Barrett competes at NYSPHSAA tennis finals

By PhIl BlACkwEll

A superb season for Liverpool boys tennis star Justin Barrett culminated with him traveling to New York City to compete at the annual home of the U.S. Open.

Like it does each June, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships take place at the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, and Barrett was one of three Section III singles players in the field.

He earned that spot by winning his most important match of the season – the consolation final of the Section III state qualifier that took place a week earlier.

Barrett entered that tournament as the no. 5 seed, and met Cicero-North Syracuse’s Wyatt Dupell in the round of 16, winning that match in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 before a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal win over Cazenovia’s Traian Cherciu.

A win in the semifinal against the top seed, Cooperstown’s Gunter Weldon, would guarantee a state tournament spot, but Weldon pre- vailed, meaning it all hinged on the third-place match.

Against Fayetteville-Manlius’ top singles player, Cameron Lukasik, Barrett won the first set 6-3 and then rolled through the second set 6-1 to join Weldon and Jamesville-DeWitt’s Mark Bratslavsky in the sectional contingent.

Dupell’s C-NS teammate, Brady Petranchuk, lost his opening-round match to Sauquoit Valley’s Quincy Slayton. Just one game from victory, Petranchuk could not earn it and fell 6-7 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 to Slayton, who lost in the next round to Weldon.

In the doubles state qualifier, C-NS’s duo of Kell and Matt Jordan won their first match

6-4, 6-1 over New Hartford’s Ken Kowalczyk and Arda Sencicek, but lost in the quarterfinals

6-3, 6-0 to Oneida’s Andrew Hicks and Spencer Ingmire.

When Barrett went to the state tournament, he was ousted in the first round 6-1, 6-0 by Goshen’s Braeden Gelletich, with Weldon and Bratslavsky also losing their opening-round matches in straight sets.