Parker Sanders and Eli Snyder are ready to take another swing at a district medal.
Sanders and Snyder, Bermudian Springs’ top boys’ tennis tandem, will hit the courts at Hershey Racquet Club on Friday morning when the District 3 Class 2A Doubles Championships get under way. The Eagle pairing is making a return trip to the D3 dance after qualifying last season.
And they’re heading to Hershey with the wind at their backs after winning the YAIAA title on May 2nd.
Sanders and Snyder entered YAIAA play as the top seed, and showed why they were awarded a lofty starting spot. Three consecutive straight-set victories, including a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Hanover’s Charlie Zitto and Brian Corona, sent the Berm pairing into the finals. There, they were faced with bettering Biglerville’s vaunted team of Guillaume Schmitz and Sean Sneed, the second seeds.
Schmitz was fresh off a YAIAA singles tournament title and had yet to drop a set in singles play. He meshed well with Sneed, Biglerville’s No. 2 singles player, so well that the Canners posted a pair of 6-0, 6-0 triumphs to reach the semifinals. A nifty 6-0, 6-3 nod over yet another Hanover pairing set up the title clash. And also provided a chance for Sanders and Schmitz to square off, albeit in doubles action and not singles play as was expected on April 29th, the final day of the YAIAA singles tourney.
While Schmitz did his part by dropping only six games over four matches en route to the title, Sanders ran into a pesky Nighthawk issue. As in, he was tasked with taking out practically the entire Hanover lineup.
Sanders opened with a 6-1, 6-1 nod over Hanover’s Cullen Nakielny, before dropping ‘Hawk Brian Corona in a three-setter that went 7-5 in the third frame.
It was another three-set battle in the semis against accomplished veteran Charlie Zitto, but after winning the opener 7-6 (5), Sanders saw Zitto race to wins of 6-1, 6-1 to claim the match.
That meant a Schmitz-Sanders matchup was off the table. And on top of that, Littlestown’s Cyrus Marshall delivered a 6-4, 6-4 victory in their third-place match.
Nevertheless, Sanders regrouped with Snyder and stormed into the YAIAA finals opposite the Canner twosome. And after losing 6-4 in Set 1, the Eagles ramped up their game and took the next two sets by scores of 6-1, 7-5 to earn a league championship.
Behind Sanders and Snyder, Bermudian posted an 11-4 mark in the regular season, missing the D3 team tourney by just one spot in the power rankings. The Eagles face a challenge out of the chute on Friday in Pequea Valley’s Wade Stoltzfus and Cole Stoltzfus. Wade teamed with Jazae Itegi last year, making a run to the district finals.
Sanders and Snyder were on the same side of the bracket in 2022 but fell in their opener to a team from East Pennsboro.
Should the Eagles clear the Braves in the opening round they would likely meet Trinity’s No. 4 Jose Centernera and Silas Gross, assuming seeds hold true.
Also in the upper half of the bracket is Schmitz and Sneed, who drew East Penn’s Matea Jovic and Harris Ahmed in the opening round. With a win, the Canners could face top-seeded Freddie Bloom and Michael Georgelis of Lancaster Country Day, which captured the D3-2A team title on Wednesday.
Hanover is in the thick of things with Zitto and Corona in the bottom of the bracket and the pairing of Jared Solorzano and Nolan Chronister on the top side.
District 3 Doubles Championships
Friday – Hershey Racquet Club
Class 3A
First Round – noon
1. A. Mahaffey/T. Mahaffey (Palmyra) vs. Shank/Miller (Daniel Boone); Nicholson/Patel (Dallastown) vs. Noll/Chotner (Central Dauphin); 4. R. Shkreli/J. Shkreli (Cedar Crest) vs. Haupt/MacLennan (Central York); Wingert/Mullins (Hershey) vs. Chronister/Horn (Dallastown)
3. Sndyer/Tryanski (Exeter Twp.) vs. Chiong/Palandjian (Manheim Twp.); Schrader/Rodriguez (Reading) vs. Murugesan/Keller (Donegal); Kazi/Kluger (Cumberland Valley) vs. Winkler/Kohler (Wilson); Coonelly/Dissinger (Lower Dauphin) vs. 2. Meng/Robbins (Cedar Crest)
Class 2A
First Round — 11 a.m.
1. Bloom/Georgelis (Lancaster Country Day) vs. Perch/Randolph (Antietam); Jovic/Ahmed (East Pennsboro) vs. Guillaume Schmitz/Sean Sneed (Biglerville); W. Stoltzfus/C. Stoltzfus (Pequea Valley) vs. Parker Sanders/Eli Snyder (Bermudian Springs); Jared Solorzano/Nolan Chronister (Hanover) vs. 4. Centernera/Gross (Trinity)
3. Weigle/Clark (Lancaster Country Day) vs. Avram/Chan (Berks Catholic); Peters/Herr (Wyomissing) vs. Brian Corona/Charlie Zitto (Hanover); Nolte/Engel (Kutztown) vs. Helman/Grove (James Buchanan); Domencic/Hostetter (Annville-Cleona) vs. 2. Malik/Garcia (Conrad Weiser)
District 3 Team Championships
Class 3A
Quarterfinals
Cedar Crest 4, Wilson 0; Manheim Twp. 5, South Western 0; Dallastown 4, Lampeter-Strasburg 0; Cumberland Valley 3, Hershey 2
Semifinals
Cedar Crest 3, Manheim Twp. 1; Dallastown 3, Cumberland Valley 2
Wednesday
Third Place
Manheim Twp. 3, Cumberland Valley 2; Championship
Class 2A
Quarterfinals
Lancaster Country Day 3, Kutztown 0; Pequea Valley 3, Wyomissing 1; Conrad Weiser 4, Trinity 1; Hanover 3, Biglerville 2
Semifinals
Lanc. Country Day 4, Pequea Valley 0; Conrad Weiser 5, Hanover 0
Wednesday
Championship
Lanc. Country Day 3, Conrad Weiser 0
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