Broncos swept out of playoffs
Contributing writer
Sixth-seeded Burrillville was swept by No. 3 Toll Gate 4-0 in a Division III quarterfinal Wednesday afternoon at Winman Junior High School.
In the No. 1 singles match, Burrillville junior Amara D’Antuono fell to Toll Gate senior Will Fox in a thrilling three set match 6-1, 4-6, 7-6.
“I’m proud of her for coming back after losing the first set,” Burrillville head coach Sharon D’Antuono said. “And even being down 4-1 in the second set, she came back to win that set. And, same thing in the third set, she was down 4-1 and came back, battled. I mean really it was two points. That set could have gone either way. So, she did a good job.”
Toll Gate head coach Lonna Razza also enjoyed watching the two No. 1 players battle.
“They were going at it,“Razza said. “A very good match. Fun to watch, fun to see the talent between the two of them. They were battling back and forth. It could have gone either way“.
Broncos’ freshman and No. 2 Ben Hayden fell in two sets to junior Griffin Hart.
In the third singles match, Burrillville senior Emily Yankee was beaten by junior Collin Levin in two sets, 6-2, 6-0.
Burrillville junior Jessica Rogers fell to senior Alex Sinapi in two sets during the No. 4 singles match, 6-1, 7-5.
“Jess hasn’t played singles all year,” D’Antuono said. “So, she did awesome. She did a really nice job. She lost the first set, she lost the second set, but in a tie-break, and it was really close.”
In the No. 1 doubles match, Burrillville juniors Marie Plouffe and Leah Bucci fell in two sets to juniors Mason Savaria and Matt DePardo, 6-0, 6-2.
Burrillville freshman Brady Tupper and junior Mike Butts fell to junior Jacob Brennan and freshman Max Savaria in an exhilarating No. 2 doubles match.
“They were battling,” Razza said of Brennan and Savaria. “It looked like it could have gone either way at the end there. But, then they picked it back up and they came back and won the third set. So, it’s fun to watch when they’re evenly matched like that. It makes for a good match. You see the kids get into it and then, they get so competitive on both sides. So, it’s back and forth, it’s good stuff.”
“They won the second set and then battled in the last set,” coach D’Antuono added on Tupper and Butts. “The third set was close and they did a good job. They’ve just got to keep the ball in play.”
In the last doubles match, Burrillville freshman Abbie McNamara and senior Tyler Vanable were made quick work of by junior Joey Silvestre and freshman Chris Levin,
The loss ends Burrillville’s season. The Broncos finished the season 7-5.
“I think they did a really great job and I’m proud of them,” D’Antuono said. “I’m not the best coach on the planet because I’m just doing it because they couldn’t find one. So, I’m proud of them. They’re good kids. They work hard and they do everything I ask and then some. So, no complaints at all.”
Toll Gate moves on to play Narragansett in the semifinals today at Narragansett High School. Toll Gate finished the season in third place in the D-III Central B at 9-3.