BOYS TENNIS: Abington Heights starts defense of D2 Class 3A team championship

After weather-related issues forced teams to play late into the final week, the District 2 Team Tennis Championships get started Friday afternoon.

Abington Heights, the undefeated and dominant team in the Lackawanna League, defends its Class 3A crown as the No. 1 seed. The Comets (12-0) have won 12 straight tournament titles and all of their matches this season by shutout. They host No. 8 seed Scranton (2-10) at 4 p.m.

Wyoming Seminary (12-0), the reigning Class 2A champion, will host North Pocono (7-6) on Monday at 4 p.m. They had to push their quarterfinal match to next week because North Pocono reached the tournament by winning a play-in match over Lake-Lehman on Thursday.

The semifinals and finals of the tournament are on Tuesday at Kirby Park. The Class 2A semifinals are at 11:30 a.m. with the final at 2:15 p.m. The Class 3A semifinals are at 1 p.m., and the final is at 3 p.m.

In Friday’s quarterfinals, Valley View (11-4), the No. 2 seed in Class 3A, will host No. 7 Delaware Valley (3-12) on Friday at 4 p.m. No. 3 Crestwood (7-5) will host No. 6 West Scranton (3-8) at 4 p.m. Fifth-seeded Wyoming Valley West (4-8) is at No. 4 Hazleton Area (5-7) at 4 p.m.

Second-seeded Holy Cross (11-1) will open the Class 2A tournament against borough-rival Dunmore (7-4) on Friday at 4 p.m. at the University of Scranton. No. 3 Dallas (11-1) hosts sixth-seeded MMI Prep (10-4) at 3:30 p.m., and No. 5 Honesdale (12-3) will battle No. 4 Tunkhannock (11-3) at 4 p.m.

Abington Heights is the overwhelming favorite in Class 3A. The Comets’ singles lineup of Prayush Mallaiah, William Arp, and Brady Comstock is undefeated and has not lost a set all season. They defeated Scranton, 5-0, in their Lackawanna League matchup.

Valley View won four of its last five matches after falling to Abington Heights, 5-0, on April 15. The Cougars lost to Holy Cross, 3-2, on Wednesday.

Wyoming Seminary, like Abington Heights, won all 12 of its regular-season matches by shutout, including its showdown with Dallas, the No. 3 seed.

Second-seeded Holy Cross has a strong starting lineup. Alex Harrison, Ray Zhang, and Alfred Butts all have 11-1 records in singles. The Crusaders defeated Dunmore, 4-1, in their Lackawanna League matchup.

Tunkhannock earned the No. 4 seed and defeated Honesdale, 4-1, on April 24 in a nonleague match.

Singles Championships

After the dust settles at Kirby Park on Tuesday, District 2 Tennis Chair Mike Ognosky will host the seeding meeting at Dunmore High School at 7 p.m.

The District 2 Singles Championships will start with the first three rounds on Thursday. The Class 3A tournament is at Wilkes University, and the Class 2A is at Kirby Park, starting at 9 a.m.

The semifinals and finals are set for Friday at 1 p.m. at Kirby Park.

Doubles Championships

The District 2 Doubles Championships open on May 13, with the first three rounds starting at 9 a.m. Again, Class 3A will be at Wilkes University and Class 2A at Kirby Park.