6:00: Morning News

Class AA/A state tennis: Charleston Catholic sweeps team titles

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With Charleston Catholic’s boys and girls tennis teams qualifying to play for Class AA/A titles, Irish coach David Sadd spent Thursday night pondering where his presence Friday would better serve both teams.

With the girls squad matched up with Logan at the CCHS courts and the boys team taking on Williamstown at the same a mile away inside the YMCA of Kanahwa Valley, it wasn’t possible for Sadd to keep a close watch on both.

“I came to the conclusion that I thought my value would be more significant with the girls,” Sadd said, “and that the girls might need a little bit of attention.”

Things couldn’t have worked out better for Sadd and the Irish.

Less than an hour after Charleston Catholic’s boys team dethroned two-time defending state champion Williamstown, the Irish got past Logan to claim a third consecutive title of their own.

With four singles and three doubles matches contested, the first team to win four matches was the champion. 

The Irish topped Williamstown in No. 1 and 2 doubles matches. Sophomores Nick Giatras and Connor Waybright combined for the victory in No. 1 doubles play and fellow sophomores Ethan Bastin and Owen Snyder claimed the win in No. 2 doubles. Although the Yellowjackets produced a point with a No. 3 doubles victory, Charleston Catholic won the first two singles matches completed, including a dominant performance from Waybright, who was victorious, 8-0. With that, the Irish secured a 4-1 victory, and Giatras did not have to finish his No. 1 singles match, nor did teammate Ben Hedges in No. 4 singles play.

“This means the world to me. We were a group of freshmen last year that came in, became state runner-up and that kind of changed our perspective like we want to win this,” Giatras said. “We came into this year more confident than ever. We trusted each other and knew we could get it done. All the hard work paid off.”

It was a different outcome for the CCHS boys program, which finished runner-up to Williamstown, albeit in a different format, at last season’s state event.

A point system was in place then, and WHS edged the Irish, 17-15.

This time around, with assistant coach Christina Centofanti present, Catholic’s boys team took home its desired hardware.

“We warmed up at 6:45 and just kind of blasted music and got pumped and got that morning feeling out of us,” said Giatras, a No. 1 singles state champion as a freshman. “We dialed in like we’re not letting them three-peat. We’re ending that. We’re too good and too mentally strong. We locked in and knew what we had to do.”

The Irish were the No. 3 seed and reached the final by first defeating Lewis County and then Winfield on Thursday. Williamstown, the top seed, got to the final with victories Thursday against Herbert Hoover in a quarterfinal and Point Pleasant in a semifinal. 

After a brief celebration inside the YMCA, the Charleston Catholic boys team made the short trip to its home venue to catch the end of the Irish girls securing a 4-2 victory over Logan.

In securing a third consecutive state championship, the Irish, a No. 7 seed, benefitted from singles victories by No. 1 player Annie Cimino and No. 4 player Claire Mullen. 

Cimino teamed with Molly Murphy for a No. 1 doubles win, while Anna Carter and Samantha Swiger joined forces to post an 8-0 victory in a No. 3 doubles match.

Logan overcame a 7-5 deficit to rally for a 9-7 win in a No. 2 doubles match in addition to producing a victory in No. 3 singles play.

Mullen’s singles victory wrapped up the team title for CCHS.

“[No. 2 player] Emilie McNeil was down 4-1, and I said, ‘Do I need to stay or not? If not, I have to try and go get Claire through this match,’” Sadd said. “She said, ‘Go with Claire, she’s going to need you.’ So I spent pretty much the rest of the match with Claire.”

CCHS slipped by No. 2 Chapmanville 4-3 in a quarterfinal Thursday, before defeating No. 3 North Marion in a semifinal. Logan, a No. 5 seed, opened play at states with a win over Oak Glen, before gettin by top seed Williamstown in a semifinal.

For Mullen, Cimino, Murphy and Swiger, this weekend marks the end of standout prep tennis careers. 

“I’m so lucky to have these girls. I have girls that practice every day and they come to these courts to work,” Sadd said. “They like being here and they like to practice. It makes a difference. I have soccer players, basketball players, volleyball players and a world class equestrian, and they come to play tennis for a two and-a-half months and make it a lot of fun for me. I need them way more than they need me.”





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