PICKERINGTON – Jack Staats won two matches to lead the Mount Vernon boys tennis team in a Division I sectional on Thursday, May 13, at Pickerington High School Central.
Staats defeated Jacob Bennett of the host Tigers 6-2, 6-2 in the first round, then beat Cyrus Palaganas of Marietta 6-0, 6-0 in Round 2.
But top-seeded Sam Routzhan of Olentangy ended Staats’ run with a 6-1, 6-0 decision in a district qualifier. The top four players in each sectional qualified for the district tournament.
Beckett Elkins and Quinn Hoffman also competed for the Yellow Jackets in singles competition. Elkins fell to Worthington Kilbourne’s Nivass Kalyanam 6-3, 6-1; and Hoffman lost to Kilbourne’s Ethan Emami 6-3, 6-1 in first-round action.
In doubles play, Ethan Jarosz and Toby Boggs fell to Brady Wink and Mateusz Lisiecki of Marion Harding 6-4, 6-1; and Ben Buehrer and Brian Sabula fell to Delaware’s Gabe Fogle and Ryder Kardas 6-1, 6-0 in the first round.
