By Tom Robinson, NEPASportsNation.com
WILKES-BARRE – District 2’s weather-delayed boys tennis singles tournaments are scheduled to open Tuesday with eight seeded players in Class 2A and six in Class 3A.
If past form holds true in the tournament, most – possibly all – of the seeded players will be in action in the last round of the day when the four semifinalists are determined in each tournament.
The top four in each tournament will advance to the semifinals and finals, which will be held at a singular location, most likely Wednesday, beginning at 1 p.m. at Kirby Park.
Tuesday’s action features a field of 30 players in Class 2A at Kirby Park and 21 players in Class 3A at the North Pocono Middle School.
A look at the seeded players:
Class 3A, No. 1, John Sinclair, West Scranton – Sinclair went 11-2 at number-one singles during the Lackawanna League season.
Class 3A, No. 2, Brendan Turowski, Berwick – Turowski went 7-4 at number-one singles for Berwick with one of the losses coming outside District 2 in a non-league match.
Class 3A, No. 3, Ben Ziegler, Crestwood – Ziegler played mostly at number one for Crestwood’s team, which finished second in the Wyoming Valley Conference and District 2 Class 3A. Was 8-1 in the WVC with the only loss coming against unbeaten Dallas number-one player Tucker Chesman.
Class 3A, No. 4, Michael Hamel, Wilkes-Barre Area – Hamel, a freshman, went 4-3 at first singles during the WVC season, then posted the only team point for the Wolfpack in a District 2 Class 3A quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Abington Heights.
Class 3A, No. 5, Sam Weis, Abington Heights – Weis played number one for the District 2 Class 3A team champions and Lackawanna League runners-up.
Class 3A, No. 6, Jack Moniot, Delaware Valley – Moniot was 7-5 at first singles, including a three-set loss in the Abington Heights match.
Class 2A, No. 1, Lenny Maiocco, Western Wayne – The 2019 state Class 2A bronze medalist lost just nine games while going 10-0 at number one in the Lackawanna League season. Maiocco won District 2 titles as a freshman and sophomore in 2018 and 2019.
Class 2A, No. 2, Tucker Chesman, Dallas – The freshman held down the No. 1 spot in most matches, including all the challenging ones, for the Mountaineers. He lost just 14 games in 14 sets during the WVC championship season, then won both matches on the final day of the team tournament, leading unbeaten Dallas to the Class 2A title. Outside of the high school season, he is rated eighth among 16-and-under players in eastern Pennsylvania.
Class 2A, No. 3, Matt Tressler, Scranton Prep – Tressler went 9-2 in the Lackawanna League season with both losses coming to the top seeds of the two district tournaments. He reached the singles quarterfinals in 2019, then was part of a semifinalist team in the doubles tournament.
Class 2A, No. 4, Dan Flynn, Dallas – Flynn went 8-0 in the WVC season, then posted wins at number-two singles in all three matches to help Dallas remain unbeaten through the District 2 Class 2A championship, never losing more than three games in a set this season.
Class 2A, No. 5, Tony Ghigiarelli, Riverside – Riverside did not have a team this season, but schools are allowed to enter individuals and Ghigiarelli’s status as a junior player lands him a seed for the high school tournament.
Class 2A, No. 6, Keefer Wu, Wyoming Seminary – Wu was 6-3 as the number-one singles player for the Blue Knights during the WVC season.
Class 2A, No. 7, Luke Kotchko, Valley View – Kotchko went 10-3 at first singles in the Lackawanna League.
Class 2A, No. 8, William Wolfgang, Holy Redeemer – Wolfgang was 5-2 at number one during the WVC season.
