Yi, Rodriguez lead Orange County boys tennis tournament field

Allen Yi and Ethan Rodriguez sat atop the Orange County boys tennis bracket with first-round byes, and the rest of the field had to navigate a tournament that already carried the feel of a Goshen rematch. The Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament was scheduled for May 18-20 at Match Point Tennis and the Goshen Sports Complex in Goshen, with doubles on May 18, singles on May 19, and singles and doubles semifinals and finals on May 20, all starting at 9 a.m. The top eight singles players and doubles teams qualified for Section IX.

The seed meeting was held May 14. Yi of Goshen drew the No. 1 seed, while Rodriguez of Minisink Valley was No. 2. The rest of the top singles field included Chris Drake of Cornwall at No. 3, James Arias of Minisink Valley at No. 4, Josiah Placide of Newburgh at No. 5, Izaac Waite of O’Neill at No. 6, Nick Miksa of Washingtonville at No. 7 and Chris Kelly of Burke Catholic at No. 8. Yi and Rodriguez both received byes, which pushed the county’s most watched possible showdown deeper into the bracket.

Their path mattered because the rivalry had already swung both ways. Yi beat Rodriguez in the 2025 OCIAA final to defend his league title, then Rodriguez answered in the 2026 Section IX singles final, winning 6-3, 6-3 at Match Point Tennis in Goshen. That victory made Rodriguez Minisink Valley’s first Section IX boys singles champion since Paul Hayes in 2010, a milestone that gave the Madyson Valley program a fresh claim in the county pecking order.

The rivalry was also unusually personal. Yi and Rodriguez trained together at Match Point, were friends off court and sometimes played USTA doubles together. “As competitive as we are on the court, off the court we are good friends.” That familiarity made every meeting less about shock and more about who could execute under pressure when the points tightened.

Doubles also brought a county race of its own. Eli Loewen and Ryan Ambrose of Kingston were the No. 1 seeds, and Denis McAteer and Victor Januario of Warwick were No. 2. Matches were best-of-three sets with no-ad scoring, with a match tiebreak used in some early-round matches. Players and coaches were responsible for their own food and water, and an AED and possibly an athletic trainer were set to be on site.

For Goshen, Minisink Valley and the rest of the draw, the tournament was more than a bracket. It was a county measuring stick, a chance to protect seeding, steal momentum and decide whether the next chapter belonged to Yi, Rodriguez or one of the challengers waiting behind them.