Bernstine, Peskin end high school careers as state champs

ROBBY FLETCHER Sports Editor

In an appropriately storybook fashion, the high school tennis careers of Evan Bernstine and Alex Peskin ended in glory.

The two Goochland seniors went to Virginia Tech’s BurrowsBurleson Tennis Center one last time to compete in the Class 3 state tournament, where Bernstine achieved perfection with his third consecutive singles state title and worked alongside Peskin to win the doubles title.

Bernstine’s singles record in high school ends at a perfect 49-0, with his last victim being Christiansburg’s Lucas Beasley in the singles finals. Beasley won two games off of Bernstine in the first set, but the game was largely in Bernstine’s control throughout, as he swept the second set to win his third state crown 6-2, 6-0.

In the singles semifinals, Ber- nstine was just as efficient, controlling the match against Wilson Memorial’s Conner Miller with sets of 6-0, 6-1.

In the doubles tournament, Peskin and Bernstine had their work cut out for them, first taking on Monticello duo Luca Bonfigli and Jonathan Belmares. It was a well-acquainted matchup, with the pairings facing off against each other twice this season already. Last year, Bernstine also faced Bonfigli in the state final, which he won in a 6-4, 6-2 finish. The familiar matchup proved an exciting one, with both teams exhibiting familiarity with each other’s styles and trading games back and forth as a result.

Bernstine and Peskin pulled out a close 7-5 win in the first set, just holding off a talented Monticello pairing, but while Bonfigli and Belmares earned a few wins in the second set, Bernstine and Peskin took over, closing out the set 6-3 to advance to the finals for the first time together.

Against Christiansburg players Lucas Beasley and Ian Rasor, it was a similarly competitive opening set. The Goochland duo again needed an additional seventh win to take the first set, battling down to the wire and pulling off a second 7-5 victory in two days. Much like in the semifinals, the Bulldogs simply got better as the game wore on, giving up just one game and controlling the rest of the match to take a 6-1 set and the doubles championship.

Both Bernstine and Peskin said before the tournament that this would be their last run of competitive tennis for the foreseeable future. Now entering the summer as 2023 state champions, they can enjoy one last view from the mountaintop before heading off to college next fall.