Yellow Jacket tennis team finishes third in LCL tournament

The Mount Vernon boys tennis team finished in a tie for third place in the Licking County League tournament, held May 2 at Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s Ramser Courts.

Watkins Memorial won the tournament, winning four of the five championships available. Granville was second with Mount Vernon and Newark tying for third. Zanesville came in fifth.

The Yellow Jackets were led by Griffin Beach, who finished in second place at second singles. The first doubles’ team of Liam McCarty and Elijah Weatherby came in third.

Beach won his first match, an exhausting 6-5 (12-10) decision over Newark. He then beat Zanesville’s No. 2 player, 6-1, before falling to Watkins Memorial, 6-1, to finish in second.

McCarty and Weatherby won their first two matches – 6-0 over Zanesville and 6-2 over Newark. But, they fell to Granville, 6-2, and Watkins, 6-1, to place third.

Both of the other MV singles’ players came in fourth in their divisions.

Mason Tocheff lost to Granville, 6-0; Newark, 6-5 (10-8); and Watkins, 6-0.

Jackson Sigman lost his first two matches at third singles – 6-4 to Granville and 6-2 to Watkins. He bounced back to beat Zanesville, 6-0, and finish fourth.

The second doubles’ team of Ben Henricksen and Dyson Moore also finished fourth, beating Zanesville, 6-0; before falling to Granville (6-0), Newark (6-1) and Watkins (6-0).

Following the tournament, Tocheff was announced as the winner of the sportsmanship medal for Mount Vernon.

The Jackets will begin play in the Div. I sectionals on May 12 at Upper Arlington High School. In the first match, Tocheff will play Avi White of Whetstone, McCarty will take on Amish Pairu of Dublin Jerome, and Weatherby will play Emerson Rayo of Whetstone in singles’ action.

In doubles, Beach and Sigman will team up and play Simon Cardello-Heathcock and Finley Oswalt of Whetstone, and Henricksen and Cole Smith will face off against Paul Sterenberg and Jacob Lee of Worthington Kilbourne.