HUDDLESTON SECOND, CROFT AND SHAMBO FOURTH AT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT; WESTERVELT WINS NOVICE TITLE

By: Tim Taylor | Waverly Athletics | June 8, 2021 | Photo courtesy Tim Taylor

ODESSA — Waverly's singles player Sheldon Huddleston, and the doubles pairing of Ashlen Croft and Rachel Shambo had to wait a day to finish their brackets at the IAC Tennis Championships.

Huddleston would finish second, falling to the top seed in three sets, while Croft and Shambo placed fourth.

"Unfortunately, we didn't come out victorious, but they were very happy with how they played and how well they fought in their matches," Waverly coach Kathy Girolamo said.

Huddleston faced Edison's Cyrus Albertalli in the fourth singles championship match. The Spartan standout came into the finals without dropping a set in his first two matches, winning 6-0, 6-0, and 6-1, 6-1.

He would find quickly that Huddleston would pose a greater challenge as the Wolverine player would win the opening set by a 6-4 score. Albertalli would rally to take the next two by 6-4 verdicts.

The tournament started Monday at Newark Valley and Huddleston started his day with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Trumansburg's Drew Civiletto in the quarterfinals.

He took on Elmira Notre Dame's Kate Welliver in the semifinals, winning, 6-1, 6-3.

Croft and Shambo took on the T-burg duo of Jaedyn Everhart and Julia Wright in the third-place match, falling by 6-3 and 6-4 scores.

"It was a well-fought match," Girolamo said. "It just didn't go their way."

The Wolverine tandem bested Southern Cayuga's Emma Gentry and Beverly Perez in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 7-5.

They met Notre Dame's Jade Nordin and Jeremy Qin in the semis and won by a pair of 6-4 scores.

Waverly's other singles players fell in the quarterfinals.

At first singles, Collin Keefer lost to ND's Alexandra Meier, 6-4, 6-2; Preston Tompkins dropped a pair of 6-1 decisions to Edison' Maren Lutz at second singles; and at third singles Maddy Goodwin fell to T-burg's Ryan Petty, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

The Novice tournament didn't count toward team scoring, but Waverly boasted a Boys Singles Novice champion in Candor Westervelt.

He defeated three Edison players to claim the boys singles title. He beat Elijah Reed, 6-0, Nick Overstreet, 6-2, and Benton Good, 6-2.

Hayden Larson played in Boys Singles Novice also, dropping a 6-1 match to Good.

Josie VanDyke competed in Girls Singles Novice. She won her first match, 6-1, over Edison's Raffaella Mannino, then lost to the Spartans' Imogen Reed (no score reported).

In Doubles Novice, Bryanna Talada and Maggie Whitley lost to Edison's Mason Barchet and Andrew Timofeef, 6-4.

Girolamo also wanted to thank O-M Superintendent of Schools Christopher Wood and Athletics Director Greg Gavich for allowing the finalists involved to play at a neutral site.