Primal screams, marathon match, a breeze in 2A and more from the D-10 boys doubles tournament

It was the final for District 10’s Class 3A boys doubles tennis tournament, so the stakes were already large.

Add on that Wednesday’s championship match required three sets — three competitive sets — and lasted more than 2½ hours, and it’s understandable why Eric Cui’s primal screams between points became louder and more frequent on Westwood Racquet Club’s show court.

The last guttural yell by the McDowell senior happened when Erie High opponent John Sinnott missed a volley near the net.

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That one was more from the relief of knowing he and classmate Krish Jain successfully defended as the tournament’s titlists.

Their 6-7 (7-4), 7-5, 7-5 victory over Sinnott and his brother Owen was one that saw the match’s four players receive respectful congratulations from teammates, coaches and fans for their collective effort.

“That match was a roller coaster,” Cui said. “You could legitimately feel the serotonin levels up and down your body. That’s why I was screaming all the time because screaming gives you that boost.”

Wednesday’s 3A final contrasted with the Class 2A final won by Jonah Ng and Hayden Hutchinson. The top-seeded Cathedral Prep duo, which beat Warren’s Logan Fincher and Mark Lynds 6-0, 6-0, only lost two games over four matches at Westwood.

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‘The closest match we’ve ever played’

Rallying from a set down wasn’t the only major challenge Cui and Jain experienced. They also thwarted what could have been an all-time comeback by the Sinnotts.

The cousins of former Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott lost the first four games of the third set. Instead of surrendering, though, they got back on serve at 3-4.

McDowell then broke for 5-3 and served for the match, only to watch the Sinnotts break back. Each side then held, which left the Erie High duo serving at 5-6.

A winner-take-all tiebreaker would have been an appropriate conclusion for the match.

However, Cui and Jain, scuttled that scenario when they converted their second match point on John Sinnott’s missed net volley.

“The closest match we’ve ever played,” Jain said. “We’ve never had matches go three sets and each set (need over) six games to win them.”

The dramatic victory also occurred during Andy Heinlein’s first postseason as McDowell’s boys tennis coach.

Heinlein formerly assisted Richard Beck, who retired after an unprecedented 54 seasons in charge of the Trojans. He watched his son, Aaron, win the district’s 3A singles tournament for the third and final time on Monday.

Andy Heinlein was more grateful that Cui and Jain won Wednesday’s tournament as seniors than for repeating in it.

“Those three have been a big part of our team and our success the last three years,” he said. “It’s nice to see them finish strong.”

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Ng’s withdrawal worth it

Ng was expected to be a district victor this week. As a Cathedral Prep freshman, he won last season’s 2A singles tournament and reached the PIAA semifinals.

That Ng didn’t defend was the surprise. Instead, he chose to skip singles and pair up with senior teammate Hayden Hutchinson in a shared quest to pursue the state’s doubles title.

Hutchinson said their decision to forgo last weekend’s district singles action was made two weeks ago.

“We’ve played doubles before when we’ve gone to out-of-state events, but this was a little different,” Hutchinson said. “We had a couple practices, and even (Tuesday) we had trouble. But I guess we got over it.”

Hutchinson and Ng also blanked their first-round and quarterfinal opponents in eight-game pro sets. The Fairview I duo of Aditya Turaga and Graham Louis, who were seeded third, were the only players who weren’t shut out by the Ramblers’ top tandem.

Even then, Hutchinson and Ng still comfortably won their 10-2 semifinal.

“Our games just complement each other,” Ng said.

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What’s next for winners

Ng and Hutchinson automatically advanced to the PIAA’s 2A doubles competition over Memorial Day weekend.

They’ll open against Ford Koch and Aveer Chadha, the District 11 winners from Easton’s Moravian Academy.

Cui and Jain must defeat a duo from District 8, the Pittsburgh City League, before they can claim a PIAA 3A berth at Hershey. That match is tentatively scheduled next week at Lakevue Athletic Club in Valencia.

Doubles results

Results for District 10’s boys doubles tennis tournament at Westwood Racquet Club:

Class 3A

First round

Erie High II (Kyle Westfall-Evan Nadzam) def. Meadville II (Phil Pandolph-Brooke Hart) 8-1

Quarterfinals

No. 1 McDowell I (Eric Cui-Krish Jain) def. Erie High II 8-4; Erie High III (Joel Lee-Joe Salamon) def. McDowell III (Dan Idzik-Christian Neubert) 8-3; McDowell II (Noah Hardesty-Gridley Wright) def. Meadville I (Kevin Elwell-Greg Skelnar) 8-1; No. 2 Erie High I (John Sinnott-Owen Sinnott) def. Meadville III (Chuck Koerner-Kyle Buttray) 8-0

Semifinals

No. 1 McDowell I def. Erie High III 10-5; No. 2 Erie High I def. McDowell II 10-7

Championship

No. 1 McDowell I (Eric Cui-Krish Jain) def. No. 2 Erie High I (John Sinnott-Owen Sinnott) 6-7 (7-4), 7-5, 7-5

Class 2A

First round

Hickory I (Paul Spielvogle-Trevor Borowicz) def. Oil City II (Dylan Bly-Simon Burkett) 8-2; Grove City I (Ryan Waugaman-Landon Mercer) def. Warren II (Owen Strandburg-Adam Strandburg) 8-6; Greenville II (Finn Butcher-Zach Morgan) def. Titusville I (Lance Enright-Zach Wooten) 8-6; Fairview II (Amani Thomas-Jai Prabhu) def. Mercyhurst Prep II (Raymond Barrett-Nate Firman) 8-5; Harbor Creek II (Trista Maloney-Lexa Maloney) def. Hickory II (Logan Cione-Kory Semanco) 8-5; Grove City II (Caleb Baumgartner-Landon Schofield) def. Titusville II (Tori Bodamer-Andrew Mott) 8-2

Second round

No. 1 Cathedral Prep I (Jonah Ng-Hayden Hutchinson) def. Hickory I 8-0; Sharon II (Andrew Joint-Ben Pollock) def. Harbor Creek I (Brennan Murphy-Mary Swinarski) 8-6; No. 3 Fairview I (Aditya Turaga-Graham Louis) def. Grove City I 8-2; No. 5 Mercyhurst Prep I (Brady Godlewski-Max Sedelmyer) def. Greenville II 8-3; No. 6 Greenville I (Isaac Hightree-Alex Harcourt) def. Fairview II 8-6; No. 4 Cathedral Prep II (James Casella-Cameron Grieshaber) def. Harbor Creek II 8-0; Sharon I (Liam Klingensmith-Brian Nguyen) def. Oil City I (Jackson Dilks-Spencer Greene) 8-1; No. 2 Warren I (Logan Fincher-Mark Lynds) def. Grove City II 8-2

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Cathedral Prep I def. Sharon II 8-0; No. 3 Fairview I def. No. 5 Mercyhurst Prep I 8-2; No. 4 Cathedral Prep II def. No. 6 Greenville I 8-1; No. 2 Warren I def. Sharon I 8-4

Semifinals

No. 1 Cathedral Prep I def. No. 3 Fairview I 10-2; No. 2 Warren I def. No. 4 Cathedral Prep II 10-7

Championship

No. 1 Cathedral Prep I (Jonah Ng-Hayden Hutchinson) def. No. 2 Warren I (Logan Fincher-Mark Lynds) 6-0, 6-0

Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: McDowell, Cathedral Prep win District 10 boys doubles tennis titles