The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
SECTION CHAMPS
Royer and Galle bring Division III title home to Cazenovia
ONEIDA, N.Y. >> Rain delayed Thursday’s Section III individual doubles finals in Oneida. Friday, it did it again. Saturday, players were finally able to take the court, and for Cazenovia duo Nina Royer and Alex Galle, the wait was more than worth it.
The Laker tandem defeated a Skaneateles finalists Ella Danforth and Emma Miller by a total of 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 to capture the Section III Division III title.
“They are really good players, and both sides want to win. It’s hard to taking that win away from someone when you want it so bad, and they are amazing players, great at the net. Overall, I think we fought all season long for it - we just wanted it so bad - and I think that helped make it a little easier,” Royer said.
“We played them earlier in the season, and it was a really close match, so we knew it was going to be a battle on both sides of the court. I thought they did a really good job. They were super consistent on their ground strokes. I thought they were getting a lot of balls in play and really pushing us to move, but I think in the end, we shot a couple of key points,” Galle added.
Galle and Royer secured their
finals spot by topping Canastota duo Skyler Donley and Valona Whitehead 6-0, 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinal round. In the quarterfinals, Katelyn Precourt and Gabrielle Skotniski became the second tandem to fall to Laker pair as Galle and Royer went unblemished in a 6-0, 6-0 victory. The Laker duo continued to roll in the semifinal round, defeating Marcellus’ Kaitlyn Kemp & Morgan Walsh handily, 6-1, 6-2.
As a result of their success, Royer and Galle head to Drumlins on Tuesday for the first day of state qualifiers. There, they will take on Christian Brothers’ Academy pair Grace Catalano and Aubrey Mills.
“State qualifiers, I’ve been there the last couple of years, and everyone is good at that point,” Galle said. “I think it’s just enjoying our time on the court, keeping lots of balls in play and seeing what we can accomplish.”
“We have a lot of hard competition. It’s definitely going to be a game of consistency,” Royer added. “We are just trying to have fun at this point. [Winning Division III doubles] was our main goal. Now, it’s just fun from here.”
Oneida pair Mattie Hicks and Sydney Lusher, who fell in to Jamesville-DeWitt’s Mona Farah & Tara Pollock in a hard-fought battle in the Division II doubles finals by a final score of 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, also have a shot to qualify for the state tournament in Drumlins on Tuesday.
Hicks and Lusher will square off against Marcellus’ Elaina Mahoney and Megan Mitchell.
Should both tandems win their first round bouts, Hicks and Lusher would meet Royer and Galle in the quarterfinal round of play.
Division II
Round 1: 1D: Mattie Hicks & Sydney Lusher(Oneida) d. (Bye)
Round 2: 1D: Mattie Hicks & Sydney Lusher(Oneida) d. Danielle DeRocco & Divya Sinha(New Hartford) 7-5, 6-2
Quarterfinals: 1D: Mattie Hicks & Sydney Lusher(Oneida) d. Caitlin Reilly & Kaitlyn Williams(Whitesboro) 6-3, 6-1
Semifinals: 1D: Mattie Hicks & Sydney Lusher(Oneida) d. Rachel DeRocco & Tess Evans(New Hartford) 6-3, 7-6
Finals: 1D: Mona Farah & Tara Pollock(Jamesville-DeWitt) d. Mattie Hicks & Sydney Lusher(Oneida) 7-6, 3- 6, 6-4.
Division III
Round 1: 1D: Alex Galle & Nina Royer(Cazenovia) d. (Bye)
Round 2: 1D: Alex Galle & Nina Royer(Cazenovia) d. Skyler Donley & Valona Whitehead(Canastota) 6-0, 6-0
Quarterfinals: 1D: Alex Galle & Nina Royer(Cazenovia) d. Katelyn Precourt & Gabrielle Skotniski(Jordan-Elbridge) 6-0, 6-0
Semifinals: 1D: Alex Galle & Nina Royer(Cazenovia) d. Kaitlyn Kemp & Morgan Walsh(Marcellus) 6-2, 6-1
Finals: 1D: Alex Galle & Nina Royer(Cazenovia) d. Ella Danforth & Emma Miller(Skaneateles) 7-6, 2-6, 6-1