ECC duo of Messineo and Piccirillo win D9-AA doubles title
DUBOIS – It was an all-Elk County final in the District 9 2A Boys' Tennis Doubles Tournament at DuBois Area High School on Monday afternoon as the ECC team of Anthony Messineo and Cole Piccirillo defeated the St. Marys Area team of Luke Anderson and Blake Hoffman 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The tournament got underway at 9:15 a.m., with the Clearfield team of Mason Marshall and Ben Wrigglesworth defeating the Punxsutawney team of Alex Deppen and Dana Smith 10-2 and the Bradford team of Cooper Haight and Peyton Haight winning 10-4 against Brockway's Damon Tucker and Aiden Wilcox.
In the second round, the DCC duo of Neel Gupta and Luke Fragle made quick work of Marshall and Wrigglesworth, winning 10-0 to advance to the quarterfinals against Brockway's John Knox and Adam Lin, who battled for a 10-7 win over the Johnsonburg team of Alex Merritt and Hunter Newman.
Also in the second round in the top half of the bracket, Anderson and Hoffman won 10-0 against DuBois Area's Aaron Webster and Jacob Loomis, and Bradford's Michell Strauss and Max Shaw defeated ECC's Julian Funaki and Owen Daghir 10-6.
In the bottom half of the bracket, Messineo and Piccirillo opened play by defeating the Haights 10-1, advancing to the quarterfinals to take on Johnsonburg's Eric Gustafson and Gabe Heiberger, who won 10-6 against Clearfield's Ethan Evilsizor and Dylan Greslick.
Also in the bottom half of the bracket, the DuBois Area team of Brohm Hemke and Jay Parekh won 10-4 against the DCC team of Matt Volpe and Tyler Baird, and the Punxsutawney team of Michael Setree and Logan Conner defeated the St. Marys Area team of Dawson Krug and Tyler Luckenbill 10-5.
In the quarterfinals, Gupta and Fragle won 10-1 over Knox and Lin, and Anderson and Hoffman defeated Strauss and Shaw 103, setting up a matchup between the two teams in the semifinals.
In the bottom half of the bracket, Messineo and Piccirillo defeated Gustafson and Heiberger 10-4 and Hemke and Parekh won 10- over Setree and Conner.
While Messineo and Piccirillo were able to make quick work of their opponents in the semifinals to advance to the championship match with a 6-1, 6-0 win, Anderson and Hoffman battled Gupta and Fragle for three sets, ultimately winning 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
In the finals, Anderson and Hoffman raced to a quick 6-1 win in the first set, but Messineo and Piccirillo were able to battle back for a 6-2 win in the second set. Facing a third deciding set for the D9 title, the two teams traded points early before Messineo and Piccirillo pulled away for a 6-2 win to win the match 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.
“I thought it definitely went well,” Messineo said of the tournament.
However, he noted that it was a bit disappointing that he was unable to be paired up with teammate Cameron Klebacha this year. The duo won the D9 doubles title last year, but Klebacha was unable to participate in the doubles tournament after winning the D9 singles title last week.
That resulted in Messineo being paired with Piccirillo, who spent much of the season at third singles for the Crusaders.
“Cole is right up there, and we've played together before, so I didn't really have a doubt because I know how he plays and he knows how I play,” Messineo said.
As for how the finals played out, Messineo and Piccirillo admitted that the match did not start out how they had hoped.
“We were in a slump,” Piccirillo said. “We lost 6-1 the first set, and then we took a break and got our composure and finished it.”
“We knew we had to kick it in,” Messineo added.
The duo is looking forward to joining Klebacha at states. They will open play in the 2023 PIAA 2A Boys' Doubles Tennis Championship at 10 a.m. on May 26 when they face the District 3 runner-up in the first round at the Hershey Racquet Club.
“It's awesome, especially for our senior year,” Messineo said of winning the doubles tournament. “Cole hasn't been to states, so it's awesome getting him there. We're just looking forward to it.”
The duo was also happy to complete the sweep for head coach Michael Jeselenick. ECC won the D9 2A team, singles, and doubles championships this season.
“We've had a really good season,” Messineo said.
Jeselnick described the team's success this year as being a real blessing.
“These guys, I'm really happy for them,”
Jeselnick said. “They swept districts this year. We've won each of those medals before but over several years.”
Jeselnick remarked that he felt confident about pairing Messineo and Piccirillo up for the doubles tournament.
“Of course Cam's shoes were big ones to fill, but Cole was always alert and sharp with his shot making, so I felt comfortable,” Jeselnick said. “But having lost that first set, they had me doubt. I know what they're capable of. They rebounded and they just gelled together and made the shots when they needed to.”
Jeselnick echoed his players' remarks that it has been a great season for the Crusader squad, and he added that he was proud of all of his players.
The Crusaders open play in the 2023 PIAA 2A Boys' Team Tennis Championship today at 2 p.m. at DuBois Area High School against District 7 runner-up Winchester Thurston.