BEACHWOOD—Orange dominated the 2023 Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division boys’ tennis tournament at Beachwood High School on Saturday.
The Lions were anchored by defending Division II state champion Ben Pomeranets, who won at first singles, but they also clinched individual titles in second singles, third singles, first doubles, and second doubles.
Pomeranets defeated Hawken’s Axel Neely in the finals, 6-0, 6-0.
“Big win over Axel,” Pomeranets said. “He is not an easy opponent. He’s got good hands; he’s a talented player. I was happy with the level I brought today; scrapped out some tough games and was able to get it done.”
Orange’s Krish Mehra won in second singles.
He defeated Beachwood’s Adam Ritzenberg in the championship match, 6-1, 6-4.
“Today, I played against some great players,” Mehra said. “One from Hawken, one from Beachwood; they both gave a great fight, but I am happy to win the matches today. The finals match, I won the first match. The second set, I lost my focus a little bit, after having a couple match points, but I put it away at the end. It feels great (to be a CVC champ).”
Ishan Bhatt claimed the third singles tournament with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Hawken’s Luka Simpfendorfer.
The Lions continued their dominance into the doubles matches.
Chika Nwaozuzu and Gabi Kalir teamed up to win at first singles.
They defeated Hawken’s Berend Dietrich and Zach Forte in the championship match, 6-0, 6-1.
Ace Bloom and Gabe Guiler topped Hawken’s Rohan Desai and Ashwin Balakrishnan in the final match, 6-3, 6-1.
“I love this tournament,” Bloom said. “This is my third year in a row getting first-team All-CVC. We played good, we played our hearts out. We took care of business.”
Guiler cruised to a win in his first CVC tournament.
“This is my first time playing (here),” he said. “It’s an honor to win the title. We played great; still a little bit of room for improvement, and we’re going to be ready at sectionals.”
