HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — Franklin Academy made its presence felt at the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A boys tennis individual state championships on Saturday at Ting Park in Holly Springs.

Alphonso Sison repeated his singles state title with a 6-3, 6-7 (10-3), 6-3 win over Greene Central’s William Drake and the Patriots’ duo of Derek Shute and Nick DeLisio won the doubles title over Research Triangle’s Matthew Southern and Jackson Doyle 6-3, 6-2.

DeLisio and Shute are the first doubles champions in Franklin Academy’s school history. The Patriots’ only two singles championships have come from Sison, giving Franklin Academy three players with a combined three individual titles between them heading back into dual-team playoffs next week. Play resumes in the fourth round on Monday, with the regional finals on Wednesday and state championships in Burlington on Saturday.

Singles: The singles semifinals featured three of the same four from a year ago: Sison, Drake, and R-S Central’s Billy Mac Clement. Drake defeated Mac Clement 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals, while Sison knocked off East Burke’s Luke Borders 6-1, 6-0.

Sison, the defending 2A singles champion, earned his way to the final in unique fashion, rolling in the first round and semifinal with a three-set quarterfinal marathon — a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Pine Lake Prep’s Jackson Grathwohl — wedged between.

The championship match was another marathon, lasting about three hours as Drake came back to win the second set in a 10-6 tiebreaker to force a third.

Sison, a junior, could go for his third title next year.

Doubles: On the doubles’ side, there were plenty of new faces in the semifinals and finals. Only Research Triangle’s Southern and NCSSM-Durham’s Aryan Vinay were semifinalists last year.

Southern and Doyle defeated Vinay and Sid Gupta 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 in an almost three-hour semifinal, while Shute and DeLisio of Franklin Academy needed half as long to down Lincoln Charter’s Noah Cochran and Clark Mullen 6-4, 6-2.

The toughest quarterfinal challenge for either finalist came when Shute and DeLisio defeated Pine Lake Prep’s Dylan Patel and Gavin Nazir 6-0, 7-5.

2A Boys Tennis Results

SINGLES: First Round

• William Drake (Greene Central) def. Matthew Morgan (Pine Lake Prep) 6-0, 6-0
• Akil Vinodh (Franklin Academy) def. Bryant Davis (Salisbury) 6-2, 6-0
• Billy Mac Clement (R-S Central) def. Trent Spear (Holmes) 6-0, 6-0
• Sammie Isaak (Research Triangle) def. Mitch Adams (North Wilkes) 7-5, 6-0
• Ameno Morgan (North Stanly) def. Walker Magnirat (Seaforth) default
• Luke Borders (East Burke) def. Matee Olmo-Ramirez (Princeton) 6-3, 6-2
• Alphonso Sison (Franklin Academy) def. Silas Jessup (Wheatmore) 6-2, 6-1
• Jackson Grathwohl (Pine Lake Prep) def. Maddox Smith (North Lenoir) 6-0, 6-1

SINGLES: Quarterfinals

• William Drake (Greene Central) def. Akil Vinodh (Franklin Academy) 6-1, 6-0
• Billy Mac Clement (R-S Central) def. Sammie Isaak (Research Triangle) 6-3, 6-1
• Luke Borders (East Burke) def. Ameno Morgan (North Stanly) 6-1, 6-2
• Alphonso Sison (Franklin Academy) def. Jackson Grathwohl (Pine Lake Prep) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3

SINGLES: Semifinals

• William Drake (Greene Central) def. Billy Mac Clement (R-S Central) 6-2, 6-4
• Alphonso Sison (Franklin Academy) def. Luke Borders (East Burke) 6-1, 6-0

SINGLES: Championship

• Alphonso Sison (Franklin Academy) def. William Drake (Greene Central) 6-3, 6-7 (10-3), 6-3

DOUBLES: First Round

• Sam Avent & Nick Avent (Greene Central) def. Jack Shields & Cameron Knost (CSD) 6-4, 6-2
• Matthew Southern & Jackson Doyle (Research Triangle) def. Hayden Towne & Rex Wang (North Stanly) 6-1, 6-3
• Blake Bradley & Rafa Kohn (Owen) def. Cole Dougherty & Ayden Furlough (Holmes) 6-0, 6-1
• Aryan Vinay & Sid Gupta (NCSSM-Durham) def. Levi Watson & Kade Talton (East Surry) 6-0, 6-4
• A.J. Jarrell & Gray Davis (Salisbury) def. Henry McFall & Matthew Bowser (Seaforth) 6-1, 6-4
• Noah Cochran & Clark Mullen (Lincoln Charter) def. Ben Cuddington & Ethan Evans (North Johnston) 6-1, 6-4
• Derek Shute & Nick DeLisio (Franklin Academy) def. Soyer Cornelison & Reid Hlavacek (Salisbury) 6-0, 6-1
• Dylan Patel & Gavin Nazir (Pine Lake Prep) def. Casey Alston & Austin Williams (North Lenoir) 6-2, 6-4

DOUBLES: Quarterfinals

• Matthew Southern & Jackson Doyle (Research Triangle) def. Sam Avent & Nick Avent (Greene Central) 6-2, 6-1
• Aryan Vinay & Sid Gupta (NCSSM-Durham) def. Blake Bradley & Rafa Kohn (Owen) 3-6, 6-3, 3-3, injury default
• Noah Cochran & Clark Mullen (Lincoln Charter) def. A.J. Jarrell & Gray Davis (Salisbury) 6-7 (10-6), 6-1, 6-0
• Derek Shute & Nick DeLisio (Franklin Academy) def. Dylan Patel & Gavin Nazir (Pine Lake Prep) 6-0, 7-5

DOUBLES: Semifinals

• Matthew Southern & Jackson Doyle (Research Triangle) def. Aryan Vinay & Sid Gupta (NCSSM-Durham) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
• Derek Shute & Nick DeLisio (Franklin Academy def. Noah Cochran & Clark Mullen (Lincoln Charter) 6-4, 6-2

DOUBLES: Championship

• Derek Shute & Nick DeLisio (Franklin Academy) def. Matthew Southern & Jackson Doyle (Research Triangle) 6-3, 6-2

Source: highschoolot.com