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York Catholic runs into Wyomissing buzzsaw


HERSHEY - The York Catholic boys’ tennis team finished the regular season on a seven-match winning streak.

The reward for the Fighting Irish? How about a date with District 3 Class AA perennial power and No. 1 seed Wyomissing in the first round of the district team tennis playoffs?

Friday's match at Hershey Racquet Club went about as expected, with the Irish dropping a 5-0 decision to the Spartans.

The loss ended York Catholic’s season at 9-2. Wyomissing advanced to next week's semifinal against James Buchanan, a 4-1 victor against Donegal.

“It certainly was an achievement to be here today and represent our league,” Irish coach Paige Bundy said. “We had to put together that seven-match win streak to conclude our regular season just to get here. We played at a much higher level than we were in March, and I think that’s evident here today against a powerful Wyomissing team and a traditional program in terms of strength.

“Our players are competitors in their hearts and they very much wanted this.”

If anyone felt the (un)luck of the draw, it had to be Irish senior Michael Andrews, who concluded his team tennis career and a third straight season as Catholic’s No. 1 by drawing Wyomissing’s Dan Trifoi, the Berks League champion and the top seed in the upcoming Class AA singles tournament.

Trifoi dispatched Andrews, 6-0, 6-1, in 35 minutes for Wyomissing’s second point of the contest, moments after Owen Pendergast and Will Schreck toppled York Catholic’s Hui Wang and Jonathan Giambalvo, 6-1, 6-0, at second doubles.

“I just tried to hit balls deep but he kept hitting winners from the baseline,” Andrew said of Trifoi. “If he’s hitting winners from the baseline there’s not much I can really do about that.”

York Catholic’s best performance came from Nick Gingerich at third singles, with the team verdict already rendered. Gingerich split two sets with Wyomissing’s Ben Chen before losing a 10-point tiebreaker serving as a third set, 10-8, to drop the match.

The other matches saw Sergio Perez-Sanchez beat Catholic’s Alberto Bruno, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 2 singles, while Izaak Weaver- Herrera and Ben Croft defeated Mason Elliott and TJ McGraw, 6-3, 6-0, at top doubles.

District 3 Team Tournament
Class AA
Quarterfinals
Wyomissing 5, York Catholic 0
At Hershey Racquet Club
Singles
— Dan Trifoi, Wyo, def. Michael Andrews, 6-0, 6-1. Sergio Perez-Sanchez, Wyo, def. Alberto Bruno, 6-2, 6-0. Ben Chen, Wyo, def. Nick Gingerich, 6-4, 5-7, 10-8.
Doubles — Izaak Weaver-Herrera/Ben Croft, Wyo, def. Mason Elliott-T.J. McGraw, 6-3, 6-0. Owen Pendergast-Will Schreck, Wyo, def. Hui Wang-Jonathan Giambalvo, 6-1, 6-0.
Other quarterfinal results — James Buchanan 4, Donegal 1. Lancaster Country Day 3, East Pennsboro 2. Lancaster Mennonite 4, Fleetwood 1.