VESTAL – Norwich’s varsity tennis team ended their one year hiatus from the finals of the doubles Class B Section IV tournament.
Heading into the second day of the Class B tournament, Norwich’s Josiah Shaver and Matt Giglio – third-seed – will be playing in the finals against top-seeded Lucas Niermeyer and Haashim Shah of Vestal.
“Josiah (Shaver)and Matt (Giglio) played solid, solid doubles tennis. It was really fun to watch two kids that communicated well and gelled well together,” said Norwich head coach John Stewart. “Josiah just put so much pressure on the opposing team. Matt was steady and solid at the baseline. It was a great one, two combo. They’re in the finals and we’re back to the finals after a one year hiatus.”
Norwich has now had a doubles team in the finals of the Class B tournament six out of the last seven years.
Better yet, with a win from Shaver and Giglio in the finals, Norwich would officially lock-up the tournament team win – currently sitting in first place with 22 points, leading Owego at 20 and Vestal at 19.
“They (Shaver and Giglio) have to beat the kids from Vestal, that will be tough, it will be a very difficult match to win,” said coach Stewart.
Either way, Shaver and Giglio are guaranteed to advance to the State Qualifier – however, with a loss Norwich could enter into a sticky situation with team standings. With a loss in the finals and a win in the consolation match – barring a Maine-Endwell finals win over Owego – Norwich would earn a tie for the tournament win with Vestal. With two losses in the finals and consolation matches, Norwich finishes in fourth-place.
Shaver and Giglio mowed down their competition en route to their finals berth, taking a round one win over Alex Koffman and Justin Barnes of Vestal at 6-3 and 6-4.
Advancing to the quarterfinals, Shaver and Giglio once again won in straight sets, this time over Derek Buffington and Brandon Brown of Maine-Endwell. Semifinals saw Shaver and Giglio have their toughest outing – besting Susquehanna Valley’s Dusty Root and Cody Jacobs at 6-2 and 7-5.
Norwich’s second doubles team – Austin Benenati and Carson Maynard – also saw a solid first day at the Class B tournament.
“Beating the M-E duo in the first round gave them tremendous confidence going on. They beat us in the first set pretty decisively. We made some adjustments, it was four all, neck and neck in the second set.,” said coach Stewart. “We turned it around and closed them out in the next two sets. That little two game spurt to close them out gave us big momentum going into the third set. They didn’t have any answers for us.”
Benenati and Maynard earned a round one win over Maine-Endwell’s Carson Truman and Jason Bertoni at 6-3 and 6-4.
“We (Benenati and Maynard), were pressing too much, we didn’t have to hit great shots, we just had to hit good shots. So we focused on hitting better shots,” said coach Stewart.
Taking that momentum from round one, Benenati and Maynard completed the sweep for the Tornado in the quarterfinals as both sets of doubles teams earned wins. Benenati and Maynard defeated Carter Wilson and James Wyatt of Chenango Valley in three sets at 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
That is when Norwich hit a snag in the road, with top-seeded Lucas Niermeyer and Haashim Shah of Vestal awaiting Benenati and Maynard in the semifinals. Benenati and Maynard fell victim to the top-seeded Golden Bears in straight sets at 6-3 and 6-1.
“Austin and Carson, play for third-place against Susquehanna Valley team. That is a winnable match,” said coach Stewart of their upcoming consolation match on Friday, May 12, against Dusty Root and Cody Jacobs. “Carson and Austin have to win their match (Friday) to go on to the state qualifier. The top-three go on.”
In singles play, Norwich would prove to be not as fortunate – however, would see some solid tennis played regardless.
Joel Fazio of Norwich would advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament before being knocked out. With a first round win over Mikhail Boychuck of Johnson City at 6-2 and 6-1, Fazio was in a prime position to push his competition.
“Joel (Fazio) had an easy first round match. Joel got out of the first round, we played two Vestal teams and one Maine-Endwell team, three out of four of our first matches were with bigger schools,” said coach Stewart.
Advancing to the quarterfinals Fazio was matched up with Susquehanna Valley’s Mason Spottek.
“Joel’s second round match, it just wasn’t a good matchup for us. In tennis, just like anything other sport it comes down to match-ups. Joel is a sophomore, he is learning how to play his game. We have to play our game,” said coach Stewart.
Fazio would be eliminated from the tournament with a loss to Spottek in straight sets at 6-3 and 6-2. A betterment from last year’s performance from Fazio – as 2016 Fazio would not make it out of the first round.
Norwich’s final entry in the tournament, Zayne Harper would have the toughest road right from the get-go, matching with Vestal’s top-entry in the singles category.
“Zayne (Harper) had a really hard first round match. He had to play the number one singles entry in the tournament, from Vestal,” said coach Stewart. “He played a very good match with a really good kid. Zayne gave him nothing, and the kid just played better than him today. It’s definitely disappointing for him.”
Lucas Fiske would defeat Harper in a hard-fought three set matchup – eventually succumbing with scores of 6-4, 5-7 and 6-2.
Norwich will resume play in the Class B Sectional tournament with their two doubles teams – Shaver and Giglio, and Benenati and Maynard – on Friday, May 12, when they head to Tioga Hills, in Apalachin, NY. Match play starts at 3 p.m. with singles finals and consolation match, and doubles finals and consolation matches all being played simultaneously.
 
Team standings day one:
Norwich 22, Owego 20, Vestal 19, Maine-Endwell 17, Susquehanna Valley 14, Chenango Valley 8, Windsor 8, Johnson City 4.