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Canfield tennis team stays perfect with rout of unbeaten Howland
Canfield stays perfect with
rout of unbeaten Howland
By Greg Gulas
CANFIELD
Since assuming the reins of the Canfield boys tennis program from the late Larry Davis, head coach Pat Pavlansky has guided the Cardinals to four consecutive All-American Conference championships.
After Thursday’s 5-0 shutout of previously unbeaten Howland, the undefeated Cardinals (4-0, 4-0 AAC) are making their case for a fifth straight crown.
Sirin Nalluri won his third straight No. 1 singles match while Noah Zoldan (No. 2) and Ryan Klika (No. 3) improved to 4-0 to pace Canfield.
Nalluri defeated Michael Awadalla 6-0, 6-1 and after the match said that his net game was deficient, which cost him in the team’s season opener against Warren Harding. It’s been the part of his game on which he has concentrated most ever since.
“I’m working on my net game and it’s definitely getting better,” Nalluri said. “I started slow in that first match, played better in the second set but made entirely too many net errors. I continue to work on that area and today felt like I played much better.
“Michael is a heavy ground stroke player, so I wanted to move him around. Whenever I got the short balls, I made sure to finish the point because he’s an excellent defensive player.”
Zoldan, who played doubles last year when the Cardinals finished third at state, finished off the Tigers’ Hunter Slyk, 6-0, 6-1.
“I practice both singles and doubles, but the key for me during these first four matches is moving my feet really well, having a good net game and good technique,” Zoldan said. “The game plan today was to get my first serve in, stay consistent and keep my ball in play. I wanted to move him around.”
Klika, a freshman playing his first varsity season, stopped Greg Moosally 7-6 (9-7) and 6-1.
“He [Moosally] was tough with a nice serve and good volleys,” he said. “The goal was to keep the ball moving. This was a nice win for us and will only make us better as a team.”
Pavlansky said his team is vastly improved over the past month.
“We’re getting better each time out and we’re so much better than we were when we first started practicing,” Pavlansky said. “For some of our players, this is just their third or fourth varsity match so it’s really fun to see that growth.”
In No. 1 doubles, Canfield’s Reilly Todd and Jimmy DeLisio combined for a 6-2, 6-2 win over the Tigers’ Joey Vitali and Sam Tamarkin.
“This is our first time playing together so the key has been communication,” Todd said. “We’re able to read each other and I am able to set Jimmy up for certain points. It’s like I know in advance what he is going to do.”
DeLisio said he and Todd have developed a chemistry in a short period of time and have worked hard to be 4-0 after their first four matches.
“They were the best doubles team we’ve played so far,” he added. “We just need to keep the momentum going.”
At No. 2 doubles, Canfield’s Jaden Jaffer and Blake McMurray completed the sweep with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-6) win over Howland’s Gavin Walls and David Pascale.
“We always hit together in practice and that gets us ready for our match,” Jaffer stated. “We were really pushed in the second set.”
Despite their youth — Jaffer is a freshman and McMurray a sophomore — the pair was anything but nervous.
“We had good rallies and shot placement the entire match,” McMurray said.
Howland head coach Jerry Young said his team gained valuable experience playing the Cardinals, despite the loss. Howland is now 6-1 and 3-1.
“Anytime you play a team that will challenge you, you’re going to get better,” Young said. “We’re constantly developing as a team and today helped us prepare for our sectionals, which will be held in Solon the second week in May.
“I don’t look at this as a loss, I look at it as a learning experience.”