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Cathedral Preps Gavin Ferretti was aware of his family’s tennis history before Monday’s District 10 Class 2A boys singles final.
Ferretti is the cousin of Alec Thomas, who became the PIAA Small Schools Doubles Champion a week before he graduated from Prep in 2018.
Spring scoreboard: District 10 baseball, softball, tennis, track, more results May 8-13
Tara Thomas, a Villa Maria graduate and Alecs’ younger sister, won an unprecedented three consecutive state 2A girls doubles tournaments (2017-19) with Sarah DeMarco.
The late Robert Ferretti, grandfather of Gavins Ferrettis, also coached the Strong Vincents boys tennis program in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Now, thanks to Monday’s victory at the Westwood Racquet Club, Gavin Ferretti has added to his ancestral lineage in the sport. He became the second straight Preps freshman to win a district 2A singles title with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Warren senior Logan Fincher.
Aaron Heinlein was Monday’s other district gold medalist. The McDowell senior, for the third and final time, finished first in Class 3A with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of teammate Krish Jain.
First year Rambler once again
Ferretti, despite her freshman status, said she’s confident she can at least win her way into Monday’s 2A final. There, he expected to take on rising sophomore Jonah Ng, the defending champion.
However, that was before Ng and senior Hayden Hutchinson decided to skip district singles and enter Wednesday’s 2A doubles tournament. That significantly led to a singles tie last Saturday, with all but the championship matches played in Westwood.
The coaches placed Ferretti and Fincher second.
Ferretti said he was nervous about Saturday’s action, but also that such feelings subsided as the game progressed.
“I’ve always wanted to win this (tournament),” Ferretti said, so it feels good to win it in the first year. And play it well too. I thought the (Monday) match could have gone either way, so I’m glad I came out on top.
Ferretti denied Fincher a chance to become the Warrens’ first 2A singles titleholder since Nate Sandberg in 2015. The former all-district singles player helped the Dragons finish first in the District 1 rankings.
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Heinlein continues his tennis career
Heinleins’ loss to Jain completed a career, albeit abbreviated, run at the District 3A singles tournament.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the PIAA to cancel the entire spring sports season, which included Heinleins freshman season as a Trojan.
Heinlein made peace with that long before Monday.
My first goal in ninth grade was to win at least one (of these tournaments),” he said. Winning this thing three times is really special.
Heinleins most recent district title was also his first with his father as McDowells boys tennis coach. Andy Heinlein took over for the Trojans after Richard Becks retired after 54 seasons.
Heinlein also won his final district singles tournament less than a week after officially announcing the hell out of his tennis career at Franciscan University. The private school in Steubenville, Ohio, joined the Presidents Athletic Conference as a full-time member for the 2020-21 school year.
I’m strong in my faith, so that was a really important part of (the selection process) for college,” Heinlein said. I met their tennis coach (Scott Greve) and loved the atmosphere, so going there is awesome.
What’s next for the winners
As in previous seasons, the District 2A singles winner advanced to the PIAA tournament. This two-day meet will take place over Memorial Day weekend at the Hershey Racquet Club.
Deven Pandey is the Ferrettis first opponent. The Saucon Valley sophomore won the District 11s tournament on April 25.
Unlike previous seasons, the District 3A winner must defeat the top seed in District 8 to travel to states.
Heinlein will face Obama Academy’s Aavin Mangalmurei on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. Their opening match is scheduled at the Lakevue Athletic Club in Valencia, Butler County.
From there, that winner will lift the District 7 second seed in Hershey.
D-10 singles results
Championship matches in the district 10 boys’ doubles tennis tournament at Westwood Racquet Club:
Class 2A
No. 1 Gavin Ferretti (Cathedral Prep) def. No. 2 Logan Fincher (Warren) 6-1, 6-1
Class 3A
No. 1 Aaron Heinlein (McDowell) def. Krish Jain (McDowell) 6-0, 6-0
Contact Mike Copper at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
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