Lower Merion’s Justin Yi places 2nd in District 1 3A singles
Lower Merion senior Justin Yi finished second in the PIAA District 1 3A singles tournament at the Springfield Healthplex. In the championship finals Saturday, Yi lost to Council Rock South junior Mikkel Zinder, the top seed in the tournament, 4-6, 4-6.
Zinder defeated Lower Merion sophomore Brian Yi in the semifinals, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5; while Justin Yi defeated Council Rock South junior Alex Sterin, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, in the other semifinal, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
Justin Yi said, “My best match of this tournament by far, was my semifinals match against Alex Sterin, who is one of the top players not only in the state, but in the country. He plays very aggressive tennis from the baseline, but that’s what I like to do as well. In the semifinals, I was able to stay patient and hit a couple more shots in than he did – that was the deciding factor.”
Brian Yi finished fourth, losing to Sterin in the third-place match, 3-6, 1-6. In the quarterfinals, Brian Yi, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, defeated the No. 4 seed, Central Bucks West senior Alex Myron, 6-0, 6-0.
“The quarterfinal was my best match of the tournament,” said Brian Yi. “Alex Myron was the winner of the Suburban One League singles tournament, and someone I had never beaten before. At the beginning of the match, I was able to get off to a hot start, and I carried the momentum all the way through. I was hitting the ball with more depth and varying my shots, making it harder for my opponent to stay in the rally.”
Lower Merion boys tennis coach Harris Mailman said, “Both Justin and Brian played their best matches of the year and against very good players. I was able to zone in on what they need to work on and I know they both have a very good chance to win the state title.”
Conestoga junior Justin Xu of defeated Radnor sophomore Ariston Fonseca, 6-1, 6-4, in the fifth-place match. The top five players from this tournament advance to the PIAA 3A singles championship in Hershey starting May 27.
