NEWTON — The stage is about for the Division 1 boys tennis state championships and neither group has misplaced a match but this season.
No. 1 Brookline (23-0) took down No. 4 Wellesley 4-1 whereas No. 3 Lexington (24-0) squeezed by No. 2 St. John’s Prep 3-2 to advance to the state remaining at MIT on Saturday.
For Brookline, it is a likelihood to avenge a loss in final 12 months’s state championship, whereas the Minutemen experience lastly advancing out of the semifinal.
Lexington reached the state championship in 2016 however has in any other case struggled to advance out of the semifinal spherical for a lot of the previous decade. Head coach Chris Pugliese stated he’s thrilled for his gamers.
“We’ve had some bad luck in the semis, I’m not going to lie,” Pugliese stated. “It’s good for the kids to see that they can get to the state title because they have been heartbroken.”
The key to the Minutemen’s victory got here from the second doubles, which took consecutive units and put the primary victory on the board for Lexington. Pugliese was thrilled with this flip, because the place misplaced to the Eagles earlier within the season.
“Two doubles impressed me,” Pugliese stated. “I didn’t expect them to come first off the court, that was good to see.”
The second level got here from high singles participant Joel McCandless, and the senior captain was ecstatic to lastly attain the state championship.
“This is momentous for us,” McCandless stated. “It’s a position we’ve never been in and as long as we stay grounded and remember what we are her to do. Having a few laughs along the way helps us out.”
On the opposite set of courts at Newton South High School, the Warriors grinded out 4 consecutive victories to clinch the berth within the remaining. Head coach Mike Mowatt credited the success to wonderful play proper out of the gate.
“I thought my guys got off to good starts,” Mowatt stated. “I knew it was going to be a competitive match, but we had the confidence going in.”
Mowatt says the group will now flip its consideration to some tune-up scrimmages earlier than going through the Minutemen. He stated the principle focus will likely be confidence.
“In the finals last year, we were a little hesitant,” Mowatt stated. “I saw a lot of confident strokes right from the start today. If they do that against Lexington, we should have a pretty good chance.”
Senior Owen Eskey echoed that assertion, saying that his group is able to victory if it retains centered.
“A lot of it for us is mental,” Eskey stated. “Maybe we got a little tight last year, we need to let loose and play our best tennis in the final.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com