HS TENNIS NOTEBOOK: Postseason starts this week with D2 team championships
Brackets for the District 2 tennis team tournament are almost set with a few regular-season matches still remaining.
A pair of undefeated teams have clinched the top seeds. Abington Heights, which won the Lackawanna League championship and is seeking its 11th straight Class 3A title, is the No. 1 seed and the favorite to repeat. Wyoming Seminary, which won all 11 of its matches this season and is the Wyoming Valley Conference champion, secured the No. 1 seed in Class 2A.
Inclement weather earlier this spring forced the schedule to get pushed into this week, which created a change in the start date for the postseason.
Quarterfinal matches are scheduled to start Wednesday at the site of the higher-seeded team. Semifinals and finals are Friday at Kirby Park. Class 2A semifinals are at 11:30 a.m., and Class 3A semifinals are at 1 p.m., with championship finals to follow. The first round of the PIAA tournament is May 14.
Abington Heights had an outstanding season in the Lackawanna League. The Comets won 11 times, with nine coming by shutout.
Praneel Mallaiah finished 11-0 at No. 1 singles, while William Arp was 10-1 and Domenic Peters was 9-0 at No. 3 singles.
The Lackawanna League will have five teams in the eight-team tournament.
Delaware Valley (9-3), Valley View (7-4), Scranton (6-5), and West Scranton (3-9) join Abington Heights in the playoffs.
Alex Mullen (7-4), Alexander Corcoran (8-3), and Michael Richards (5-2) lead Delaware Valley. Connor Peters (8-3), Jack Reilly (7-4), and Patrick Kolcharno (6-2) lead Valley View, which reached the final last season.
Wyoming Seminary (11-0) finished undefeated in the WVC after a 3-2 win over defending District 2 Class 2A team champion Dallas in the regular season.
William Hall and Ansareli Altabayev lead Wyoming Seminary. Scranton Prep (11-1) is the No. 2 seed with its only loss coming against Abington Heights.
Ethan Borick at No. 1 singles and Akhilesh Velaga at No. 2 sinles lead Scranton Prep. Both are All-Region players. Velaga won the district singles championship as a freshman and finished as the runner-up last season. He has a record of 9-0. Borick, who reached the district quarterfinals last season, finished 8-1, with his only setback coming against Mallaiah.
Jon Florencio, who lost to Hall in three sets in the team’s showdown with Wyoming Seminary, Nate Linnen, and Jack Barr lead defending champion Dallas.
Holy Cross is a team to watch. The Crusaders have a talented starting lineup with Alex Harrison (9-2), Ray Zhang (9-2), and David Huester (8-2).
Singles tournament
District 2 tennis chaorman Mike Ognosky scheduled the annual seeding meeting for the District 2 Singles Tournament for Thursday at 7 p.m. at Dunmore High School.
Both of last year’s winners will not defend their titles. Valley View’s Luke Kotcho graduated, and Western Wayne’s Tristan Vivona transferred to a tennis academy in Florida.
The tournaments start with the first three rounds on May 7. Class 3A at Wilkes University, and Class 2A at Kirby Park, both at 9 a.m.
Semifinals and finals are on May 8 at 1 p.m. at Kirby Park.
Doubles tournament
The District 2 Doubles Tournament starts with the first three rounds on May 13. Class 3A matches at Wilkes University and the Class 2A matches at Kirby Park at 9 a.m.
Semifinals and finals are on May 15 at 1 p.m. at Kirby Park.
The PIAA Singles and Doubles Tournaments are on May 24 and May 25 at the Hershey Racquet Club.
2024 BOYS TENNIS RECORDS
Abington Heights (11-0)
Praneel Mallaiah 11-0
William Arp 10-1
Domenic Peters 9-0
Brady Comstock 2-0
Delaware Valley (8-3)
Alexander Mullen 7-4
Alexander Corcoran 8-3
Michael Richards 5-2
Christian Perunsky 2-0
Owen Carso 1-0
Brandon Albaugh 0-1
Dunmore (5-6)
Thomas Bowen 4-7
Dom DeSando 3-4
Oum Patel 1-7
Nate Aviles 2-4
Conor Roberts 0-1
Holy Cross (8-3)
Alex Harrison 9-2
Ray Zhang 9-2
David Huester 8-2
Guiseppe Pilone 0-1
Honesdale (3-7)
Michael Reiprich 1-9
Leonardo Martinez-Valerio 3-7
Matthew Christiansen 5-5
Mid Valley (2-8)
Erald Zyberaj 1-9
Carson Beck 1-6
Miles Siwinski 2-5
Michael Keller 0-1
Alex Morano 2-3
North Pocono (2-9)
Kyle Mizenko 3-6
Matthew Hitchcock 2-9
Corey Kowalski 1-8
Christian Segiel 2-1
Liam Maughan 0-1
Scranton (6-5)
Thomas Bergman 5-6
Shivam Patel 2-8
Faneel Bhalja 6-5
Dominic Huffman 1-0
Scranton Prep (10-1)
Ethan Borick 8-1
Akhilesh Velaga 9-0
Ved Dave 8-3
Guy Rothery 1-0
Matt Cohen 2-0
Dylan Tost 1-0
Valley View (7-4)
Connor Peters 8-3
Jack Reilly 7-4
Patrick Kolcharno 6-2
Jack Perry 0-2
Jimmy Lennox 0-1
West Scranton (3-8)
Drew Sphabmixay 7-4
Alex Sanchez 3-7
Pujan Nepal 3-8
Matthew D’Augostine 1-0
Western Wayne (0-11)
Weston Nugent 0-10
Adrian Agnello 1-9
Connor Buchinski 0-11
Calvin Supenek 0-2
FINAL TOP 5 TEAMS
1. Abington Heights 11-0
2. Scranton Prep 10-1
3. Holy Cross 8-3
4. Delaware Valley 8-3
5. Valley View 7-4
FINAL TOP 5 PLAYERS
1. Praneel Mallaiah, Abington Heights
2. Ethan Borick, Scranton Prep
3. Akhilesh Velaga, Scranton Prep
4. Alex Harrison, Holy Cross
5. William Arp, Abington Heights
