Pictured above left: Matthew Persia, right, beat Alannah Garza in the Rising Stars Junior Division. Above right: Mark Brown, left, beat Thinus Marais in the High School Boys Singles Division.
LAKEWOOD, N.Y. — The Lakewood YMCA hosted the 2021 AVI Tennis Tournament last weekend.
On Friday afternoon, action started with the Rising Stars Junior Division. Alannah Garza, Matthew Persia, Javier Gonzales and Justin Phaneuf earned the top seeds after round-robin play. Persia then defeated Gonzales, 4-0, and Garza topped Phaneuf, 4-2, in the semifinals. Persia claimed the championship with a 4-2 defeat of Garza.
In the High School Boys Singles Division, play began in the round of 16. Alex Watkins defeated Max Harrison, 6-2, 6-4; Ian Darling beat Will Strassburg, 6-1, 6-3; and Luke Smelko topped Laken Chopra, 6-1, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, Thinus Marais beat Mark Lynds, 6-2, 6-1; Wes Kiehl beat Watkins, 6-4, 6-2; Logan Fincher beat Darling, 6-0, 6-2; and Mark Brown topped Smelko, 6-2, 6-1. In the semifinals, Marais beat Kiehl, 6-2, 6-4, and Brown defeated Fincher, 6-4, 6-1. Brown then beat Marais, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7, in the final.
In the High School Girls Singles Division, play also began with the round of 16. Alannah Garza beat Iris Kiehl, 6-1, 6-1; Ryann Hayes beat Natasha Ferry, 6-0, 6-1; Madelynn Perry topped Riley Farrugello, 6-0, 6-0; and Mary Gerace beat Amanda Gray, 7-5, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, Macy Youngberg beat Garza, 6-0, 6-3; Hayes downed Sophia Potalivo, 6-1, 6-3; Angelina Fiasco swept Perry, 6-0, 6-0; and Lauren Richmond beat Gerace, 6-4, 6-2. In the semifinals, Youngberg swept Hayes, 6-0, 6-1, and Richmond swept Fiasco, 6-0, 6-1. Richmond then beat Youngberg in the final, 6-2, 6-3.
Darling and Smelko teamed up to beat Raymond Barrett and Max Sedelmyer, 6-0, 6-1, in the quarterfinals of the High School Boys Doubles Division. Michael Gerace and Max Harrison beat Lynds and Strassburg, 6-3, 6-3, while Fincher and Kiehl swept Matthew Lefler and Brayden Haaksma, 6-2, 6-0. In the semifinals, Brown and Marais swept Darling and Smelko, 6-1, 6-1, while Fincher and Kiehl swept Gerace and Harrison, 6-2, 6-3. Brown and Marais then swept Fincher and Kiehl, 6-4, 6-0, in the final.
Mark Brown, left, beat Thinus Marais in the High School Boys Singles Division.
Gray and Perry teamed up to beat Fiasco and Farrugello, 6-1, 6-4, while Hayes and Gerace swept Iris Kiehl and Ferry, 6-2, 6-0, in the quarterfinals of the High School Girls Doubles Division. In the semifinals, Youngberg and Hiba Munir beat Gray and Perry, 6-3, 6-1, while Richmond and Potalivo swept Hayes and Gerace, 6-3, 6-1. Youngberg and Munir won the championship by beat Richmond and Potalivo, 2-6, 6-3, 10-6.
In the round of 16 of the Men’s Open Singles Division, Fincher defeated Jason Johnson, 6-1, 6-1, and Toby Cressman swept Chris Duro, 6-1, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, Johnson defeated Fincher, 6-0, 6-2; Aaron Heinlein defeated Mitch May, 6-3, 6-2; Travis Myler defeated Doug Attenberry, 6-2, 6-3; and Thomas Pellegrino swept Cressman, 6-1, 6-1. Johnson topped Heinlein, 2-6, 6-3, 10-5, while Pellegrino beat Myler, 6-2, 2-6, 10-8, in the semifinals. Johnson then beat Pellegrino, 6-3, 6-3, in the final.
In the Men’s Open Doubles Division round of 16, Doug Atteberry and Toby Cressman defeated Ryan Wills and Neil Gens, 7-6, 4-6, 11-9, while Kevin Beaton and Tyler Beaton defeated Billy Stives and Ben Wright, 6-4, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Cooper Miller and Jai Redkar defeated Atteberry and Cressman, 6-2, 6-2; Johnson and Mitch May topped Matt Prenovitz and Aaron Heinlein, 6-3, 6-2; Bob Olsen and Jim Panebianco defeated Ewan Malenfante and Rishi Mulloth, 6-3, 6-4; and Pellegrino and Myler beat Beaton and Beaton, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8. Miller and Redkar beat Johnson and May, 6-3, 6-3, while Olsen and Panebianco beat Pellegrino and Myler, 6-4, 6-1, in the semifinals. Miller and Redkar beat Olsen and Panebianco, 6-3, 6-1, in the final.
The top four seeds in the Open Mixed Doubles Division were: Darling and Munir, Pellegrino and Perry, Macy Youngberg and Glatz, and Nicole Youngberg and Kiehl. In the semifinals, Darling and Munir edged Macy Youngberg and Glatz, 4-2, while Pellegrino and Perry defeated Nicole Youngberg and Kiehl, 4-0. Pellegrino and Perry claimed the title with a 4-1 win over Darling and Munir. Macy Youngberg and Glatz took third place in the consolation round with a 4-3 win over Nicole Youngberg and Kiehl.
Pictured above: Lauren Richmond, left, beat Macy Youngberg in the High School Girls Singles Division.
Pictured, above, from left, are: Thinus Marais, Mark Brown, Logan Fincher and Wes Kiehl. Marais and Brown beat Fincher and Kiehl in the High School Boys Doubles Division at the AVI Tennis Tournament last weekend at the Lakewood YMCA.
Above, from left, are: Hiba Munir, Macy Youngberg, Sophia Potalivo and Lauren Richmond. Munir and Youngberg beat Potalivo and Richmond in the High School Girls Doubles Division.
Pictured, from left, are: Jai Redkar, Cooper Miller, Bob Olsen and Jim Panebianco. Miller and Redkar beat Olsen and Panebianco in the Men’s Open Doubles Division.
Above: Matt Johnson, left, beat Thomas Pellegrino in the Men’s Open Singles Division.
Pictured above, from left, are: Ian Darling, Hiba Munir, Madelynn Perry and Tom Pellegrino. Perry and Pellegrino beat Darling and Munir in the Open Mixed Doubles Division.