Bruton captures first boys tennis team state championship

Bruton High broke through with the first boys tennis team state championship in school history, defeating Radford 5-2 Thursday in a Class 2 title match that went through a rain delay at Liberty University.

Three other Hampton Roads teams — the Cox and Grafton boys and Great Bridge girls — dropped their championship matches to superior, deeper opponents.

At Huntington Park in Newport News, the Riverside Rams of Loudoun County shut out the Cox boys 6-0 in Class 5, and the Douglas Freeman girls took their fourth consecutive Class 5 trophy with a 5-2 victory over Great Bridge.

In Lynchburg, the Western Albemarle boys continued their dynasty with their seventh consecutive title, shutting out previously unbeaten Grafton 5-0 in Class 3.

Class 2 boys

Bruton was the runner-up the past two seasons, but the Panthers moved ahead 4-0 before rain arrived in Lynchburg. Freshman sensation Christoph Schweitzer won at No. 1, while No. 2 Max de Winter, No. 5 Talien Barnes and No. 6 Nick Felsman also prevailed.

The Bobcats won at No. 3 and were ahead by a set at No. 4 when play was suspended, but Bruton got the one doubles triumph it needed to hoist the trophy.

It came from Schweitzer and de Winter, who then won 6-2, 6-0 in a doubles semifinal later Thursday against Grayson County’s Keyshawn Phipps and Kolby Hawks. Schweitzer will face Phipps in a singles semifinal Friday morning.

Class 5 boys

Cox’s Falcons were runners-up for the second consecutive season, moving through the Hampton Roads half of the draw with road victories over Maury and Hickory, the team that beat them in the region tournament.

But Thursday, Riverside overmatched them. Cox senior Neil Vanga lost 6-1, 6-2 at the top spot to Ricky Hota, and No. 5 Daniel Urreta and No. 6 Joseph Park fared best among the Falcons by winning four games apiece.

Vanga, though, got a pass into the championship matches of the individual competition, but in an unfortunate way.

Douglas Freeman’s Dylan Chou, the 2023 singles champion, had to withdraw with an injury after winning Region C. VHSL rules don’t allow for a substitute in the individual semifinals or finals, so Region A champion Vanga will go directly to Saturday’s 10 a.m. singles championship match.

In doubles, since 2022 state champs Chou and Daniel Lim won Region C and were scheduled to face the Region A representatives, Vanga and Sam Dixon advanced to Friday’s 1 p.m. final against Hota and Aarush Rajanala, who downed Region B winners John Felts and Johnny March of Maury 6-0, 6-2.

Class 4 boys

Jamestown’s Keean Buirski and Charles Aractingi fell 6-4, 0-6, 1-0 (10-5) in a doubles semifinal to Rock Ridge’s Kaushik Muskari and Aryan Dhiman. Buirski will return to Huntington Park at 10 a.m. Friday for a singles semifinal against Broad Run’s Neel Pasunuri.

Charlottesville took the team championship by defeating Hanover 5-2. The Black Knights, relative newcomers to the state stage, came from a set behind in a pair of singles matches to move ahead 4-1. They clinched the triumph at No. 1 doubles.

Class 3 boys

Grafton ruled the Bay Rivers District and Region A in its initial Class 3 season, making the championship match for the first time. But even the Clippers couldn’t curtail Western Albemarle, which has made a championship trophy an annual pickup.

The Warriors won Nos. 2-6 singles, leaving four-time region singles champ Rainer Christiansen of Grafton and his opponent, Brader Eby, without a final result.

But Christiansen and John Lee responded by beating Eby and Wade Sturman 7-5, 7-5 in a doubles semifinal, ending Eby’s two-year run of being part of the champion pair. Christiansen and Eby will oppose each other in a Friday singles semifinal before Christiansen and Lee play in the doubles final.

Class 5 girls

Great Bridge, playing in its first-ever state final, hung with Freeman’s Mavericks for a while, thanks to the Wildcats’ dynamic top two of junior Kayla Kennedy and sophomore Chase London.

Both won their singles matches 6-2, 6-1, but Freeman took control by winning at Nos. 3-6 and clinched the crown with a 6-0, 6-1 victory by Paige Suter and Caroline Frank at No. 2 doubles.

“We’re really coming together as a group,” Kennedy said. “We’ve worked really hard from my freshman year to now. I’m extremely proud of the seniors.”

Kennedy and London had won the first set before their doubles match was halted, and they carried that momentum to the individual doubles semifinals. The two Wildcats won 6-3, 6-2 over Ana Maria Rincon, who won last year’s Class 5 singles title, and Taylor Prillaman of Roanoke’s Patrick Henry High.

Kennedy will return to action at 10 a.m. Friday in a singles semifinal against Rincon, then will join London at 1 p.m. to meet Maddie Tran and Mariana Tan Li of Riverside for the doubles title. Tran and Li ousted Menchville’s Tori Epps and Erin Pridgen 6-4, 6-2, but Epps will try to gain payback against Tran in a 10 a.m. singles semi.

Class 4 girls

The day’s worst news was that Jamestown senior star Julia Clark’s sprained ankle hasn’t healed enough for her to play singles or in doubles with Scarlett Gamez.

