinals and finals which take place Thursday and Friday at Utica Parkway Courts.
