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Lakeview, Irish dominate at sectional tennis

BOARDMAN — There were plenty of blue and green swirling around the Boardman High School tennis courts on­ Saturday morning.

The color scheme wasn’t by accident.

Neither was Jake McDivitt’s Division II Boardman Sectional boys tennis singles win. It was the second time in three years Lakeview has laid claim to a sectional champion.

Zach Teffner, who now plays at Mount Union University, won the sectional singles title in 2016 as a Lakeview senior.

Ursuline’s Sean O’Connor and Luke Tsudis beat the Irish’s other doubles team of Gavin Blacksher and Josh Khavari in the doubles sectional final, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

There’s the blue and green.

McDivitt was one of five Lakeview players vying for seeding for Friday’s Division II Akron District at the Springside Racquet & Fitness Club.

“It is the most players we’ve ever sent to districts as a team,” said second-year Lakeview coach Zach McDivitt, who had his fair share of district titles with the Bulldogs before leaving for Otterbein University.

That accounts for most of the color blue.

Jake McDivitt beat defending sectional champion Greg Morgione of Ursuline in the semifinals, 7-6 (2), 6-4. The two battled for the 2017 sectional title.

McDivitt, who was a second-seeded sectional player this year and last year, then pushed past Ursuline’s Austin Arfaras for this year’s title, 6-4, 6-2.

John F. Kennedy’s Armand Nannicola, who also dons blue and white colors like Lakeview, beat Morgione for the third-place match, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

The Eagles singles player appreciated Saturday’s competition.

“They’re all great players,” Nannicola said. “Having them as good as they are helps prepare you for districts.”

Those four singles players are seeded for districts by Saturday’s finishes. McDivitt goes in as a No. 1-seeded player, while Arfaras, Nannicola and Morgione are two through four seeds, respectively. Those players are paired with athletes from other sectionals in northeast Ohio. For instance, a No. 1-seeded player from Boardman plays a No. 4-seeded player from another sectional, while No. 2s face No. 3s.

O’Connor and Tsudis go in as No. 1 seed, while Blacksher and Khavari are a No. 2 seed.

Lakeview’s John Silbaugh and Ryan Carnahan beat teammates Steven Pavlik and Blake Gould in the third-place match, 6-0, 6-4. Pavlik and Gould were the only unseeded sectional team to make it to district play. They are third and fourth seeds heading into Akron.

In the semifinals, O’Connor and Tsudis beat Pavlik and Gould, 6-3, 7-5, while Blacksher and Khavari defeated Silbaugh and Carnahan, 7-6, 6-3.

The Ursuline doubles were four of six representatives for the Irish playing on Saturday and heading to district play.

“We’re happy to see a lot of green out on the court today,” Ursuline coach Kent Blacksher said.

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