F-M girls tennis repeats as sectional Class A champions

CENTRAL NEW YORK – Once again the Section III Class A team championship hinged on Fayetteville-Manlius withstanding the challenge of Baldwinsville – and once more, though it proved tight, the Hornets accomplished it.

Their showdown Thursday at Utica Parkway Courts saw F-M concentrate its strength just where it was required, mostly in doubles, and with a quartet of straight-set wins turned back the Bees 4-3.

This was the exact same margin as the 2023 sectional final between these two rivals along with a September regular-season meeting, and the string continued here.

Lindsey Chong and Mariah Sun posted the first doubles point 6-1, 6-2 over Laine and Livia Zoanetti, and in singles Erin McLain had little real stress beating Jasmine Rawda 6-2, 6-3.

Pushed in the first set, Caitlyn McLain and Julia Kim still beat Ella Clary and Carmela Budzich 7-5, 6-1, while the clincher came when Anokhi and Samiya Dalal worked through a pair of tough sets to beat Emma Krukowski and Sophia Randolph 6-4, 7-5.

This made up for B’ville claiming the other three matches, Shreya Bhattacharya blanked by Mira Nadzan 6-0, 6-0 and Smareen Mangat falling to Ayla Kalfas 6-1, 6-4 as Sonia LaHaye and Sadie Toole worked through a 6-1, 6-2 doubles defeat to Sonia Nadzan and Elaina Nesbitt.

Just to face B’ville required the Hornets to turn back Christian Brothers Academy in Tuesday’s semifinal round, which it did in a 6-1 decision.

Singles matches were competitive, and CBA’s Claire Schaefer was able to beat Mangat 7-5, 6-3, but Toole topped Rowan Doyle 6-3, 6-1 and Erin McLain worked to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Sarah Clark.

Overcoming a rough start in doubles, Kim and Anokhi Dalal won a second-set tiebreak and then outlasted Julie Zdep and Madison Evans 1-6, 7-6, 10-6.

Chong and Bhattacharya rolled past Audrey Schaefer and Maddie Kanerviko 6-0, 6-1, with LaHaye and Sun beating Monica Fallon and Katrina Racelli 6-4, 6-3. In two close sets Caitlyn McLain and Samiya Datal won 6-4, 6-4 over Piper Powell and Rachel Zdep.

F-M’s path to the title began Monday in the quarterfinals with a 7-0 shutout of no. 8 seed Central Square with shutouts from Toole and Erin McLain in singles and LaHaye’s 6-1, 6-1 win over Alexandria Bell, with none of the doubles teams dropping more than one game in any single set.

In that same round CBA went to no. 4 seed Liverpool and ousted the Warriors 7-0, claiming all the doubles points in two sets and passing two big tests in singles as Clark rallied past Milana D’Amico 3-6, 6-0, 10-3 and Doyle outlasted Allie Kerneklian 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

East Syracuse Minoa, the no. 6 seed in Class A, met no. 3 seed Rome Free Academy in the quarterfinals and took a 5-2 defeat to the Black Knights.

Oso Ikhide earned a point in singles for the Spartans beating Valerie Raux 6-2, 6-1. Evangleine Tsan and Jewelianna Hallock paired up in doubles, prevailing over Angel Lane and Barbara Ciotti by those same scores.

The difference was that RFA won both matches that went to three sets. In singles, Erin Murnane saw an early lead get away in a 5-7, 6-0, 6-0 defeat to Kali Fountain, while in doubles Lila O’Brien and Caroline Sitnik saw the same thing happen and fell to Kenidee Campbell and Rachel O’Rourke 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.