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Doubles final will determine if Avon claims a fourth straight state championship

Tennis graphicNEW HAVEN – The Avon High boys tennis team quest for a fourth straight Class M championship is still alive. With just the championship match in singles and doubles remaining, Avon trails Guilford by just one point, 20-19. 

The doubles team of Mike Arciero and Mike Thramann will take on top-seeded Luke Lemieux and Matthew Murphy of Guilford in the doubles final on Wednesday at Yale University in New Haven at 4 p.m. The winner of the match will give their respective team the state championship. 

Avon has won the last three Class M titles. A year ago, they outlasted Guilford by two points, 20-18, in the tightest of the three championship runs. 

Arciero and Thramann are the No. 3 seeded team in the tournament and have won four straight matches including a hard-fought three-set victory in the quarterfinals over No. 2 seed Joseph Boughton and Niall Kneerim of Brookfield, 6-7 (3-6), 7-6 (8-6), 6-2. 

Arciero and Thramann have received plenty of help from their Falcon teammates. Doubles teammates Andre Wang/Chris Haynes and Austin Chen/Alex Herz each won a pair of matches. 

In singles, Riley Van Dusen went 1-1 while No. 4 seed John Burdick and No. 7 seed Eric Selzer each went 3-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Burdick dropped only three games in his first three victories. In a quarterfinal loss to No. 5 Evan Powell of Guilford, Burdick was beaten in a tiebreaker in the first set and was dispatched in the second set, 7-6 (6-3), 6-2. 

Selzer had a tough start but outlasted Stratford’s Alex Masi in the first round, 7-5, 6-2 before rolling to a pair of wins. Berlin’s Dan Rombola, the No. 2 seed, beat Selzer in the quarterfinal, 6-2, 6-1. 

At the Class S championship meet, Canton’s Eric Scott won two matches in singles before losing to No. 5 seed Oscar Morris of Weston. The doubles team of Jonas Real and Jon Smith also won a match for the Warriors. 

Granby’s Chandler Libby advanced to the finals for the third straight year and will try to win his third Class S championship. Weston has clinched the Class S title with 22 points with East Catholic taking second with 21 points. Old Saybrook is currently third with 15 points with Granby fourth with 14 points.

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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