DISTRICT 2 TENNIS: Abington Heights storms to 12th straight 3A championship
S. ABINGTON TWP. – Robby Lucas was looking for a way to stay in shape other than by playing basketball.
He turned his new challenge into another successful season in an already decorated athletic career at Abington Heights.
Coming off championships in golf and basketball, Lucas joined the boys’ tennis dynasty. He learned the skills, used his athleticism and size to his advantage, and found a perfect partner in Mike Klamp. The tag team dominated at No. 2 doubles all season and supplied the clinching win in top-seeded Abington Heights’ 3-0 victory over No. 2 Crestwood on Wednesday afternoon at the Birchwood Racquet Club. The Comets (15-0) won their 12th straight District 2 Class 3A championship.
Abington Heights will play the fourth-place team from District 1 on Tuesday, May 13, in the first round of the PIAA tournament at Birchwood at noon.
“Normally, I played basketball in the spring, but being a senior, I didn’t do that,” Lucas said. “I was looking for something to stay active. I was thinking about a couple of different sports, and I liked tennis.
“This is super cool. That is a credit to the coaches and guys who came before me who grew this program.”
Abington Heights defeated fourth-seeded Wyoming Valley West, 3-0, in the semifinals, while Crestwood defeated No. 3 Delaware Valley, 3-1.
The Comets entered the final having won 13 of 14 matches by shutout. The No. 1 doubles team of Brady Comstock, coach Art Comstock’s son, and Liam Farrell seized the early advantage with an overpowering win over Aaron Kogoy and Will Saver, 6-0, 6-0.
“We were very determined to win this,” Comstock said. “At Abington Heights people always talk about how impressive it is to win like three in a row in basketball, and this is pretty impressive too—to win 12 in a row. We have a special team this year, and I hope that we can keep this going at states.”
Comstock and Farrell also won their semifinal match over Wyoming Valley West’s team of Ben Zera-Cyrus Wairiuko, 6-0, 6-0, showing off their near-flawless teamwork.
“This is just amazing,” Farrell said. “This is a great group of players who have come together to win. Overall it was a great experience.”
Only minutes later, Praneel Mallaiah, the top seed and defending District 2 Class 3A singles champion, moved his record this season to 14-1 with a commanding win over Crestwood’s Tommy Biscotti, 6-0, 6-2. Mallaiah has played at No. 1 singles in all four of his varsity seasons and been the leader of four straight team championship runs.
“I came as a freshman and started at No. 1 singles, and I am closing it out at No. 1 singles,” said Mallaiah, who had his semifinal match against Wyoming Valley West’s Gadgidas Reisinger halted while leading 6-0, 3-1. “I am happy with my consistency. I think it is great that every time we play a match, we are all staying loose and sharing laughter with each other.
“This is pretty special. We knew that we had a great team, and we wanted to dominate. I knew that for this team, we had all the tools to win this again, and that is what we did.”
Then it became a race to see which match would produce the clinching win.
The team of Klamp and Lucas, No. 2 singles player William Arp, and No. 3 singles player Domenic Peters were all up a set and closing in on their match points.
With Arp winding up to serve, the referee called the match as Klamp and Lucas had secured a 6-1, 6-1 win over Ethan Zabroski and Mike Modrovsky for the third and deciding victory.
“We are always focused as a team,” Klamp said. “We may not be the singles guys, but we lock in and do our job. We do what we can to help this team win.”
For Lucas, it capped a rewarding exploration into an unfamiliar sport as he had a third team gold medal draped around his neck.
“Coach (Comstock) did a really good job of bringing me in and understanding that I never played before,” Lucas said. “He worked with me and taught me how to play tennis the right way. I followed what he said, learned, and got better throughout the season.”
The doubles teams also had wins in the semifinal match, while Peters added a win at No. 3 singles against Wyoming Valley West.
Crestwood reached the final by defeating Delaware Valley. Sean Rossi defeated Nate Carso, 6-1, 6-2, and the doubles teams of Kogoy-Saver and Zaboski-Modrovsky had straight-set wins.
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District 2 Class 3A team championship
Semifinals
Abington Heights 3, Wyoming Valley West 0
Singles: Mallaiah (AH) vs. Reisinger, 6-0, 3-1 (match halted). Arp (AH) vs. Max Weihbrecht, 6-0, 5-0 (match halted). Peters (AH) over Klem, 6-0, 6-0; Doubles: Comstock-Farrell (AH) over Zera-Wairiuko, 6-0, 6-0. Klamp-Lucas (AH) over Youells-Yanalis, 6-0, 6-0; Records: AH 14-0, WVW 7-7.
Crestwood 3, Delaware Valley 1
Singles: Biscotti (CRE) vs. Mullen, 6-2, 5-2 (match halted); Rossi (CRE) over N. Carso, 6-1, 6-2; O. Carson (DV) over Groth, 6-2, 6-3; Doubles: Kogoy-Saver (CRE) over Jazard-Wilson, 6-0, 7-6 (2). Zabroski-Modrovsky (CRE) over DeSantis-Kruler, 6-4, 6-2; Records: CRE 12-2, DV 8-6.
Final
Abington Heights 3, Crestwood 0
Singles: Mallaiah (AH) over Biscotti, 6-0, 6-2. Arp (AH) vs. Rossi, 6-0, 5-1 (match halted). Peters (AH) vs. Young, 6-0, 5-2; Doubles: Comstock-Farrell (AH) over Kogoy-Saver, 6-0, 6-0. Klamp-Lucas (AH) over Zabroski-Modrovsky, 6-1, 6-1; Records: AH 15-0, CRE 12-3.
