MASON — The final day of the state high school boys tennis tournament turned out to be a showcase for central Ohio talent.
On May 26 at Lindner Family Tennis Center, Wellington’s Connor Biernat and Griffin Biernat won the Division II doubles championship and New Albany’s Robert Cash won the Division I singles title.
In addition, New Albany’s Nathan Jose and Devin Boyer beat St. Charles’ Jack Dabek and Reese Yakubov 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the Division I doubles final. The match began at Lindner Family Tennis Center, but bad weather forced it to be moved to Five Seasons Family Sports Club in Cincinnati shortly after the start of the third set.
Cash defeated Mason’s Niraj Komatineni 6-3, 6-1 to win his first state title after placing third in doubles with Jose in 2016 and finishing fourth in singles last season.
“It’s definitely a great feeling to finally bring home a state title,” Cash said. “I was just staying smart throughout every single point.”
The Biernat brothers beat Cincinnati Indian Hill’s Maanas Pisati and Mack Ellis 6-2, 6-3 to win their championship.
Videos•New Albany's Robert Cash
•Wellington's Connor Biernat and Griffin Biernat
•New Albany's Nathan Jose and Devin Boyer
Both Wellington and New Albany are preparing for the state team tournament May 27 at Reynoldsburg.
“It feels good to finally get the job done,” said Connor Biernat, a four-time state qualifier who was state runner-up in singles in 2016. “(Being here in the past) definitely helped me out with nerves.”
Dabek and Yakubov were two points away from beating Jose and Boyer, but the New Albany duo rallied from a 5-2 deficit to win the second set 7-5 and force a third set.
Jose had placed fourth in doubles last season with 2017 graduate Graeme Green.
“It’s amazing,” Jose said. “This is what we’ve been working towards.”
Also competing on the second day of the state tournament were Wellington’s Trevor Ball, who placed second in Division II singles, and Olentangy’s Stu Brdicka, who placed fourth in Division I singles.
Ball beat Dayton Miami Valley’s Colton Morehart 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in a semifinal before losing to Indian Hill’s Andrew Pregel 6-0, 6-0 in the final, while Brdicka lost to Komatineni 6-3, 6-2 in a semifinal before falling to Canfield’s Tim Cianciola 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the consolation match.
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