Prep Roundup: Wakefield, Cardinal Gibbons march through tennis first round

Undefeated Wakefield High, the 2014 state 4A dual-team boys’ tennis champion, steamed through the first round of the 2015 tournament Tuesday with a 6-0 victory over Richmond County. The match was stopped after singles.

The Wolverines climbed to 17-0 with the N.C. High School Athletic Association victory. The second round of the dual-team tournament will be played next Tuesday.

Many of the top area 4A players will participate in singles or doubles in the individual regional scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Millbrook Exchange.

Wakefield’s victory was led by No. 1 singles player Bo Boyden, who won the NCHSAA 4A singles title last year but who plans to play doubles with Jensen Martin in the individual tournament this year.

Boyden topped Colt Auman 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1, and No. 2 Martin defeated Andrew Balzer 6-1, 6-0. The Wolverines only dropped two other games as Nos. 3 through 6 Blake Carter, Nico Grewe, Lake Ihly and Davis Larrabee won in straight sets.

Cardinal Gibbons cruises in 3A: Cardinal Gibbons, the four-time NCHSAA 3A champion, had no trouble in a 9-0 first-round win against West Carteret.

Matt Galush, Jim Mantyh, Kyler Zadell, Brody Chapman, Kyle Fitzgerald and Louis Velasco all won in straight sets and combined to drop just one game. The Crsaders’ doubles teams of Mantyh-Fitzgerald and Zadell-Chapman dropped only a pair of games in the three matches.

“Before the match I told the kids to go out and play their game,” said Cardinal Gibbons coach Andrew Tuttle. “Hit your strokes. If you win quickly, great. If you don’t, just keep playing your game. You don’t want to take anyone lightly or to get into bad habits.”

The Crusaders will play Northern Guilford, a 5-0 winner against Cleveland, in next week’s second round. Gibbons is 19-4, including a lost to 4A Green Hope and three losses to out-of-state opponents.

The Crusaders are lined up for the individual regionals that are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Galush has been in the doubles championship match the past three years and has won the past two, but he and Velasco are playing singles this year.

Mantyh and Fitzgerald, who lost in the 2014 doubles final, will play doubles in the individual tournament along with Zadell and Chapman.

Green Hope unbeaten: Green Hope climbed to 17-0 with its 9-0 victory over Fayetteville Cape Fear.

Nos. 1 through 6 in singles – Ben Wayand, Louis Rico, Ashwin Iyer, George Edwards, Rohit Ghotkar and Eshaan Javalkar – dropped only one game and the three doubles teams each won 8-0.

The Falcons will play East Chapel Hill (13-1), which ousted Garner, in next week’s second round.

Carrboro gets road win: Carrboro took a 6-0 dual-team victory at Randleman in the 2A dual-team tennis tournament.

Carrboro (10-1) won the NCHSAA 2A championship in 2014 but could be on the road for the first four rounds of the 2015 tournament.

Croatan (12-0) advanced with a 9-0 win against South Granville.

Millbrook wins: Millbrook (14-3 and the No. 2 Cap Eight 4A seed behind Wakefield) won all six singles matches in its first-round victory over Fayetteville Jack Britt.

Catamounts advance: Panther Creek upended Greenville Conley 5-1 in 4A dual-team tennis to earn a second-round berth against New Hanover, which ousted East Wake.

Chapel Hill moves on: Chapel Hill (12-3) topped Jacksonville White Oak (16-2) 6-0 in 3A dual-team tennis to land a second-round berth against Cameron Union Pines (11-0), an 8-1 winner against Corinth Holders.

Redman leads Cap 8 4A golf: Doc Redman of Leesville Road shot a 2-under-par 34 at Hedingham Golf Club to be medalist in the final Cap Eight 4A golf match of the regular season. Alex Smalley of Wake Forest and Stephen Franken of Millbrook tied for second with 35s.

Broughton and Leesville Road shared the team title for the day, but Broughton had won the preceding six league matches. Broughton, Millbrook, Leesville Road and Heritage earned berths in the NCHSAA 4A Mideast Regional next Tuesday at Raleigh Country Club.

Smalley, Daniel Sallinger (Wakefield), Joseph Gugliotta (Wakefield) and Matt MacDowell (Wake Forest) qualified for the regionals as individuals.

Pirates still unbeaten: Corinth Holders girls’ soccer team climbed to 13-0 with a 9-0 victory over Smithfield-Selma.

Ravens win 10th straight: Ravenscroft won its 10th straight boys’ lacrosse game by stopping North Raleigh Christian 17-1.

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Prep Roundup: Wakefield, Cardinal Gibbons march through tennis first round."