Goshen's Allen Yi beats Minisink's Ethan Rodriguez for Section 9 boys tennis championship
GOSHEN – It’s never easy to face a friend in a championship event.
Allen Yi of Goshen and Ethan Rodriguez of Minisink Valley met one another in training at MatchPoint Tennis and have become hitting partners and close friends. Their paths were sure to cross in local tennis events, and even though both want to win, their respect for one another is preserved.
The pair played to an official “draw” during a regular-season meeting. Yi was the top seed at the recent Orange County league championships but it was second-seed Rodriguez who won the close battle for the title.
Fast forward a week and the two were on a collision course again in the finals of the Section 9 tournament. Rodriguez was taken to the three-set maximum in quarterfinal and semifinal wins on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, while Yi earned a much easier path. So the dye was cast when the freshmen friends met up in the section final at MatchPoint.
One break of serve was all Yi needed in a 6-4 first-set victory, draining Rodriguez by moving him all over the court – Rodriguez said his legs began cramping. Yi broke Rodriguez on his first two service games of the second set, for a 4-0 lead. “It was really tough going down 4-0. I tried my best to come back,’’ Rodriguez said. Both players were broken the rest of the way as Yi prevailed 6-2.
“This is a really nice experience,’’ Yi said. “(Ethan) played really well but he was pretty tired from the couple of past matches, so it wasn’t really the fresh level for either of us but it was still a really great match.’’
“Allen was the better player today,’’ Rodriguez said.
Yi said the key was playing more conservative. “I just didn’t go for crazy-like, stupid shots … I wasn’t trying to slap it across the floor,’’ he said. “I was just mainly making him move around.’’
BOYS TENNIS 2024 SEASON: Section 9 boys tennis scores, schedule for the 2024 season
“It was nice to have a rematch against someone you just lost to,’’ Yi added.
T.J. Mancuso of Monroe-Woodbury topped Eli Loewen of Kingston, 6-4, 6-1, in the third-place match, sending Mancuso to the upcoming state tournament in Queens.
The doubles competition was much more clear cut. Newburgh juniors Henry Goings-Perrot and Alex Cestaro, are outstanding singles players in their own right but elected to team up for doubles. On Thursday, the tall duo breezed to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Monroe-Woodbury's Lincoln McConnell and Yuvraj Chandyek in the semifinals and 6-1, 6-0 championship win over Cornwall’s Ryan Geller and Adam Greher.
“I think (Geller and Greher) were just tired from their three-set match before and we just really took advantage of it and came out swinging,’’ Goings-Perrot said.
The Newburgh pair was still smarting over a three-set loss to Washingtonville’s Matt Medina and Tyler Yhun in the Orange County finals so they came out more determined, Goings-Perrot said. Cestaro said his pairing got “a little mad in the (OCIAA) finals because we weren’t playing our best.’’ This time, “we really just stayed positive.’’
The Newburgh pair is an intimidating presence, especially at the net where Goings-Perrot stands 6-foot-5 and Cestaro at 6-4.
The doubles consolation and state tourney berth went to Medina and Yhun, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 over McConnell and Chandyek.
In the singles semifinals, Yi beat Loewen, 6-1, 6-4, and Rodriguez needed nearly 2 ½ hours to beat Mancuso, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
In the doubles semis, Geller and Greher beat Medina and Yhun, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.
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This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Yi beats Rodriguez for Section 9 title
