Avon boys win share of division title, finish 2nd in Class M again behind Weston

NEW HAVEN, May 31 – The Avon High boys tennis team finished the season strong by winning their last five matches including a 4-3 win over Farmington on May 18 that gave the Falcons a share of their second straight CCC divisional championship.

The Falcons continued their strong play in the CIAC Class M championship but couldn’t stop the Weston juggernaut. Weston put athletes in the singles and doubles final as they won the Class M championship for the fifth straight year and brought home a state title trophy for the 16th time in the last 17 seasons.

Avon, led by Arjun Chandra-Mohanty who made it to the singles semifinal, finished second to Weston for the second straight year.

All four singles players and all three doubles teams for Avon won at least one match at the Class M championships. Chandra-Mohanty, who was seeded fourth, won three matches including a three-set win over No. 5 Nick Brennan of Tolland, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

In the semifinals, Chandra-Mohanty won the first set over No. 2 seed Sebastian Casellas of Weston but Casellas grew strong as the match went on with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

In doubles, Avon’s No. 4 seeded Jack Hogan and Evan Purcell won twice before getting eliminated in the quarterfinals by No. 5 seed Owen O’Reilly and Bobby Tremont of Joel Barlow.

Avon, under second-year head coach Vinny Costello, brought home a share of the CCC West Colonial championship along with Farmington and Glastonbury, who also went 5-2 in the division along with the Falcons (12-3, 5-2 CCC West Colonial).

CIAC Class M tournament
At New Haven
Singles
First round
Benjamin Yoo, Avon def. David Teti, Torrington 6-2, 7-5
(6) Dylan Melnick, Avon def. Chris Wutzl, Brookfield 6-2, 6-0
(4) Arjun Chandra-Mohanty, Avon def. Brendan Cisowski, Torrington 6-0, 6-0
(15) Yefim Gorodnitskiy, Avon def. Michael Wolff, Tolland 6-2, 6-1
Second Round
(16) Adam Schadt, Tolland def. Benjamin Yoo, Avon 6-0, 6-0
(6) Dylan Melnick, Avon def. Brandon Donovan, Ledyard 6-4, 6-1
(4) Arjun Chandra-Mohanty, Avon def. Sebastian Mucha, Lewis Mills 6-0, 6-0
(15) Yefim Gorodnitskiy, Avon def. Alex Hale, Wolcott 7-5, 7-5
Third Round
(11) Praneeth Ganedi, Branford def. (6) Dylan Melnick, Avon 6-3, 6-2;
(4) Arjun Chandra-Mohanty, Avon def. (13) Nathan McCracken, Ledyard 6-1, 6-1
(2) Sebastian Casellas, Weston def. (15) Yefim Gorodnitskiy, Avon 6-0, 6-0
Quarterfinals
(4) Arjun Chandra-Mohanty, Avon def. (5) Brennan Nick, Tolland 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Semifinal
(2) Sebastian Casellas, Weston def. (4) Arjun Chandra-Mohanty, Avon 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
Championship
(1) Jonathon Trevethan, Berlin def. (2) Sebastian Casellas, Weston 6-1, 6-4

DOUBLES
First round
(4) John (Jack) Hogan/Evan Purcell, Avon, BYE
(6) Dylan Karp/Ian Stapleton, Avon, BYE
Tej Raman/Mahendra Vadlamudi, Avon def. Kenny Blick/Gregory Iapaluccio, Brookfield 6-4, 2-6. 10-7
Second Round
(4) John (Jack) Hogan/Evan Purcell, Avon def. Nico Esposito/Sem Jans, Foran 6-0, 6-1
(6) Dylan Karp/Ian Stapleton, Avon def. Brandon Donastorg/Sebastien Jean Michel, New London 6-0, 6-1
Adarsh Rao Makarla/Aditya Rao Makarla, Bethel def. Tej Raman/Mahendra Vadlamudi, Avon 7-5, 3-6, 10-7
Third Round 
(4) John (Jack) Hogan/Evan Purcell, Avon def. William Lonergan/Brit Wallman, Brookfield 6-4, 6-2
Christopher Charette/Trevor Hutchins, Ledyard def. (6) Dylan Karp/Ian Stapleton, Avon 6-3, 6-1
Quarterfinals
(5) Owen O’Reilly/Bobby Tremont, Joel Barlow def. (4) John (Jack) Hogan/Evan Purcell, Avon 6-1, 7-5

Finals: (2) Alex Klein Wassink/Adam Ortiz, Joel Barlow def. (1) Reid Brostoff/Steven Dampf, Weston 6-2, 6-4