HS TENNIS: West Scranton edges Valley View to advance to D2 Class 3A semifinals
Oct. 7—SCRANTON — Posters celebrating senior West Scranton tennis players are displayed on the chainlink fence that surrounds the courts at the high school.
Gabrielle Chantiloupe and Mia Butka are among them.
On Thursday, the two singles players and their graduating class competed in their final home match. Chantiloupe, an All-Region player last season, and Butka have played the biggest roles in the emergence of the Lady Invaders as viable contenders both in the Lackawanna League and in the District 2 postseason.
They came up big, again.
Chantiloupe and Butka captured straight-sets wins at
No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, as fourth-seeded West Scranton defeated No. 5 Valley View, 3-2, in the District 2
Class 3A quarterfinals. The Lady Invaders advance to play the winner of Friday's Abington Heights-Hazleton Area match in the semifinals scheduled for Tuesday at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre.
It is the third straight season West Scranton reached the final four in a district tournament, and the program improved to 41-16 since coach Devinne Scott
took over in 2019. In the previous five seasons, the Lady Invaders had 10 wins overall.
"This is very exciting," Chantiloupe said. "This program is really good now. The improvements that I have seen in the four years that I have been with the team are amazing. I can't even put it into words."
West Scranton won the last meeting against the Cougars, 3-2, in a battle that clocked in at more than 3 hours on Sept. 22.
In the rematch, the Lady Invaders clinched the victory with the first three completed matches.
Butka finished her match at No. 2 singles against Genevieve Moyles first. Her strong forehand and steady serve led to a 6-2, 6-3 win and a 1-0 early team lead.
"I was really happy with the way I played," said Butka, who improved to 13-2 this season. "I got most of my first serves in, and my slice and forehands crosscourt were really working for me.
"This shows a lot about the girls in this program and the coaching staff that really pushes us a lot."
Isabella Gigliotti, another senior, and Celia Emiliani then made it 2-0 shortly after with a win at No. 1 doubles over Amanda Chorba-Emily Moyles, 7-5, 6-1.
"We definitely wanted to win this match," Emiliani said. "We wanted to focus on hard-short shots. Getting the win was really important for us because we communicated a lot better."
Gigliotti-Emiliani avenged a loss to Chorba-Moyles from the regular-season meeting thanks to improved lob play.
"The biggest difference in this match was that we came much better prepared," Gigliotti said. "We practiced two days at Birchwood (Tennis & Fitness Center) and really worked on our lobs. I think we played really well as a team."
Chantiloupe clinched the win by outlasting Avianna Santarelli, 6-0, 7-5, at No. 1 singles.
"I am pretty happy that I won my match in the end," said Chantiloupe, whose record improved to 11-3 this season and 24-8 in the last two seasons. "In my second set, I wasn't totally happy, but overall I am pleased with how I played."
Valley View (11-6), which voluntarily moved up to Class 3A for this two-year cycle, closed out the match with Bella Camoni recovering for a hard-fought win over Katherine Barnansky, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. The Cougars No. 2 doubles team of Tessa Stafursky-Sarah Sweeney defeated Ally Anderson-Ella Frounfelker, 6-1, 6-1.
At Crestwood, Hannah Ziegler won at No. 1 singles and the Comets swept the doubles matches to earn a 3-2 win over Delaware Valley. Jessica Willson and Ceanna Williams had singles wins for Delaware Valley.
At the Loyola Complex, Alyssa Wigley, Leelah Farrell and Emma Cuck won their singles matches in straight sets to lead No. 2 Scranton Prep to a 5-0 win over MMI Prep in a Class 2A quarterfinal. Scranton Prep will play Dallas in the semifinals on Tuesday.
At Dallas, Dani Konnick and Sophia DePolo won their singles matches in straight sets to lead the Mountaineers to a 4-1 win over North Pocono. Ella Salak won at No. 3 singles for North Pocono.
At Mid Valley, Kiralynn Blank and Katrina Ricci won their singles matches in straight sets to lead the Spartanettes to a 4-1 win over Montrose in a Lackawanna League match. Gelina Smith won at No. 3 singles for Montrose.
