On Thursday, Brader Eby and Luke Kielbasa helped the Western Albemarle boys tennis team win its sixth straight VHSL state championship.
On Friday, the duo added some more hardware when they won the VHSL Class 4 state doubles championship. Eby and Kielbasa earned a hard-fought 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Lightridge’s Sid Dabhade and Thanush Buneti in the title match at Huntington Park in Newport News.
The Western duo reached the doubles final after beating Grafton’s Rainer Christensen and John Cloud 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals on Thursday.
The doubles championship wraps up a stellar high school career for Kielbasa, who was part of several state championship teams for Western. Earlier this year, he was honored by the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame as one of their five Student Athletes of the Year.
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Western girls soccer advances to state final
The Western Albemarle girls soccer team got goals from Phebe Ryan and Reese Mattern and a clean sheet from goalkeeper Elana Romesburg in a 2-0 in over Great Bridge on Friday in the VHSL Class 4 state semifinals at Spotsylvania High School.
“Going into the game we knew it was going to be tough, and that we needed to play together as a team,” Ryan said. “Great Bridge is very good, and overall it was an exciting game to play in.”
After a scoreless first half, Ryan got the Warriors on the scoreboard with a goal in the 50th minute.
“On the goal, I got a nice layoff and saw an opportunity to go 1v1 to goal,” said Ryan, who has committed to play soccer at Yale.
Reese Mattern, a Tennessee commit, gave Western some insurance in the final minutes with a goal. The Warriors advance to Saturday’s state championship game, where they will face Tuscarora. Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. at Spotsylvania High School.
“We are all super excited to have the opportunity to compete in the state finals,” Ryan said. “This game is what we have been working towards all year, so the motivation and excitement are definitely there.”
Albemarle falls in PK shootout
The Albemarle boys soccer team was less than 30 seconds away from the VHSL Class 5 state championship game, but Princess Anne’s Maciej Majcherczyk scored the equalizer with 24 seconds remaining, and the Cavaliers went on to edge the Patriots in a penalty kick shootout.
Princess Anne got on the board first with a first-half goal before Maycol Echevverria equalized for the Patriots. Jack Dofflemyer gave Albemarle its first lead with eight minutes remaining before Princess Anne scored the last-minute equalizer to force overtime.
After a scoreless overtime that saw Albemarle go down to 10 men due to a second yellow card, the match went to penalty kicks, where the Cavaliers prevailed to advance to Saturday’s state championship game.
“I’m so proud of this team,” Albemarle coach Zach Laird said. “We went down 1-0 early on, came back and took the lead. Unfortunately weren’t able to hold it. Then to go down to 10 men in OT was always going to make things tough. Credit to Princess Anne, they fought til the end and made things happen.”
Despite the disappointment of Friday loss, Laird was extremely proud of what his team was able to accomplish this season.
“Overall, this year was a tremendous success,” Laird said. “To win a region championship, home state quarterfinal, and make it further than we have since 2018 is a tremendous accomplishment. And I couldn’t be more proud of this group both as players on the field but as young men off the field. This group will always hold a special place in my heart.”