Boys tennis: Avon cruises past Wooster and into quarterfinals of state team tourney

AVON — It's called taking care of business. A.J. Sidoti finished his match even before anyone else completed their first set while Logan DeHaven and Luke LeMaster weren't far behind as Avon defeated Wooster 4-1 in the second round of the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association state team tournament at Avon. The Eagles will face Walsh Jesuit in the Northeast district quarterfinals at a date to be determined. "I was just making sure my forehand was doing good today, didn't put too much on it and was just hitting very consistent," said Sidoti, who defeated Brendan French 6-0, 6-0 at third singles. "We're just trying to go further than we did last year. It's going to be pretty difficult, but we're looking forward to it." DeHaven and LeMaster also got wins without dropping a game at first and second singles, respectively. Wooster's Henry Pozefsky pushed DeHaven to deuce on three occasions in the opening set. The first time was in the opening game on his serve when he held off an initial break attempt, but DeHaven bounced back with an overhead smash and took a 1-0 lead. He followed that by holding the next game without allowing a return of serve. Pozefsky, however, settled in and took advantage of a DeHaven double fault followed by a winner to go up 30-0, but the Avon senior battled back to force deuce and then secured the hold with back-to-back winners. Pozefsky again forced deuce on DeHaven's final serve of the set, but a through-the-legs volley winner and an unreturned serve sealed the opening set. LeMaster was just as efficient in his 6-0, 6-0 victory against Wooster's Garrett Ranney. "This was a big step in the right direction," DeHaven said. "I was just hitting some big forehands, some big backhands, some big serves, I was just playing a big game today. It felt good, it was a good day." Wooster's lone win came at first doubles, though Avon's Jay Kneiss and Franco Gallo rallied down 4-1 in the opening set to put things on serve at 4-5, but Brock and Saxton Ranney got a break to close the opening set. The pair exchanged holds for the first three games before the Ranneys won four of the last five games to get the win. Avon's Aneesh Yerramsetti and Sivan Manickam were the last on the court at second doubles, cruising through the first set at 6-0 before Wooster's Aiden Cleveland and Ishaan Gireesh flipped the script and took a 4-0 lead in the second set. Even though the Eagles had the overall match clinched, the Avon duo fought back to win seven of the next eight games. "It feels good to move on," LeMaster said. "We've been waiting for a while to play this one, so it was good to get out there and get the win. We're all just trying to improve, work on the basics and always get better." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on Twitter. Avon 4, Wooster 1 FIRST SINGLES: Logan DeHaven (A) def. Henry Pozefsky, 6-0, 6-0SECOND SINGLES: Luke LeMaster (A) def. Garrett Ranney, 6-0, 6-0THIRD SINGLES: A.J. Sidoti (A) def. Brendan French, 6-0, 6-0FIRST DOUBLES: Brock Ranney-Saxon Ranney (W) def. Jay Kneiss-Franco Gallo, 6-4, 6-2SECOND DOUBLES: Aneesh Yerramsetti-Sivan Manickam (A) def. Aiden Cleveland-Ishaan Gireesh, 6-0, 7-5