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Walsh Waitkus announces Luzerne County Council run

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WVC softball: Wyoming Seminary defeats Lake-Lehman to avenge only divisional loss

WILKES-BARRE &#8211; Wyoming Seminary fought off Dallas comebacks at first singles and first doubles Tuesday afternoon to capture the District 2 Class 2A boys tennis team championship with a 3-1 victory at Kirby Park.Minutes after Will Ziegler locked up his singles victory by taking the last two games of the second set, Jake Shoemaker and Wolfgang Frable finished off the defending champions with a three-set win at first doubles.The Blue Knights, undefeated WVC champions and the tournament&#8217;s top seed, got off to a fast start against the second-seeded Mountaineers, who gave them their toughest match of the regular season.Dallas seized momentum behind an inspiring rally by first doubles team Dan Flynn-Dan Dudick and a tough second-set battle by top singles player John Toussaint.After an hour and 45 minutes of competition, Shoemaker hit the winning shot that clinched the district title.With the district title decided, the final match &#8211; in which Dallas was ahead &#8211; was not completed, making the official final score a larger margin than the match that decided the WVC title. The Mountaineers, however, put up every bit as strong a challenge.&#8220;It was a little longer match against John and more competitive this time around,&#8221; Ziegler said. &#8220;It was a good match.&#8221;With Ziegler also up a set, Shoemaker-Frable were the verge of giving Wyoming Seminary a 2-1 team lead when they took a 5-0 lead in the second set.Flynn-Dudick, however, repeatedly fought off match points, won five straight games and came back to take the second set in a tiebreaker.&#8220;I was a little nervous when they lost that second set,&#8221; said Ziegler, who was doing his best to keep concentration on his own match.That match got tighter when Toussaint won two straight games after being down 5-3 in the second set.Ziegler won the final game in four straight points on his serve to complete a 6-3, 7-5 victory.Shoemaker-Frable, who switched sides of the court at the suggestion of coach Allison Joanlanne for the third set, settled themselves and won 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 to end the team match.&#8220;It was very dramatic because they were up 5-0 in that second set after winning the first 6-1,&#8221; Joanlanne said. &#8220;They just got a little tight.&#8221;Wyoming Seminary had shut out every Pennsylvania opponent other than Dallas in the regular season. The Blue Knights got through last week&#8217;s quarterfinal 4-1 over Dunmore, then won Tuesday morning&#8217;s semifinal 3-0 over Holy Cross.Advancing to the May 14 first round of the PIAA team tournament was not easy.Frable and second doubles team member Ferdi Leube are each in their first year of competitive team tennis and, therefore, playing in their biggest matches.&#8220;It&#8217;s always tough because some of our matches were not close and they did not have that experience of a close match,&#8221; Joanlanne said. &#8220;I had so many guys on the team throughout the season. They all kind of switched around and played with different partners during the season.&#8220;They were very even, so they didn&#8217;t really get in the groove of playing with the same person all the time.&#8221;Dallas coach Joe Pugliese credited one of Joanlanne&#8217;s lineup changes, a switch of the first doubles combination, with getting Wyoming Seminary a point it had lost in the conference meeting.Dom Rizzo gave Dallas its only point with a straight-set win at third singles to offset an early Wyoming Seminary point from Leube and Keefer Wu at second doubles.&#8220;I&#8217;m extremely thrilled with how well they played,&#8221; Pugliese said of his team. &#8220;The number-(one) doubles was fantastic, the way they came back from behind down 5-0 to extend their match.&#8221;Dallas got past Valley View 3-0 by sweeping singles in the semifinals.Williamsport won the District 2/4 Class 3A Subregional title in Tuesday&#8217;s other matches at Kirby Park.The Millionaires defeated Scranton in the semifinals and Abington Heights in the finals, both by 3-0 scores, without losing a set.Abington Heights and Scranton will play May 14 for the District 2 team championship, but Williamsport claimed the subregional&#8217;s only berth in the state Class 3A tournament.Lackawanna League champion Abington Heights beat Delaware Valley 3-1 in Tuesday&#8217;s other semifinal.DISTRICT 2 CLASS 2A BOYS TENNISTeam SemifinalsWyoming Seminary 3, Holy Cross 0Singles: Will Ziegler (WS) over Logan Gregory, 6-3, 6-2; John Lennon (HC) led Jerry Tang, 6-2, 0-5; Ryan Heuster (HC) led Rounak Lele, 6-4, 2-3.Doubles: Jake Shoemaker-Wolfgang Frable (WS) over Joey Liuzzo-Sang Nguyen, 6-1, 6-0; Ferdi Leube-Keefer Wu (WS) over Dom Arnie-Thomas Parise, 6-4, 6-2.Dallas 3, Valley View 0Singles: John Toussaint (D) over Carlo Possanza, 6-0, 6-3; Alex DeRome (D) over Ryan Carotto, 6-0, 6-1; Dom Rizzo (D) over Kevin Duffy, 6-1, 6-1.Doubles: Dan Flynn-Danny Dudick (D) led Aaron Harrison-Franco Pazzaglia, 7-6 (11-9), 3-2; Robbie Lauer-Caleb Waslick (D) led Bradley Good-Tony Ferrari, 7-5, 6-5.Team FinalWyoming Seminary 3, Dallas 1Singles: Will Ziegler (WS) over John Toussaint, 6-3, 7-5; Alex DeRome (D) led Jerry Tang, 7-5, 3-3; Dom Rizzo (D) over Rounak Lele, 6-0, 6-2.Doubles: Jake Shoemaker-Wolfgang Frable (WS) over Dan Flynn-Danny Dudick, 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3; Ferdi Leube-Keefer Wu (WS) over Robbie Lauer-Caleb Waslick, 6-3, 6-0.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary coach Allison Joanlanne awards a District 2 championship medal to Will Ziegler on Tuesday at Kirby Park. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_IMG_9493.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Seminary coach Allison Joanlanne awards a District 2 championship medal to Will Ziegler on Tuesday at Kirby Park. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tom Robinson | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom RobinsonFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div>

District 2 tennis: Wyoming Seminary holds off Dallas challenge for 2A title