High school tennis: Avon pair ousted early at state tournament

WOOSTER — The venue changed, but the song remained the same for Avon. Both A.J. Sidoti and Luke LeMaster bowed out in the first round of the Division I state tournament, each losing to opponents from New Albany at the College of Wooster on Thursday morning. Sidoti lost 6-3, 6-4 to Jackson Clements, the same opponent who defeated Avon's Logan DeHaven in the opening round at Ohio State in 2023, while LeMaster lost 6-1, 6-1 to Abhinav Dandu. It's the third year in a row all of Avon's state representatives have lost in the opening round, at least on the boys side. Natalie Smitek took third in the girls Division I singles draw last fall. "To have a kid at state is a phenomenal achievement," Avon coach Eric Korey said. "To have two kids down here is just beyond my dreams. We have two of the top kids in the state of Ohio. And Luke could have easily defaulted this match and nobody would have thought anything of it. He went out there, grinded, played his best and did the best he could. I thought A.J. played great today, too. He was able to hit a little bigger than he has been the last couple of matches. We didn't get the results we wanted, but I'm so proud of their efforts to get here." Sidoti had a couple of chances to turn the tide against Clements after the New Albany junior opened the match by breaking Sidoti. But Sidoti took Clements to deuce on his next three service games, securing his first break opportunity of the match during the eighth game. But Clements held him off with a big forehand winner then broke Sidoti to clinch the first set. The Avon junior came out swinging in the second, securing a break in the opening game. However, the pair exchanged breaks for the first four games before Clements took a 3-2 lead. Clements rallied from down 30-0, aided by a trio of double faults from Sidoti, to take a 4-2 lead, but Sidoti broke right back when Clements double faulted at deuce of the ensuing game. With a 5-4 lead, Clements secured two set points on Sidoti's serve and ultimately closed out the match. Sidoti was Avon's top player, finishing the season with a 27-6 record and making his third straight trip to the state tournament, first in singles. He won his third straight sectional title. "It feels good to prove to myself that I could make it in singles," Sidoti said. "The last two years I made it in doubles, so this was a big confidence booster for me. It's unfortunate that I lost first round. All three years I've lost first round, so I really wanted that win. He figured me out and just stopped missing halfway through the second set." LeMaster had to labor through the last two weeks of the season with a shoulder injury, only winning two out of his last six matches dating back to the district tournament. Dandu would have been a handful for anyone, even at full strength, showing off his power and consistency during their opening round match. The Avon senior did manage to get a break off Dandu in the fourth game of the second set, but the New Albany junior shook it off to win the next three. LeMaster will go down as one of the best to suit up for Avon. He leaves the school with a 109-20 career record and finished 24-8 this year. His class helped the Eagles reach the Elite Eight of the state team tournament in back-to-back seasons. "This was my last match and I couldn't be happier with it even though I lost," LeMaster said. "That guy was really good. I was just trying not to tear my arm. He's such a good player, just really solid. He hit the ball hard, didn't miss, just solid through and through. There are too many words to say (about my career) and not enough words to say them. It's been a beautiful run." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.