Scranton Prep’s Borick wins District 2 Class 2A boys tennis singles title

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WILKES-BARRE — A warrior-like effort from Wyoming Area tennis standout Luca Argenio to play through some severe cramping in his legs brought his quest for a District 2 singles gold medal to a premature end on a hot day inside Kirby Park.

Argenio, just about an hour removed from a three-hour semifinal marathon win, was forced to retire down a set in the Class 2A boys tennis singles final on Wednesday, with Scranton Prep’s Ethan Borick winning the Class 2A championship.

Both Argenio and Borick had to battle their way through intense semifinal matches to reach the final, but it was clear from the opening serve that Argenio’s legs were starting to go.

He battled through a tight first set, dropping it to Borick 6-4, and then was forced to call it after the first three games of the second set.

“Mentally, I want to keep playing,” Argenio said. “I played until I couldn’t move my leg anymore.”

Argenio, formerly a member of the Scranton Prep tennis team before transferring to Wyoming Area, had to face two former teammates on Wednesday.

First, he outlasted Akhilesh Velaga in three sets in the semifinal, rallying back from a second-set tiebreak loss to put Velaga away with a 6-2 win in the third set.

For Borick, who won a District 2 doubles gold medal last year, it was Wyoming Seminary’s Bill Hall waiting for him in the semis.

Borick took a 4-1 lead on Hall in the first set, only for Hall to rally and win the set 7-5. Borick trailed early in the second set as well, but found the game that earned him the top seed in Class 2A to put Hall away over the final two sets.

The Scranton Prep senior gained the advantage in the final after a first set that saw plenty of serve breaks. With a 5-4 lead in the first, Borick was able to find his serve (and power through some exhaustion of his own) to win the set and earn a crucial advantage over Argenio.

“It’s great, this is definitely the best year I’ve ever played,” Borick said.

Borick took a 2-1 lead early in the second set before Argenio, after trying to stretch himself out to serve, had to retire.

The win puts another gold medal in Scranton Prep’s pile for the season, after the Cavaliers defeated Wyoming Seminary last week in the District 2 team championships.

Borick, who was handed a chocolate bar along with his gold medal after the match, will next head to Hershey for the first round of the PIAA Class 2A singles championships, set to begin on Friday, May 24. Borick’s opponent has yet to be determined.

District 2 Class 2A Boys Tennis Singles Championship

Ethan Borick (Scranton Prep) def. Luca Argenio (Wyoming Area) 6-4, 2-1 (Ret.)

2A Singles Semifinals

Ethan Borick (Scranton Prep) def. Bill Hall (Wyoming Seminary) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; Luca Argenio (Wyoming Area) def. Akhilesh Velaga (Scranton Prep) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2.