The Wyoming Seminary boys tennis team defeated Holy Cross on Tuesday to win their second straight District 2 Class 2A team championship.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
Abington Heights made it 13 District 2 Class 3A boys team tennis titles in a row with a victory over Valley View in Tuesday’s championship match.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — Wyoming Seminary arrived at Kirby Park on Tuesday looking to defend its boys tennis district crown, a title won in a nailbiter over Scranton Prep a season ago.
There wasn’t much drama this year: in a mirror image of the season they’ve had, the Blue Knights were dominant in a championship repeat.
Wyoming Seminary swept the two doubles points in straight sets, and Stefan Zecar sealed the deal with a 6-0, 6-2 singles win as Sem swept Holy Cross 3-0 in the District 2 Class 2A boys team tennis finals.
In the Class 3A final, Abington Heights continued its historic reign atop the district with a 13th straight District 2 Class 3A title, taking down Valley View 3-0 to keep the run intact.
Both championship winners started the day with sweeps in the semifinals as well, with the Blue Knights taking down Tunkhannock in short order to get back to the final.
Holy Cross triumphed over Dallas 3-1 in the other semifinal match played Tuesday; Dallas’s Nathan Eyet and Zane Brezek won in doubles, scoring the only point for any of the teams eliminated in the semifinal rounds.
Much like last year’s victory over Prep, Sem’s advantage in doubles proved to be a huge swing in their favor: James Bobeck and Thomas Hill won a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 1 doubles and the team of Hubert Huang and Aarav Gupta won 6-1, 6-0 in the other doubles match.
With two points in hand fast, it left the Blue Knights with a big edge and plenty of room to go and get that final point.
“You need to have a complete team to advance,” Wyoming Seminary coach Raphael Cooper said. “Down the stretch, you’d better have those doubles teams.”
For the second year in a row, it was Zecar who found himself in the position to score the championship-clinching victory, and he delivered for the Blue Knights once again.
After scoring match point in his No. 3 singles match against Holy Cross’s Alfred Betts, Zecar got the crowd amped up as the Blue Knights celebrated another district title.
“It was hard, there was pressure of course … when the parents and supporters clap, it feeds me,” Zecar said.
Wyoming Seminary was also winning the two matches it didn’t get to finish; Dhruv Sudhakar was up 6-5 in the No. 2 singles match and Sem’s singles ace Billy Hall had a 6-0, 4-1 lead on Holy Cross’ Alex Harrison when the match was halted.
The championship win completes a perfect run through the district for Wyoming Seminary, running its record to 15-0 with 14 of those wins coming in sweeps (including both their semifinal and final wins).
The Blue Knights haven’t lost a league match since 2023 and proved that they were able to retool after losing some key starters from last season to come back stronger than ever.
“This is a totally different team than last year,” Cooper said. “We’ve tried to impress upon our freshmen that this doesn’t happen all the time, we have an opportunity and we’re going to have to beat a really good team.”
Wyoming Seminary will head to the first round of the PIAA Class 2A tournament on May 12. The Blue Knights will take on the champion from District 3, either Pequea Valley or Camp Hill, at 11 a.m. at the Birchwood Racquet Club in Clarks Summit.
Abington Heights wins 13th straight title
Despite some turnover in the lineup, despite toting out a fairly young team, Abington Heights has still made it clear that the program is still head and shoulders above the field in Class 3A.
The Comets only dropped two total games across all five matches, winning two singles matches and a doubles match to sweep Valley View 3-0 and hoist their 13th straight District 2 title.
“Every year is different, we graduated five seniors … we’re actually a younger team this year,” Abington Heights coach Art Comstock said. “It’s always special, every year we make a list of goals and this is one of them.”
The Comets went up 1-0 quicker than anticipated in the championship, as Valley View’s Nick Burak was forced to retire with an injury after battling through one game against Abington Heights freshman Prayush Mallaiah.
William Arp posted a 6-0, 6-0 double bagel in the next singles match to make it 2-0, and another tidy 6-0, 6-0 win from Brody Goldberg and Sebastian Meyer wrapped things up for the Comets.
