Canfield and Howland tennis players eliminated in district tourney

Staff report

OBERLIN

The area’s Division I boys tennis representatives at the district championship met with an early exit in the tournament played at Oberlin College.

In singles, Canfield’s Ryan Sankovic lost to David Gabriel of Shaker Heights, 6-1, 6-2, in a first-round match.

Sankovic was a No. 2 seed from the Canton sectional, while Gabriel was a No. 3 seed from the Brush sectional.

The loss eliminated Sankovic from the tournament.

Gabriel then lost to Ethan Dunbar of Cloverleaf, 6-1, 6-2.

The top six finishers in singles and doubles will advance to the state tournament.

Still alive for the singles championship are Colton Buffington of Westlake, Nolan Marks of Kenston, Dunbar and Tommy Marx of Shaker Heights.

In doubles, Howland’s Matt Madgar and Faisal Mangalji, the No. 4 seed from the Canton sectional, lost to Geneva’s Kyle O’Dell and Jake McMahan, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. O’Dell and McMahan then lost to Evan Schrode and Zach Singerman of Solon, 6-3, 6-1.

Also advancing to the semifinals were Garrett Cona and Matt Spittler of Waksh Jesuit, Patrick Ohanian and Steven Boslet of Hudson, and Andrew Branstetter and Liam O’Brien of Solon.

In Division II, Michael Fredericka of Warren JFK plays Saturday in the championship semifinals, while Ben Brocker of Poland remains alive in the consolation semifinals.

In doubles, Lakeview’s Matt and Zach McDivitt will play in the consolation semifinals.