Central Catholic, Liberty win titles

Both of Thursday’s District 11 team tennis finals were highly anticipated, and both brought on intense moments.

In 3A, top-seeded and defending champion Parkland squared off against No. 3 Liberty.

And in 2A, Moravian Academy, seeded first, took on last year’s champion and No. 6 seeded Central Catholic.

Sure enough, both titles were decided by a third set in the final match at Lehigh University.

Liberty’s No. 1 singles player, Shayaan Farhad, came back from a set down to help the Hurricanes reclaim their title in a 3-2 win over the Trojans.

Nearly two hours later, the Vikings found themselves in the same situation, as No. 3 singles player Michael Zeller won in the third set to push Central to a 3-2 victory and its secondstraight crown.

The Hurricanes and Vikings will now advance to the PIAA team tournament, which begins May 17.

Class 3A

As it has all week, Parkland started the match down one of its most consistent players in Fyodor D’Souza.

Liberty is well-known for its talent in doubles, so the Trojans needed to be perfect in the singles matches. And they nearly were.

Despite the loss of their No. 2 player, the Trojans raised their game in singles, capturing the first set in all three positions.

Playing just his second singles match of the season, Parkland’s Lucas Lee posted an eye-popping win over Luke Appleman, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 3 singles.

Josh Thomas moved up to No. 2 singles and overpowered Liberty’s Roman Farhad for a 6-3, 6-1 win.

The Hurricanes received their first point from the No. 1 doubles team of Gavin Evans-Gartley and Sid Tekumalla, winning 6-3, 6-3 over Kevin Yao-Rithik Raghuraman.

The team score was knotted at 2-apiece when Liberty picked up another doubles victory from the No. 2 team of Chris Giannaras-Jacksen Jobes, a 7-6 (6), 6-4 winner over Taehyuk Yang-Ryan Wu.

After dropping the first set in a tiebreaker, Shayaan Farhad played confident, consistent tennis to outlast district singles runner-up Dan Zolotarev 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-2 to give Liberty the title.

“I was a little disappointed the last time I played [Zolotarev] because he beat me bad [6-1, 6-2]. I looked down at the other courts and realized my point was big and I had to make it happen,” Farhad said. “I wanted to win it for the team and I really didn’t want to lose to Parkland again. I’m a very

mentally tough player and I never quit.”

Liberty coach Chris Conrad, who knew his Hurricanes needed wins at No. 1 singles and both doubles matches, developed his players into a championship team after losing key players from last year.

“We had some turnover from last year, losing Anthony Ronca and Wyatt Marshall to graduation,” Conrad said. “We continually put in the hard work, though. I ask a lot of our guys, and as we try to grow them into competitors and good players, we also want them to be good, young people.”

The Hurricanes’ next team match will be in the PIAA first round against the District 1 fourthplace finisher.

Class 2A

Central got off to a quick start then held off a furious Moravian Academy rally to claim gold.

The Vikings’ first point came at No. 2 doubles when Owen Wandalowski-Enzo Fantozzi sailed to a 6-4, 6-0 win over Nabeel RifaiHunter Zicherman.

No. 1 singles player Tim Spinosa put Central up 2-0 with a crafty 7-5, 7-5 victory over Will Menichelli.

Spinosa ignited energy into his team, but the Lions hung tough and came roaring back.

The No. 1 doubles team of Okezue Bell-Kendall Bowden came back from an early deficit to defeat Jake Zeller-Dan Patruno, 7-6 (3), 6-1.

Then, the Lions tied the score when Ford Koch edged Charlie Long, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2 singles.

In the final match of the evening, a consistent Michael Zeller battled back from a tough first set and knocked off a talented player in Brian Yang, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Following the win, an energized Viking squad stormed the court to embrace their sophomore singles player.

“The first set didn’t go well because I was trying to hit too many winners,” Zeller said. “From there, the plan was to keep the ball in play and force him to make the error. I gave it my all and I couldn’t let my team down.”

As the No. 6 seed, Central’s road to the title could be considered improbable. But the competition the Vikings faced this season in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference prepared them for the postseason.

Another attribute to Central’s success is each of the team’s starters are solid athletes who compete in other sports for the Vikings.

“We were absolutely prepared because we held our own in a tough conference all season. We’ve played high level competition like Parkland, Freedom and Liberty,” Central coach Jared Smith said. “I don’t have words to describe the feeling I have right now. Really proud of this team.”

The Vikings’ next team match will be in the PIAA first round against the champion out of District 2.