Wyomissing’s Fick rolls through District 3 tennis opening rounds

HERSHEY >> If Wyomissing’s Andre Fick is feeling any pressure as the defending District 3 and PIAA champion in Class AA, he’s not showing it. Or, really, giving the thought much consideration.

No. 1-seed Fick rolled through Saturday’s first two rounds of the district singles tournament at Hershey Racquet Club to reach Monday’s semifinals. The Wyomissing senior ousted Berks Catholic’s Ross Pilliod, 6-2, 6-1, in the opening round, before dispatching Boiling Springs’ P.J. Greenbaum, 6-1, 6-2, in a quarterfinal.

Fick will face ELCO ace Adam Bahney on Monday. Lancaster Country Day’s Blaise Casselbury — whom Fick beat in last year’s district title match — takes on Will Wanner of Lancaster Mennonite in the other AA semifinal.

To defend states, you’ve first got to show up at districts. Any pressure Fick may feel – after all, he’s sitting on a title no one else in the state can claim in his classification – is leveraged by the knowledge he gained climbing the mountain.

“Of course there is pressure if you think like that, but I try not to consider it from that perspective,” Fick said. “Because of last year, I have the experience of knowing what I need to do and what I shouldn’t be doing, on-court. Last year gave me the experience that if I’m in tough situation this year, I know what I can rely on and use that to hopefully pull through.

“You can use pressure to your advantage.”

Fick’s teammate Dan Trifoi picked off Patrick Cook, 6-1, 6-1, in his first-round match before losing to Casselbury in the quarterfinals by a 6-2, 6-0 score. LCD’s ace, the third-seed, looked primed for a rematch with Fick by slicing through his two matches, winning 24 of 27 game contested in the process.

The other big story out of Saturday’s first round was the play of Exeter junior Jonah Buczewski in the Class AAA bracket. Buczewski reached the semifinals — the lone Berks rep still alive in the field — by beating Cedar Crest’s Nick Tull 6-2 and following that up with a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Milo Nagle of Cumberland Valley.

“I felt good today,” Buczewski, a southpaw, said. “My serve was a little rocky at points but I just focused on spinning it in there and trying to get it to the backhand as much as I can. As a lefty, I feel that’s very important.

“My return of serve was really good in the second match (against Nagle). It took a little bit of adjusting in the beginning but my confidence level was raised and that’s what got me through and that allowed me to get the breaks I needed to win the points and the sets.”

It’s Buczewski’s first appearance in a district semifinal. Last year, he went out in the quarterfinal round against Cedar Crest’s Colin Muraika.

“It’s awesome to be here,” he said. “I love the complex, I love the environment. It’s really cool.”

Buczewski’s teammate Todd Weiner lost in the first round to Lower Dauphin’s Josh Carl in a long match, completed well after the other first-round encounters and nearly outlasting some of the quarterfinal contest. Weiner was beaten 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Wilson’s Brendan Thiry saw his season end at the hands of Hempfield No. 2 Calvin Athey in another three-setter, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. Athey later went out against Hempfield teammate and defending AAA champ Derek Hagino.

Monday afternoon’s AAA semifinal slate will pair Hagino against Buczewski, while Red Land senior Peter Landis will square against Muraika.