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Dallastown staves off South Western in tennis duel


South Western and Dallastown are used to playing long tennis matches when they face each other.

Wednesday was no different when it came down to the doubles matches for the Wildcats to secure a 5-2 win over the Mustangs. The Wildcats led 3-2 after South Western’s Gavin Kenny defeated Dallastown’s Hunter Jones in three sets in a back-and-fourth match to end singles play.

In doubles, the Dallastown pairings of Holden Koons and Sachin Venkatesh and Tyler Lile and Nathan Swartz each won in straight sets.

“Well it’s about the way it usually goes with South Western, we’re here after 7 p.m.,” Dallastown head coach Mark Koons said. “I thought we played good in some spots, and I saw some things we, I think, we can do better in a couple other spots. But it’s never easy against them.”

The victory allowed Dallastown (13-2, 7-0 Division I) to clinch at least a share of the division title with one divisional match left on its schedule. South Western dropped to 8-2, 6-1.

The singles matches moved at a steady pace between the two top teams in Division I tennis. Dallastown's Koons dispatched Ben Sentz in two sets, Venkatesh defeated Ryan Hohman in two sets and Lile beat Jacob Bionde in two sets.

South Western's Patrick Kane beat David Trimmer in the No. 3 singles match, while Jones and Kenny were in the middle of their duel in the No. 2 match.

Wednesday's matchup was important for both sides as they fight for the top spot in the division. It was also a good test for the Wildcats ahead of the YAIAA tournament, which starts next week.

“I think we have the toughest schedule in District 3,” Koons said. “This is one of many matches that we had circled at the start of the season. Obviously this one has some significance because they’re in our division, but we've had great matches with them the last couple of years.”