State College boys’ tennis finishes 3rd at own invitational

The Little Lions’ Fernando del Castillo earned a championship in the third singles at the State College Tennis Invitational on Saturday, but it wasn’t quite enough for the State College boys’ tennis team to capture the team title.

The Little Lions finished third in a competitive four-team field. Lower Merion — which won the last two state titles — came in first (12), followed by Dallastown (10), State College (8) and Wyoming Seminary (0).

“This was an excellent tournament, and our guys got to compete with some of the best in the state,” coach Jane Borden said. “All in all, this was a wonderful experience for our guys.”

Every State College player won at least one match Saturday: Nick Vanden and Matt Wherley both lost their singles matches to Lower Merion but won their other matches. The two doubles teams — of Aleef Mannon-Jack Craig and Garrett Schoonmaker-Ronit Patel — also both defeated Wyoming Seminary.

The Little Lions will next take on Carlisle on the road at 4 p.m. Monday.

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 11:34 PM with the headline "State College boys’ tennis finishes 3rd at own invitational."