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Montoursville, Central win to set up rematch of last year’s District 4 final

By EVAN WHEATON 4 min read

Without dropping a set in the semifinals, both No. 1-seeded Central Columbia and No. 2-seeded Montoursville advanced and will meet again in a rematch of last year's District 4 boys tennis team finals.

The Blue Jays took a 3-0 win over fourth-seeded South Williamsport while the Warriors took a 4-0 win over sixth-seeded Wellsboro.

Central Columbia, a powerhouse in boys tennis, is the only team to have beaten Montoursville this year, and has done so twice.

"Tomorrow's going to be the test for us to win districts possibly. They didn't lose anyone to graduation, so they have a stronger team this year than last year," Warriors coach Shawn Gardner said. "It's going to be a test tomorrow, but you never know. We might be able to pull one out if we play our best."

Jared Matlack took first-singles with a pair of 6-2 sets over Joe Doty. Brady Madden mirrored Matlack with a pair of 6-2 set wins over Wyatt Robbins in third-singles as well.

Kaleb Watts and Iont Reynolds dropped just one game in the second set to Aiden Gehmen and Jacob Abadi. Drew Manning and Hayne Webster had a close match in first-doubles and won five games, the most in any match for the Green Hornets.

Montoursville previously swept Wellsboro earlier in the season. In the district team tournament, the two programs saw tighter competition.

"They picked up their game. They had a different player in No. 3 (singles) than before. I think they played much better," Gardner said. "I think we played better too, the games were more competitive I think. It was mostly 6-0, 6-2's the last time we played them, so they picked up their game."

Tyler Gilbert won the first set in second-singles and held a 3-2 lead in the second frame over Liam Manning before the match was pulled. Central Columbia and Montoursville will play for the District 4 team title at 3:30 p.m. at Williamsport.

South Williamsport entered the season hoping to finish with a .500 record and possibly clinch the eight-seed in the team tournament. The Mounties had a lot of unknowns to start the year, but found themselves in a good place in time for the postseason.

"The beginning of the year, you come in with nine seniors, a couple freshmen and the seniors lost that COVID year," South Williamsport coach Kent Young said. "We didn't have a lot of after-season during-summer work or anything, so I didn't know where things would play (out). But as the year went on, they continued to improve."

Both teams played earlier in the year and had tight singles matches, the Mounties having won second-singles. But in the semifinals, first and second-singles were both pulled.

Brady Madden registered the only scoring in singles with a sweep of Wyatt Robbins. Jordan Baker was one game away from defeating Logan Ogden while Bruce Hazzard was two away from beating Kade Sanford.

Staring down the top-seeded Blue Jays having already gone above and beyond the program's expectations from the beginning of the season, Young told his players in the pre-match huddle to leave it all out on the court.

"I told these guys, 'We're looking for the upset. We've got nothing to lose, just go out there and play your hearts out. Give me everything you got, play your best and I'm happy,'" Young said.

Aiden Gehmen and Jacob Abadi dropped just one game in the second set in a win over Kaleb Watts and Iont Reynold in second-doubles. Drew Manning and Hayne Webster took a 6-1, 6-4 win over Matt Getz and Adam Lang in first-doubles.

South Williamsport finished its team season with an 11-5 record and holds the No. 3 seed heading into the doubles tournament.

"I thanked them for a great season. I thanked them for working so hard," Young said. "It's hard to say goodbye to my seniors, you get choked up."

Central Columbia 3,

South Williamsport 0

(SEMIFINALS)

SINGLES

1. Jordan Baker (CC) vs. Logan Ogden, 6-2, 5-1 (pulled); 2. Bruce Hazzard (CC) vs. Kade Sanford, 6-3, 4-2 (pulled); 3. Brady Madden (CC) def. Wyatt Robbins, 6-0, 6-0.

DOUBLES

1. Matt Getz/Adam Lang (CC) def. Ross Flerlage/Caleb Jackson, 6-1, 6-4; 2. Luke Hottenstein/Dominic Valentino (CC) def. Luke Sanford/Brock Weaver, 6-0, 6-0.

Montoursville 4, Wellsboro 0

(SEMIFINALS)

SINGLES

1. Jared Matlack (M) def. Joe Doty, 6-2, 6-2. 2. Tyler Gilbert (M) vs. Liam Manning, 6-1, 3-2 (pulled). 3. DJ Alexander (M) def. Owen Richardson, 6-2, 6-2.

DOUBLES

1. Noah Shaffer/Greyson Simms (M) def. Drew Manning/Hayne Webster, 6-2, 6-3. 2. Kaleb Watts/Iont Reynolds (M) def. Aiden Gehmen/Jacob Abadi, 6-0, 6-1.

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