Six top zone players are keen to play hard in Hershey – The Morning Call

This weekend, six of the top 11 tennis players will head to the Hershey Rocket Club for the PIAA singles and doubles championships.

Two singles players and a pair of paired teams will represent the district when the first round kicks off on Friday morning.

Single players Deven Pandi from Saucon Valley and Noah Potts from Freedom will compete in Classes 2A and 3A respectively. Arman McVanna-Anthony Barchinsky of Bethlehem Catholic (2A) and Dan Zalatarov-Fedor D’Souza of Parkland (3A) play in the doubles.

The 3A players seem to have a harder time getting to the state medal as they again played a draw with opponents in District 1 in the first round. Although Potts and Goldsmiths-D’Souza are playing with fourth places outside of District 1, they understand that tough fights await them.

Last week, District 1 claimed both places in the PIAA finals, and Lower Marion beat Conesto for the title.

In 2A Pandey and Makwana-Barczynski must succeed, as constituency 11 is historically superior to constituency 9.

Here’s an inside look at local players and their state matches:

Daven Pandi, Saucon Valley freshman: First appearance in Hershey

Road to Hershey: Champion in the singles 11 class 2A. Won three fights in a row before beating Armand McVanu of Bethlehem Catholic in a three-set thriller.

Opponent in the first round: Ben Giglioti (Punksaton Sr., District 9 Champion)

Match time: Friday noon

Noah Potts, Junior Freedom: Second appearance in Hershey

Road to Hershey: Champion of the district 11 class 3A in singles. Won all four matches in sets. In the last three matches combined, there have been only five setbacks, including a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Dan Zalotarev of Parkland.

Opponent in the first round: Brian I (Lower Marion, Co., District 1, Fourth Place)

Match time: 8 a.m. Friday

Armand McVanna-Anthony Barchinsky, Catholic of Bethlehem Jr. and Senior: First appearance in Hershey

Road to Hershey: Champions of the district 11 class 2A in doubles. “Golden Hawk” did not work all four opponents. Beat numbers № 2 and № 1, giving up just nine games in four sets.

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Opponent in the first round: Anthony Messineo-Cameron Klebacha (Elk County Catholic, Juniors, District 9 Champions)

Match time: 14:00 Friday

Dan Zolotarev-Fedor D’Souza, Parkland Senior: First appearance in Hershey

Road to Hershey: Champions of the district 11 class 3A in doubles. Aside from the fall of the first set of the semifinals, the Trojans were dominant. A 6-2, 6-3 win over Shayan of Liberty and Roman Farhad catapulted Parkland’s senior club to the states.

Opponent in the first round: Stoyan Angelov-Adam Lee (Lower Marion, juniors, district 1 fourth place)

Match time: 10 a.m. Friday

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