In the six decided matches for Abington Heights across both their semifinal win over Hazleton Area and their finals victory over Valley View, the Comets didn’t drop a single game.
Abington Heights will head back to states once again and they’ll get to start their run at home, hosting the fourth-place team from District 1 at the Birchwood Racquet Club at 1 p.m. on May 12 when the Class 3A state tournament gets underway.
District 2 Class 2A Team Championship
Wyoming Seminary 3, Holy Cross 0
Singles — 1. Billy Hall (SEM) led Alex Harrison 6-0, 4-1; 2. Dhruv Sudhakar (SEM) led Ray Zhang 6-5; 3. Stefan Zecar (SEM) def. Alfred Betts 6-0, 6-2.
Doubles — 1. James Bobeck/Thomas Hill (SEM) def. Dwalkya Baniya/Guiseppe Pilone 6-1, 6-1; 2. Hubert Huang/Aarav Gupta (SEM) def. Tristan Gilroy/Nat McDonnell 6-1, 6-0.
Class 3A Team Championship
Abington Heights 3, Valley View 0
Singles — 1. Prayush Mallaiah (AH) def. Nick Burak 1-0 (retired); 2. William Arp (AH) def. Billy Giovagnoli 6-0, 6-0; 3. Brady Comstock (AH) led Kevin Dougher 6-0, 4-1.
Doubles — 1. Liam Farrell/Bryce Comstock (AH) led Kevin O’Shea/Cooper Rawlings 6-1, 3-0; 2. Brody Goldberg/Sebastian Meyer (AH) 6-0, 6-0.
Class 2A Semifinals
Wyoming Seminary 3, Tunkhannock 0
Singles — 1. Billy Hall (SEM) def. Lucas Mateus 6-0, 6-0; 2. Dhruv Sudhakar (SEM) def. Ben Landon 6-1, 6-1; 3. Stefan Zecar (SEM) led Martin Ortiz 6-3, 2-2.
Doubles — 1. James Bobeck/Thomas Hill (SEM) led Braden Miller/Ryan Negvesky 6-2, 1-0; 2. Hubert Huang/Aarav Gupta (SEM) def. Matthew Terbush/Landon Harventine 6-0, 6-0.
Holy Cross 3, Dallas 1
Singles — 1. Alex Harrison (HC) def. Nate Linnen 6-0, 6-0; 2. Ray Zhang (HC) def. Theo Barr 6-0, 6-1; 3. Alfred Betts (HC) def. Andrew Avila 6-1, 6-0.
Doubles — 1. Preston Harris/James Rakos (DAL) led Dwalkya Baniya/Giuseppe Pilone 6-2, 4-2; 2. Nathan Eyet/Zane Brezek (DAL) def. Tristan Gilroy/Nat McDonnell 6-1, 6-0.
Class 3A Semifinals
Abington Heights 3, Hazleton Area 0
Singles — 1. Prayush Mallaiah (AH) def. Mateo Feola 6-0, 6-0; 2. William Arp (AH) def. Hernan Arias 6-0, 6-0; 3. Brady Comstock (AH) led Jayden Forte 6-0, 5-0.
Doubles — 1. Liam Farrell/Bryce Comstock (AH) led Derek Gaydos/Nate Hanas 6-1, 3-0; 2. Brody Goldberg/Sebastian Meyer (AH) def. Joe Elena/Westly Cruz 6-0, 6-0.
Valley View 3, Crestwood 0
Singles — 1. Sean Rossi (CRE) led Nick Burak 6-1, 5-3; 2. Billy Giovagnoli (VV) vs. Spencer Young 6-0, 2-6; 3. Kevin Dougher (VV) def. Jack Groth 7-5, 6-0.
Doubles — 1. Kevin O’Shea/Cooper Rawlings (VV) def. Eric Gee/Jacob Hunsinger 6-0, 6-3; 2. Hunter Kissell/Tyler Braddock (VV) def. Teyton Wychock/Jacob Graybeal 6-0, 6-0.