So their scheduled opponents from state team champion Broad Run — sisters Lexi and Izzy Rotaru in doubles and Lexi Rotaru in singles — headed automatically to the finals.

The Rotarus combined for three dominant victories as their Spartans defeated Courtland 5-2 for the team championship.

Class 3 girls

Grafton’s Michelle Cloud and Erin Braganza lost 6-0, 6-2 to Western Albemarle’s Blythe Sturman and Amanda Bilchick in a doubles semifinal.

It came after Maggie Walker defeated Western Albemarle 5-1 for the team championship. The Dragons were dominant in the Richmond area, beating Douglas Freeman 8-1 and 7-2 on the way to an unbeaten season.

Class 2 girls

Poquoson’s Meredith Woodruff and Sarah Litton were to face Radford’s Lydia Pratt and Claire Fender in a doubles semifinal at Liberty.

Marion won the team championship 5-1 over Woodstock Central, the Islanders’ semifinal conqueror.

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Thursday’s VHSL tennis scoreboard

Team finals

(at Huntington Park)

Class 6

Boys: Langley 5, McLean 3

Girls: Langley 5, Thomas Jefferson S&T 3

Class 5

Boys: Riverside 6, Cox 0

Girls: Douglas Freeman 5, Great Bridge 2

Class 4

Boys: Charlottesville 5, Hanover 2

Girls: Broad Run 5, Courtland 2

(at Liberty University)

Class 3

Boys: Western Albemarle 5, Grafton 0

Girls: Maggie Walker 5, Western Albemarle 1

Class 2

Boys: Bruton 5, Radford 2

Girls: Marion 5, Woodstock Central 1

Class 1

Girls: Rappahannock d. George Wythe

Doubles semifinals

Boys

Class 6: Zach Fleishman/Grant Kroodsma (Deep Run) d. Ryan Battaglia/Raynal Kosecky (Woodson) 6-2, 6-1; Matthew Staton/Villasmil Rodriguez (Colgan) d. Nikola Galov/Adi Gupta (Langley) 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (10-4).

Class 5: Neil Vanga/Sam Dixon (Cox) d. Dylan Chou/Daniel Lim (Douglas Freeman) by withdrawal/injury; Ricky Hota/Aarush Rajanala (Riverside) d. John Felts/Johnny March (Maury) 6-0, 6-2.

Class 4: Kaushik Muskari/Aryan Dhiman (Rock Ridge) d. Keean Buirski/Charles Aractingi (Jamestown) 6-4, 0-6, 1-0 (10-5); Sean Frank/Arlo Pray (Charlottesville) vs. Cole LaFors/Izaak Brown (Monacan).

Class 3: Rainer Christiansen/John Lee (Grafton) d. Brader Eby/Wade Sturman (Western Albemarle) 7-5, 7-5; Lucas Beasley/Chris Roberts (Christiansburg) vs. Alex Percey/Ethan Choe (Maggie Walker).

Class 2: Christoph Schweitzer/Max de Winter (Bruton) d. Keyshawn Phipps/Kolby Hawks (Grayson County) 6-2, 6-0; Jack Clem/Cooper Hurst (Richlands) vs. Preston Bernies/Jack Westbrook (Clarke County).

Girls

Class 6: Alexandra Zykova/Karis Kim (Thomas Jefferson S&T) d. Rosalyn Kara/Jocelynn Ginsberg (Deep Run) 6-4, 6-1; Arakai Henryson Gibbs/Zosia Henryson Gibbs (Langley) d. Sofia Raval/Audrey Henderson (Battlefield) 6-1 6-1.

Class 5: Kayla Kennedy / Chase London (Great Bridge) d. Ana Maria Rincon/Taylor Prillaman (Patrick Henry of Roanoke) 6-3, 6-2; Maddie Tran/Mariana Tan Li (Riverside) d. Victoria Epps/Erin Pridgen (Menchville) 6-4, 6-2.

Class 4: Izzy Rotaru/Lexi Rotaru (Broad Run) d. Julia Clark/Scarlett Gamez (Jamestown) by withdrawal/injury; Tovia Carothers/Mary Kennedy (E.C. Glass) d. Marina Le/Allison France (Atlee) 6-2, 6-2.

Class 3: Blythe Sturman/Amanda Bilchick (Western Albemarle) d. Michelle Cloud/Erin Braganza (Grafton) 6-0, 6-2; Lucy Burningham/Nora Cross (Christiansburg) vs. Martina Ribera/Ella Wiatt (Maggie Walker).

Class 2: Meredith Woodruff/Sarah Litton (Poquoson) vs. Lydia Pratt/Claire Fender (Radford); Parker White/Madelyn Austin (Marion) vs. Mallory Hutton/Peyton DiNardo (Woodstock Central).

Class 1: Laney Williams/Maggie Wonderling (Rappahannock) d. Emerson Hardin/Angela Myers (George Wythe); Alex DiGrassie/Taylor Hassett (Buffalo Gap) d. Eden Shortt/Madison Sergent (J.I. Burton) 7-5, 7-5.