Scranton Prep tops Wyoming Seminary for D2-2A boys tennis team crown

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WILKES-BARRE — Scranton Prep rolled into Friday’s District 2 Class 2A boys tennis team title match as the lower seed against Wyoming Seminary — but they sure didn’t look like an underdog.

The Cavaliers handed top-seeded Sem their first loss of the season in emphatic fashion, sweeping the Blue Knights 3-0 at Kirby Park to win the program’s first District 2 title since 2016.

“I’m incredibly proud of the way the team handled themselves, they came ready to play,” Scranton Prep coach Nick Gregory after his team was awarded the championship plaque and gold medals.

“Sem’s a great team, they have a great program. …I ’m proud of my guys.”

Scranton Prep knocked out both of the remaining Wyoming Valley Conference teams on Friday, first dispatching of third-seed Dallas in a semifinal sweep that ensured, after three years of Dallas hoisting the team title, that a new district champion would be crowned.

Wyoming Seminary had an equally strong victory in their semifinal match, making short work of Holy Cross in a 3-0 sweep that ran their record to 13-0 on the year heading into the championship.

Just a one-loss team themselves, Scranton Prep was waiting to hand Sem that first loss. The first two wins of the match came from Akhilesh Velaga at No. 2 singles and the No. 2 doubles team of David Geyfman and Jackson Keating.

This set the stage for Ved Dave, Prep’s No. 3 singles player, to bring the championship home. Dave beat Seminary’s Yicheng Li 6-2, 6-3 to bring the championship to a halt and send Prep to the winner’s circle.

“I was very happy for Ved, he’s worked so hard over the summer,” Gregory said. “You saw the benefits of that today, he’s played great all year and he played great today.”

Seminary’s semifinal winners included William Hall at No. 1 singles, and both doubles teams. The Blue Knights ended their team season with a record of 13-1.

“It’s been four years since we won the Wyoming Valley Conference, we did that at 13-0,” said Seminary head coach Raphael Cooper. “We’d obviously have liked the gold, and that’s our goal, but we can not be disappointed with the season that we had.”

Scranton Prep’s first round matchup in the state tournament will be on May 14, on the road against District 11 champion Moravian Academy.

Class 2A Boys Tennis Team Championship

Scranton Prep 3, Wyoming Seminary 0

Singles — 1. Ethan Borick (SP) led William Hall 6-2, 5-3 (match halted); 2. Akhilesh Velaga (SP) def. Ansarali Atabayev 6-1, 6-1; 3. Ved Dave (SP) def. Yicheng Li 6-2, 6-3.

Doubles — 1. Matt Cohen/Dylan Tost (SP) led Christopher Ramos/Andrew Tsui 7-6 (4), 1-3 (match halted); 2. David Geyfman/Jackson Keating (SP) def. Pablo Otero/Benen Griffin 6-1, 6-0.

Class 2A Semifinals

Wyoming Seminary 3, Holy Cross 0

Singles — 1. William Hall (SEM) def. Alex Harrison 6-1, 6-1; 2. Ansarali Atabayev (SEM) led Ray Zhang 6-3, 4-3 (match halted); 3. David Huester (HC) led Yicheng Li 6-4, 2-1 (match halted).

Doubles — 1. Christopher Ramos/Andrew Tsui (SEM) def. Tristan Gilroy/Guiseppe Pilone 6-1, 6-1; 2. Pablo Otero/Benen Griffin (SEM) def. Lucas Urban/Colin Ritterbush 6-3, 6-2.

Scranton Prep 3, Dallas 0

Singles — 1. Ethan Borick (SP) def. Jon Florencio 6-0, 6-2; 2. Akhilesh Velaga (SP) def. Nate Linnen 6-0, 6-0; 3. Ved Dave (SP) def. Sam Robson 6-0, 6-1.

Doubles — 1. Matt Cohen/Dylan Tost (SP) led Artem Smagin/Kevin Basyalga 6-3, 2-4 (match halted); 2. David Geyfman/Jackson Keating (SP) led Logan Tomkins/Andrew Menaker 6-4, 0-2 (match halted).