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Fredonia duo wins CCAA doubles title

LAKEWOOD -- When Nella Darrell-Sterbak and Charis LaBarr played doubles together at the 2023 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Tennis Championships, they qualified for the Section VI Championships with a third-place finish.

Three years later, as seniors, the Fredonia pair decided to team up once again with similar results.

Darrell-Sterbak and Labarr won two matches Friday, including a victory over Chautauqua Lake/Maple Grove's Eden Ludwig and Cameron Mackey in the finals to claim the CCAA title and the league's No. 1 seed at next weekend's sectional tournament.

"I think it's really exciting because I've been playing tennis since seventh grade," Darrell-Sterbak said. "This gives me an opportunity to play another week in my final season."

Olean's Lina Chauhdry and Natalie Snyder took third place and the final spot in the sectional tournament with a win over Falconer's Jenna Bellinger and Lauren Whitmore.

Falconer's Myla Brainard defended her singles title from a year ago with a victory over teammate Rachael Swanson. Olean's Rachael Dulmus finished third with a win over Frewsburg/Southwestern's Claire Spielman.

"Since I've been coaching, I haven't had anybody win a match -- last year she went three sets before losing -- at sectionals. Her goal is to win at least a match up at sectionals in Buffalo," Falconer head coach Jamie Glatz said of Brainard. "The way she is playing, she's definitely capable of it. She has matured mentally, her game is in top form, she is hitting topspin and slices, and her serve is on point."

Darrell-Sterbak won the CCAA singles title two years ago as a sophomore, but finished fourth and missed out on a trip to sectionals last year. LaBarr advanced to the doubles quarterfinals last year, but fell to the eventual champions. After cruising 6-0, 6-2 and 6-0, 6-0 in their first two matches Thursday, they beat Bellinger and Whitmore 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals Friday.

"It was definitely nice to win the first match," LaBarr said. "The second one, we were just trying to get first place."

Then, after grinding to a 6-4 first-set win over Ludwig and Mackey in the finals, the Hillbillies pair put the match away with a dominant 6-0 second set.

"I feel like we definitely found our groove and we were doing really well at the net," Darrell-Sterbak said. "We were just able to end points before anything bad happened."

Chauhdry and Snyder won their first set Friday against Ludwig and Mackey, but then fell 7-5 in a second-set tiebreaker before losing their semifinal in the third set. They rebounded with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Bellinger and Whitmore to advance to sectionals for the second straight year after taking second at CCAAs in 2025.

Swanson reached the singles final with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Dulmus.

"She is the ultimate competitor. Nobody is a bigger fan of her than her. She believes in herself 100%," Glatz said of Swanson. "Usually when I talk to her, it's not to tell her anything tennis-wise, it's just to talk and be around her. ... Mae Gustafson has taken to Rachael like a big sister. ... It's kind of a sweet deal."

Brainard coasted to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Spielman in Friday's semifinals before beating Swanson 6-2, 6-0 to advance to sectionals for the third straight year.

"The greatest part is that you know they are both guaranteed to go and they can just play tennis the way they play. My favorite part is the fact that everybody got to experience what I get to see in practice every day," Glatz said of the Brainard-Swanson matchup. "They are two phenomenal leaders, two great human beings. Their teammates really look up to them. They just push each other every single day."

Dulmus, who played doubles the entire season before entering the singles bracket Thursday, topped Spielman 6-1, 6-3 to reach her first sectional tournament.

"I knew she had the patience to overcome some adversity, playing doubles all year and walking into the singles tournament. My main goal was just to give her some experience playing singles," Olean head coach Ryan Nawrot said. "She surpassed all of that. She played really well and kept the ball in play. It's going to build her confidence going into next year, which is what we need out of her because she is going to be one of our leaders."

SEMIFINALS

Singles

Myla Brainard (Falconer) d. Claire Spielman (Frewsburg/Southwestern) 6-0, 6-0; Rachael Swanson (Falconer) d. Rachael Dulmus (Olean) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles

Nella Darrell-Sterbak-Charis LaBarr (Fredonia) d. Jenna Bellinger-Lauren Whitmore (Falconer) 6-2, 6-2; Eden Ludwig-Cameron Mackey (Chautauqua Lake/Maple Grove) d. Lina Chauhdry-Natalie Snyder (Olean) 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2

FINALS

Singles

Brainard d. Swanson 6-2, 6-0

Doubles

Darrell-Sterbak-LaBarr d. Ludwig-Mackey 6-4, 6-0

CONSOLATION

Singles

Dulmus d. Spielman 6-1, 6-3

Doubles

Chauhdry-Snyder d. Bellinger-Whitmore 6-4, 6-4