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Dominant victory in NYS singles final helps Geneva tennis star carry on family tradition

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6 months ago

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Dominant victory in NYS singles final helps Geneva tennis star carry on family tradition

Geneva tennis star Drew Fishback wanted to win a state championship since 2019. He was in the sixth grade then, watching his older brother, Ryan, win the state singles title as a junior.

Now one of the best tennis players in America, junior Drew Fishback accomplished his goal and brought another state championship to the family, winning the New York State Public High School Athletic Association singles title June 2 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 finals victory.

Fishback’s state title appeared inevitable. The two-time All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year entered states as the No. 1 seed, finishing the season with a perfect 28-0 record. MVP of Geneva’s soccer team, Fishback’s love for team tennis, balancing a “normal life” with his elite tennis schedule, and his motivation to win an NYSPHSAA championship are why he hasn’t skipped Geneva’s varsity season for more high-level tournaments.

Section V was represented well at states as Pittsford Sutherland doubles duo Charlie Thyroff and Dylan Bhatia earned sixth place medals. Fishback returned to school with a firetruck escort, but had school in the morning and didn’t stay up late celebrating becoming the area’s first NYS tennis champ since Ryan won five years ago.

“It’s such an amazing feeling to be able to represent something bigger than yourself,” Drew Fishback said. “Most of the tennis I play year-round is tournaments — playing for yourself. To be able to represent your school on the state level is something I don’t think a lot of people get to do.”

Drew Fishback’s NYSPHSAA singles championship run

Fishback is the sixth-ranked player in the nation, according to the Universal Tennis Ratings system. The lefty has a 99-3 record across four seasons. Fishback hasn’t lost to a Section V player since 2021.

Fishback’s toughest NYSPHSAA match was a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 comeback in the semifinals. In the final, Fishback dropped the first set before winning the next 11, defeating No. 6 Alexander Suhanitski of New Rochelle (I) — who defeated No. 2 Callum Markowitz of White Plains (I), Fishback’s favorite to win states — 6-1, 6-1.

Drew Fishback talked to his older brother prior to the tournament. Ryan, who just finished his career at Virginia Tech and was awarded the International Collegiate Association’s Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award Thursday, took pressure off of Drew in case he didn’t win states. But Drew didn’t take Suhanitski lightly.

“He was certainly a very good player, but I wanted to stay extremely focused and I wanted to send a message that I was not going to go away,” Drew Fishback said.

Fishback’s first varsity loss was to former Sutherland star Brady Thyroff as an eighth grader. Fishback’s next two losses came during a setback in the 2022 NYS quarterfinals and a loss in the 2023 NYS semifinals, ultimately placing third. He’s grown in both maturity and size since then, weighing over 140 pounds — about 20 pounds heavier than last season.

“That kid (didn’t) have an answer for anything Drew did. He didn’t miss anything,” Geneva coach Bill Hadsell said. “He was so dialed in. It was exciting to see him play that well. It was the best I’ve seen him play.”

There may be a new NYS singles champion in 2025 as Fishback doesn’t plan on defending his title. Instead he hopes to play in the NYS doubles tournament with his little brother, Tucker, a seventh grader who made his varsity debut this spring. Ryan planned on doing the same with Drew in 2020 before COVID. Drew is happy he’ll get another chance at a brothers doubles duo with Tucker next year.

“He exceeded the expectations. His level progressed exponentially just over the season. … To see him go undefeated in all of his singles matches is a great accomplishment to have when you’re in seventh grade. I’m extremely proud of the work he’s put in,” Drew said about Tucker.

Sutherland doubles team places 6th at states

In their third trip to states, Charlie Thyroff and Dylan Bhatia took home sixth-place medals. The last time Sutherland medaled beyond the Section V tournament was in 2019 when Brady Thyroff and Alan Tu were runners-up in the Federation doubles tournament.

“They’re very good down there in New York City. We played the best we’ve played,” Bhatia said.

Both juniors, Thyroff and Bhatia were the eighth seed. They won a tough 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 second-round match. After losing their quarterfinal 3-6, 4-6, they beat the fifth-seeded doubles team 6-1, 6-2 before falling in the fifth place match to second-seeded Benjamin Singer/Adam Fink of Morace Greeley (I) 3-6, 2-6. Thyroff and Bhatia were pleased with their volleys and how well they moved together.

“I’m very proud,” Thyroff said. “We did better than our seeding. We beat a seed higher than us. That was a very good win for us.”

Sutherland returned to Flushing on June 7 to play in the NYSPHSAA team championship tournament. The Knights (18-1) lost their first match of the season to top-seeded Mamaroneck 1-6 in the NYS Division I semifinals. Sathya Mandava and Cormac Sullivan won their doubles match 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Mandava/Sullivan played in the NYS doubles tournament and were runners-up at state qualifiers to teammates Thyroff/Bhatia. In a Sutherland-Mamaroneck singles match, Thyroff battled with Maxim Kalinin — No. 3 singles player in NYS — but lost 0-6, 3-6.

“Charlie and Dylan really played well. Having our boys beat two of the Nassau County teams, I thought it was a really good accomplishment for our guys,” said Sutherland coach Joe Thyroff, who will be inducted into the Rochester Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday.

They said it

Dylan Bhatia, Sutherland: “(Drew Fishback) is one of the best players I’ve ever seen. He gets to every ball. … He’s always been very good but the past few years he’s gotten much better.”

Drew Fishback, Geneva: “I was cheering (Thyroff and Bhatia) on the very first day. It gets lonely being the only guy from Section V going into the later rounds. I was very happy for those Sutherland boys. We’re all friends. That was very fun to see them succeed.”

Charlie Thyroff, Sutherland: “Every kid (Fishback) plays he makes them look like they’re nobodies. Winning the state finals 6-1, 6-1 is just unheard of. He did that. It was amazing to see.”

— Marquel Slaughter is a journalist for the Democrat and Chronicle, specializing in high school sports. He has been a reporter for 15 years. Follow him @MarquelSports and X or on Instagram. You can contact him at mslaughter1@gannett.com.

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