Sissons, Schilke assist Fillmore in sweeping singles matches to power up 4-1 home victory over Wellsville at Houghton College

HOUGHTON — With every contest on the slate held off for a second straight day due to some late snow from Mother Nature, it didn’t stop one tennis match from marching forward. From the courts inside Houghton College, the Eagles of Fillmore did battle with defending Sectional champion Wellsville in their first of two meetings this season.

As the back-and-forth play raged on, the host Eagles found their edge from within the singles division. As a result, they managed to collect a sweep of all three matches to set up shop for what was their victory in their return from Spring Break, rolling past the Lions with a 4-1 home victory — a win that snaps a four-match slide that spans across two seasons entering Tuesday night.

“We’ve lost four straight over the last two years to Wellsville, so it was nice to flip the script,” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “All three singles players played really well, but it was especially nice to see Isaiah Sisson get his first Varsity win tonight. Noah (Strickland) and Layton (Sanasith) are really settling in as a doubles team themselves, and they played very well.”

Carter Sisson, Eben Schilke and Isaiah Sisson all led the singles matches for the Eagles (2-0) with a victory each, with Isaiah Sisson recording his first Varsity win in near-sweeping fashion with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Wellsville’s Joel Janssen at third singles. Schilke added in a dominant second singles win of his own by a 6-1, 6-1 count over Hua Qui Zhang, while Carter Sisson defeated Matt Bittel (6-2, 6-3) at first singles.

The victory was wrapped up by the second doubles team of Layton Sanasith and Noah Strickland, as they scored a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Wellsville’s Keaton Sharpe and Mohamed Ahmed.

The Lions (1-2) captured just one win from their first doubles team of Adam Iantorno and Ryan Haggerty, as they nearly took Fillmore’s Henry Decker and Joe Derck the distance in both sets, scoring the lengthy 6-4, 6-4 win. Wellsville returns to the court back on the road today, if weather permits, with a 5 p.m. first serve at Avoca/Prattsburgh.

Fillmore will look for their third straight victory to start the season on Thursday, as they hit the road themselves to visit Genesee Valley/Belfast in a 5 p.m. contest of their own.

Singles

1. Carter Sisson (FIL) def. Matt Bittel (WLSV), 6-2, 6-3.

2. Eben Schilke (FIL) def. Hua Qui Zhang (WLSV), 6-1, 6-1.

3. Isaiah Sisson (FIL) def. Joel Janssen (WLSV), 6-0, 6-1.

Doubles

1. Adam Iantorno/Ryan Haggerty (WLSV) def. Henry Decker/Joe Derck (FIL), 6-4, 6-4.

2. Layton Sanasith/Noah Strickland (FIL) def. Keaton Sharpe/Mohamed Ahmed (WLSV), 6-1, 6-2.