Sidney senior Evan Eliason advanced to the Section Four State Qualifiers for tennis by winning a third-place challenge singles match Wednesday at the Binghamton Tennis Center.

Eliason downed Section Four Class B third-place finisher Matt Craig of Norwich, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, to reach Friday's state qualifiers back at the BTC.

Eliason's victory came one day after losing for the first time this season as he fell, 6-0, 6-1, to Lansing's Andy Parkes during the Section Four C-D East-West Championship playoffs Tuesday at the BTC.

Eliason rebounded with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Sidney teammate Nick Meno in the East-West third-place match Tuesday to earn a spot in Wednesday's challenge round against Craig. Parkes went on to win the East-West singles title with a 6-4, 6-4 sweep of Kennan Hughes, who also plays for Lansing.

Parkes and Hughes earned automatic berths to the state qualifiers as the top two C-D finishers overall. They helped Lansing to the team title with 73 points _ four more than runner-up Seton Catholic Central. Sidney placed third with 46 points in the 20-team tournament.

Eliason and Meno maintained the top two seeds, respectively, in the Section Four Class C-D East Tournament to advance to Tuesday's East-West playoffs.

Craig made it to the challenge stage with a 7-6 (9-7), 6-1 defeat of Maine-Endwell's Aaron Weintraub in the Section Four Class B third-place match Friday at Owego.

Craig lost his B semifinal, 6-3, 6-1, on Friday to Oneonta High sophomore Emerson Kelby, who went on to beat Johnson City's Colin Corry in the championship match.

Sidney coach Loraine Flyzik said Eliason (14-1) will open the two-day state qualifiers against Class A player, meaning he will not meet Kelby (15-0) in the first round.

SECTION FOUR TOURNAMENT

B-C THIRD PLACE CHALLENGE

Results Wednesday of the Section Four B3 vs. C3 Challenge Match at the Binghamton Tennis Center.

Evan Eliason (Sidney) def. Matt Craig (Norwich), 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.

C-D EAST-WEST PLAYOFFS

Results Tuesday of the Section Four Class C-D East-West Championship playoffs at the Binghamton Tennis Center.

Team scores: 1, Lansing 73; 2, Seton Catholic Central 69; 3, Sidney 46; 4, Trumansburg 40; 5, Southern Cayuga 33; 6, Margaretville 21; 7, Greene 19; 8, Windam 16; 8, Bainbridge-Guilford 16; 10, Watkins Glen 15; 11, Thomas A. Edison 12; 11, Newark Valley 12; 11, Moravia 12; 11, Stamford 12; 11, Hunter-Tannersville 12; 16, Odessa-Montour 11; 17, Roxbury 10; 18, Union Springs 6; 19, Walton 2; 20, Hancock 1.

Singles

Championship: Andy Parkes (L) def. Keenan Hughes (L), 6-4, 6-4.

Third Place: Evan Eliason (Sid) def. Nick Meno (Sid), 6-2, 6-4.

Semifinals: Andy Parkes (L) def. Evan Eliason (Sid), 6-0, 6-1; Keenan Hughes (L) def. Nick Meno (Sid), 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles

Championship: Dan Hackford and Mike Perry (SCC) def. Dan Donovan and Alex Perela (SCC), 6-1, 6-0.

Third Place: Jonathan Sun and Nick Zarate (L) def. Dakota Marshall and George Murphy (SoCay), 6-2, 6-0.

Semifinals: Dan Hackford and Mike Perry (SCC) def. Dakota Marshall and George Murphy (SoCay), 6-4, 6-1; Dan Donavan and Alex Perela (SCC) def. Jonathan Sun and Nick Zarate (L), 6-4, 6-1.

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