The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Laureti, Skibitski move on to state tournament
Oneida’s Brianna Laureti and Lauren Skibitski won their quarterfinal match in the state qualifier.
SYRACUSE » Oneida’s Brianna Laureti and Lauren Skibitski entered the semifinals of the Section III girls tennis doubles state qualifier needing just one victory in two matches on Thursday to advance to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships.
They made sure to get it out of the way early.
The duo defeated West Genessee’s Mikayla Mannara and Katie Viau 7-6(7-5), 6-1 in the semifinals at Drumlins, wrapping up a berth in the state tournament before falling to Fayetteville-Manlius’ Maggie Bonomo and Katerina Atallah 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in the final.
“I love it because it’s the first time that we’ve really played together ever and this is how far we got,” said Skibitski.
The win was especially sweet for Laureti, who reached the doubles semifinals with Jillian Brodock last year but suffered an ankle injury and had to settle for fourth.
“We’re really excited about it
because we played really hard and we wanted it really bad,” said Laureti. “It was good because I really wanted to go last year with Jill.”
Laureti and Skibitski are the first Oneida girls tennis players to advance to the state tournament in 10 years. Twin sisters Aubrey and Brianne Bobo were the last two to advance that far, going three straight years from 2004-06.
The No. 2 seed Wildcats made the path a tough one. Mannara, who was part of the team that beat Laureti and Brodock last year, used her strong serve to give West Genesee the first game of the match. No. 3 Oneida rallied back to take a 3-1 lead following a fourth game that saw six deuce points. Mannara’s serve came up big again in the following game, a sweep that she capped with an ace. The Wildcats rode that momentum, taking the next three games as well to claim a 5-3 lead in the first set.
The Oneida duo, in danger of dropping the set, solved Mannara’s serve in the next game and Laureti clinched game point with a nice shot at the net. Skibitski’s quickness near the net allowed Oneida to take the next game as well and even the set at 5-5. Mannara and Viau won the ensuing game to again push Laureti and Skibitski to the brink but couldn’t close them out. With the tiebreaker tied 2-2, Laureti hit backto-back winners at the net before ripping a forehand down the line two points later for a 5-3 lead. She fin- ished the set with a great lob shot over both Wildcats, who were drawn up to the net. “We were able to talk to each other, adjust and get our spirits up,” said Skibitski.
The momentum carried over into the second set, with Laureti and Skibitski taking the first three games as well as the last three to clinch their spot in the state tournament.
“It was really important to get the confidence,” said Laureti of winning the first match.
The Oneida pair then gave F-M’s No. 1 seed a tough match in the final. Bonomo and Atallah took the first set handily before Laureti and Skibitski came back to win the second and then jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third. The next game went to deuce and the Hornets took it and rolled with it, winning six straight games to claim the victory.
Laureti and Skibitski will now prepare for the state tournament, which begins at noon on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Sound Shore Indoor Tennis in Port Chester.
“Keep practicing as hard as we can,” said Skibitski on how they will prepare. “Be as consistent as we can.”