West Scranton 3, Valley View 2
Singles: Gabrielle Chantiloupe (WS) over Avianna Santarelli, 6-0, 7-5; Mia Butka (WS) over Genevieve Moyles, 6-2, 6-3; Bella Camoni (VV) over Katherine Barnansky, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Doubles: Isabella Gigliotti-Celia Emiliani (WS) over Amanda Corba-Emily Moyles 7-5, 6-1; Tessa Stafursky-Sarah Sweeney (VV) over Ally Anderson-Ella Frounfelker, 6-1, 6-1.
Records: WS 12-3, VV 11-6.
Crestwood 3, Delaware Valley 2
Singles: Hannah Ziegler (CRE) over Noelle Holderith, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2; Jessica Willson (DV) over Camerone Carlos, 6-0, 6-0; Ceanna Williams (DV) over Ella Richards, 6-3, 6-0.
Doubles: Madison Van Gorden-Samantha Olszyk (CRE) over Elena Cirello-Abigail Lloyd, 6-2, 6-2; Julia Glowacki-Olivia Jardine (CRE) over Kate Tamplin-Olivia Van Tassell, 6-0, 6-0.
Records: CRE 11-2, DV 8-7.
Scranton Prep 5, MMI Prep 0
Singles: Alyssa Wigley over Kendall Orozco, 6-1, 6-0; Leelah Farrell over Ava Genetti, 6-2, 6-3; Emma Cuck over Brenna Eckhart, 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles: Annie Johnson-Gisele Falzone over Kate Malay-Eve Corazza, 6-0, 6-1; Grace Devine-Ella Cohen over Diane Arias-Katie Sissock, 6-0, 6-0.
Records: SP 15-0, MMI 8-8.
Dallas 4, North Pocono 1
Singles: Dani Konnick (DAL) over Nora Pencek, 6-4, 6-2; Sophia DePolo (DAL) over Carissa Stefanski, 6-2, 6-2; Ella Salak (NP) over Hayla Bryant, 6-4, 6-2.
Doubles: Abby Quinnan-Chloe Dudick (DAL) over Ava Hannon-Natalie Pagotto, 6-4, 6-4; Maddie Kerdesky-Haily Yakus (DAL) over Morgan Carr-Isabella Touseull, 6-4, 6-4.
Records: DAL 11-2, NP 8-7.
Mid Valley 4, Montrose 1
Singles: Kiralynn Blank (MV) over Jessica Carey, 6-2, 6-1; Katrina Ricci (MV) over Paley Adams, 7-6 (6), 6-4; Gelina Smith (MON) over Olivia Brzozowski, 2-2, retired.
Doubles: Grace Goetz-Abby Mackey (MV) over Mirand Walter-Aubrey Soden, 7-5, 7-6 (3); Natalie Hricenak-Macie Siwinski (MV) by forfeit.
Records: MV 4-10, MON 3-11.
D2 TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
CLASS 3A
Quarterfinals
West Scranton 3, Valley View 2
Crestwood 3, Delaware Valley 2
Friday's quarterfinals
8-Hazleton Area (8-6) at 1-Abington Heights (13-1), 4 p.m.
6-Scranton (9-5) at 3-Wallenpaupack (13-3), 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday semifinals
at Kirby Park, 11 a.m.
4-West Scranton (12-3) vs. AH/HA winner
SCR/WAL winner vs. 2-Crestwood (11-2)
Final, follows semifinals
CLASS 2A
Quarterfinals
Wyoming Seminary 3, Holy Redeemer 0
Wyoming Area 4, Tunkhannock 1
Scranton Prep 5, MMI Prep 0
Dallas 4, North Pocono 1
Tuesday's semifinals
at Kirby Park, 12:30 p.m.
4-Wyoming Area (11-2) vs. 1-Wyoming Seminary (15-0)
3-Dallas (11-2) vs. 2-Scranton Prep (15-0)
Final, to follow semifinals
Contact the writer: jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9125; @sportsTT on Twitter
