Council Rock South was guaranteed to win a tennis title. It was just a matter of which Golden Hawk would fly home victorious.
The District One 2A and 3A singles championships took place last Friday and Saturday at the Springfield (Delco) YMCA. Five 3A singles players and the 2A champion earned a spot in states.
Council Rock South sent two of the top four ranked Pennsylvania players in the class of 2023 to Springfield in Mikkel Zinder and Alex Sterin. Both are Division I signees, with Zinder heading to Dayton and Sterin to play for Penn State.
Both have won the 3A title. Sterin beat Zinder in the 2021 final. Zinder claimed the crown in 2022. And Zinder repeated this weekend, topping Sterin in a walkover.
Sterin earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament while Zinder claimed the 2 seed. Both Golden Hawks had first-round byes. Zinder beat Conestoga junior Voyin Markovic 6-2, 6-3 in the second round and dominated Radnor junior Antonio Fidelibus 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. Zinder beat No. 3 seed Brian Yi of Lower Merion 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 to punch his ticket to the finals.
Sterin lost just two games in his three sets, as he topped Harriton senior Aiden Hsu, Quakertown junior Max Arkans and No. 4 Chait Kirshna of Conestoga.
On April 16, Arkans lost just three games in three matches en route to winning the SOL Liberty title. He became the first Panther to win an SOL crown.
In the district tournament, Arkans upset No. 8 seed and Lower Merion senior Mark Lancaster in the first round 6-2, 3-6, 10-6. Arkans advanced to the quarterfinals by next topping Unionville senior Matt Farrell 6-3, 6-3.
A pair of CB East Patriots – senior Yevgen Kuryanov and freshman Alan Zhang – earned district invites. Zhang was one of just two freshmen to play in the 28 player tournament.
In the first round Zhang beat Great Valley senior Krish Mendiratta 6-4, 6-1 before falling to Yi. Kuryanov also advanced, beating Plymouth Whitemarsh’s James Fassbender 6-1, 6-2 before losing to No. 6 Benjamin Gao of West Chester East.
In 2A, Faith Christian junior Toby Frantz earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. Frantz is both the incumbent district champion and PIAA runner-up.
Frantz dominated Springfield (Montco) senior Julian Casabon 6-0, 6-2 in the semifinals before falling to Lower Moreland senior Aaron Sandler, the No. 1 seed, in the finals.
The District One team tournament starts on May 3. The district doubles championships begin on May 12. State singles championships will be on May 26 and May 27 at the Hershey Racquet Club.
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