If you like this type of coverage, please let us know by Following us on social media: Twitter/X – @lebcosports1 and Facebook.
For any questions, comments, or discrepancies, please reach out to dan@lebcosports.com.
In the District 3 Singles Tennis Championship, Cedar Crest’s Viseth Meng earned his spot in the State Championship Tournament after finishing with a silver medal (read here). This past weekend, two local doubles pairings took to the hardcourts at the Hershey Racquet Club as they competed in the District 3 Doubles Tennis Championship.
The odds-on favorite to win was Aidan and Tyler Mahaffey. After all, the twins from Palmyra entered as the three-time defending champions. They entered this year as the #1 seed once again. They did not disappoint in their 1st round matchup, as they notched a 6-0, 6-0 straight-set victory over Central York’s Kai MacLennan and Joshua Haupt. In the quarterfinals, they faced Lower Dauphin’s Brady Coonelly and Mason Dissinger. The challengers took a game in each set, but the Mahaffeys took the match 6-1, 6-1 to end Friday ready for the semifinals.
The other team from LebCo was the duo of Joe Shkreli and Isaac Wolfe, a pair of juniors representing Cedar Crest. The newly minted partnership arose once Meng qualified for States in Singles, which then matched his partner Shkreli with Wolfe, a talented player who spent most of the year playing as the Falcons’ #4. The two entered Districts unranked but started their tournament with a 6-1, 6-4 over Wilson’s Austin Kohler and Gavin Siravo. They were then met with the 4th-ranked team, Robert Eiswert and Michael Chotiner of Central Dauphin. Shkreli and Wolfe again found a way to win, this time with a three-set match that included a deciding tiebreaker to end the match with the score being 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4). They once again made it into Saturday’s semifinal round and were guaranteed a State Tournament berth with their top-four finish.
On Saturday, the two LebCo teams met one another. The Mahaffeys took the first set 6-0, but Shkreli and Wolfe did not go away easily, taking four games from the two-time defending State Champions, losing the second set 6-4.
The Mahaffeys moved on to the Finals, where they defeated Dallastown’s Jacob Horn and Ian Opitz (6-1, 6-2). For ATM, it was their fourth straight District Championship.
The pair from Cedar Crest still had one more match left with the outcome ultimately affecting their seeding for States. A win would secure them a higher seed, potentially giving them an advantage in the upcoming State Tournament. They faced Reading’s Zach Schrader and Dylan Dunkelberger in another three-set thriller with the match ending 7-5, 6-7(3), 7-5.
With a 1st place and a 3rd place finisher at Districts, LebCo will now have five athletes competing at the PIAA State Championship Tournament. Both the Singles and Doubles tournaments will be played Memorial Day weekend at the Hershey Racquet Club.
In other State Championship Tournament news, the Cedar Crest Falcons lost in the First Round on Tuesday. It was an away match against Lower Merion, which the Falcons dropped 5-0.
