Abington Heights tops Crestwood to win 11th straight D2 boys tennis team title

May 3—WILKES-BARRE — An incredible effort from Crestwood's Sean Rossi earned the Comets their spot in the District 2 Class 3A boys team tennis championship.

Unfortunately for Crestwood, waiting for them there was 10-time defending district champ Abington Heights — and Abington would not be denied an 11th straight title.

Three quick singles wins delivered yet another district championship to Abington Heights, defeating Crestwood 3-0 on Friday at Kirby Park.

Praneel Mallaiah and Domenic Peters each won their singles matches without dropping a single game, while William Arp lost only one game as he clinched the championship with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Crestwood's Tommy Biscotti.

"We're a very young team, we have three freshmen who start. ... It's nice for them to compete at the highest level," Abington Heights coach Art Comstock said. "It never gets old, every team is different, we start with a blank slate at the beginning of every year."

While Abington was able to cruise through the semifinal match with Valley View, Crestwood went right to the wire in a 3-2 victory over Delaware Valley, the only match of the day not to end in a sweep.

Delaware Valley swept the doubles matches, but singles wins from Biscotti and Ethan Zabroski set the stage for a winner-take-all match at No. 1 singles between Rossi and Delaware Valley's Alex Mullen.

Rossi came up short in a marathon first set, falling in a tiebreak to drop a set down, but regrouped for a 6-1 win in the second set.

With one decisive set remaining, Rossi slammed the door shut on Delaware Valley with a 6-1 win, sending Crestwood on to the championship.

"It felt pretty good," said Rossi, who will be back at Kirby Park next week for the District 2 singles tournament. "Hopefully I do well (next week)."

"We were thrilled to pull it off," said Crestwood head coach Scott Lenio. "Sean (Rossi) came back, he played a tough opponent strong and was able to pull it out."

An even tougher opponent waited for Rossi in the finals, with Mallaiah slated as the top seed in next week's singles tournament, and it was a quick 6-0, 6-0 win for the Abington Heights standout.

Wins for Arp and Domenic Peters followed shortly after, and Abington Heights was handed the championship plaque for an 11th straight time.

Abington Heights will have a home match in the first round of the PIAA Boys Tennis Team tournament, set for May 14 against the third-place team from District 1, which has yet to be determined.

District 2 Class 3A Boys Tennis Team Championship

Abington Heights 3, Crestwood 0

Singles — 1. Praneel Mallaiah (AH) def. Sean Rossi 6-0, 6-0; 2. William Arp (AH) def. Tommy Biscotti 6-1, 6-0; 3. Domenic Peters (AH) def. Ethan Zabroski 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles — 1. Brady Comstock/Liam Farrell (AH) led Kyle Orrson/Will Savner 6-0, 5-0 (match halted); 2. Mike Klamp/Dakota Kilansky (AH) led Jack Groth/Mike Modrovsky 6-1, 4-0 (match halted).

Class 2A Boys Tennis Team Championship

Scranton Prep 3, Wyoming Seminary 0

Singles — 1. Ethan Borick (SP) led William Hall 6-2, 5-3 (match halted); 2. Akhilesh Velaga (SP) def. Ansarali Atabayev 6-1, 6-1; 3. Ved Dave (SP) def. Yicheng Li 6-2, 6-3.

Doubles — 1. Matt Cohen/Dylan Tost (SP) led Christopher Ramos/Andrew Tsui 7-6 (4), 1-3 (match halted); 2. David Geyfman/Jackson Keating (SP) def. Pablo Otero/Benen Griffin 6-1, 6-0.

Class 3A Semifinals

Abington Heights 3, Valley View 0

Singles — 1. Praneel Mallaiah (AH) def. Connor Peters 6-1, 6-1; 2. William Arp (AH) led Jack Reilly 6-0, 5-1; 3. Domenic Peters (AH) def. Patrick Kolcharno 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles — 1. Brady Comstock/Liam Farrell (AH) def. Jack Perry/Eddie Lennox 6-0, 6-0; 2. Mike Klamp/Dakota Kilonsky (AH) def. Nick Burak/Jimmy Lennox 6-1, 6-2.

Crestwood 3, Delaware Valley 2

Singles — 1. Sean Rossi (CRE) def. Alex Mullen 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1; 2. Tommy Biscotti (CRE) def. Alex Corcoran 6-4, 1-6, 6-2; 3. Ethan Zabroski (CRE) def. Jackson Hazard 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles — 1. Christian Perunsky/Ty Bates (DV) def. Kyle Orrson/Will Savner 6-1, 6-0; 2. Owen Carso/Nat Carso (DV) def. Jack Groth/Mike Modrovsky 6-4, 6-0.