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Big Reds, ’Jackets Perfect

CHARLESTON -All is going according to form for the Parkersburg and Williamstown boys tennis teams.

Thursday at the YMCA indoor courts, The Big Red boys won four of a possible four matches in Class AAA. The Yellowjackets duplicated the same feat at the Tennis Indoor Center in Class AA/A.

“The boys are doing well, but Friday things will heat up,” Williamstown coach Jay Carter said.

For PHS, Alexander D’Costa at No. 1 singles blanked Capital’s Parker Boughton 8-0 in the opening round the won his quarterfinal match against Cabell Midland’s Alex Beam 8-3. D’Costa’s next opponent is George Washington’s Ryan Massinople in the semifinals.

In the bottom half of the No. 1 singles bracket, Parkersburg South’s Grant Tebay lost to Greenbrier East’s Tom VonDohlen 8-5.

After receiving a first-round bye at No. 2 singles, Big Reds’ Tris Spitsnaugle handled Cabell Midland’s Cullen Mears 8-1. The senior must now get past George Washington’s Zack Koenig in order to reach Saturday’s finals.

A familiar face is alive in the bottom half of the No. 2 singles bracket as South’s Garrett Dailey defeated Oak Hill’s Christian Heath and Martinsburg’s Owen Hamilton.

Also competing in singles for PHS was Josh Roberts, who disposed of Oak Hill’s Nick Oxendale 8-6 at No. 3. That leaves Roberts facing Huntington’s Joseph Touma in the semifinals.

All three PHS boys doubles teams were idle, even though D’Costa and Spitsnaugle received a bye at No. 1. Tebay and Dailey were successful in their opening round match against a pair from Shady Spring.

On the girls side, PHS suffered a pair of casualties. At No. 1 singles, Cassandra Powell opened with an 8-1 win against Shady Spring’s Carley Kilmer before losing 8-1 to Huntington’s Cassie Mercer.

Also exiting the tournament but not before giving George Washington’s Jacqueli Teed all she could handle at No. 3 singles was Katie Gnegy who dropped a 9-8 (7-3) decision.

Keeping PHS represented at No. 2 singles was Sydney Stansberry, who began with an 8-1 win against Ripley’s Tyler Barickman then knocked out Hedgesville’s Alexa Cincinnati 8-2 in the quarterfinal round.

In doubles, Powell and playing partner Alex Olson moved on to the quarterfinal round at No. 1 with an 8-2 victory against Ripley’s Arin Shatto and Megan Frampton.

A few showers were expected overnight, but matches are tentatively scheduled to be played outdoors today. Waiting times between matches should be drastically reduced from what transpired yesterday.

“Considering the challenges of the day, all the kids did a fantastic job,” PHS coach Pam Reeves said.

In Class AA/A, Williamstown’s boys lead the team standings with five points and are closely followed by Charleston Catholic with four points.

For the Yellowjackets at No. 1 singles, Luke Flanagan lost only one game while eliminating Grafton’s Mitch Crutchfield and Madonna’s Matt Conforti. Next up for the senior is Charleston Catholic’s Noah Cable.

After receiving a bye at No. 2 singles, teammate Aaron Leo blanked Madonna’s Thomas Gianni to set up a meeting with Petersburg’s Ankur Makani in the semis.

His younger brother, Ryan Leo, won 8-1 in a quarterfinal match against Keyser’s Daniel Lewis and advance to the semis against Wheeling Central’s Billy Teufel.

Ravenswood’s only representative in action was Ethan Cross, who lost to Bluefield’s Francisco Desiderio 8-5 in the round of 16 at No. 1 singles. Teammate Nick Williams had to forfeit his opening match at No. 3 singles after suffering a hairline fracture in his ankle while finishing runner-up at last week’s regional meet.

For the Class AA/A girls, Parkersburg Catholic won three out of a possible four matches. The only team member failing to advance was Audrey Eisenmann at No. 1 singles after suffering an 8-3 loss to Petersburg’s Kelsie Roby, who carried an unbeaten record into the match.

Otherwise for the Crusaderettes, both Erica Tracewell at No. 2 singles and Kate Clowes at No. 3 singles advanced into the semifinal round in their respective brackets. Following a bye in the first round, Tracewell won 8-3 against Wyoming East’s Erika Kissel. Tracewell meets Weir’s Barbie Sulimanova in today’s semifinals.

Clowes passed her first test by defeating Moorefield’s Kylie Hildebrant 8-3 and will hook up with Bluefield’s Alex Lewis in the semis.

The PCHS No. 1 doubles team of Tracewell and Eisenmann also played a round of 16 match and defeated a pair from Grafton 8-6.

“I’m happy, but I wish Audrey would have won -she ran into a good player,” PCHS coach Ignacio Cardenas. “Audrey played hard.”

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