Westborough, Masconomet reach the summit in a Division 2 girls’ tennis title rematch

The respective victories set up a championship rematch Sunday at 2 p.m. at MIT, after Masconmet topped Westborough for the title in a memorable 3-2 thriller last year.

Masconomet (15-0) received victories from senior Kendall Skulley at first singles (7-6, 6-0), senior Nina Klink at second singles (6-2, 6-2), sophomore Teagan Skulley at third singles (6-0, 7-5), in addition to doubles wins by seniors Maya Klink and Shaylee Moreno at first doubles (2-6, 6-1, 6-4), and senior Chloe Ahern and junior Holly Eyre at second doubles (6-1, 7-6).

Westborough (15-2) earned tight two-set wins by senior Mira McLaren (7-6, 7-6) and sophomore Isabel Feldman (7-5, 6-4) and first and third singles, respectively, and doubles victories by sophomore Elena Chen and senior Ellie King at first doubles (6-4, 4-6, 7-5) and freshman Sahasra Kommineni and junior Nicole Nyguen at second doubles (7-5, 6-2).

With all seven players in Masconomet’s lineup the same as last year and five of Westborough’s seven starters also the same, the familiar rematch provides one last chance for the longstanding cores to play alongside one another.

“I think we’re one of the deepest teams [in the state],” Kendall Skulley said. “All seven of us [in the lineup] grew up together, we played at the same club basically since we were 6. So we’re like a family. And this is kind of like a last hurrah for us.”

Division 4 State

Hamilton-Wenham 5, Lenox 0 — The top-seeded Generals (21-1) are headed back to the state final following a dominant win over No. 5 Lenox at St. John’s Shrewsbury.

H-W has only become stronger with the return of all three singles competitors from last season — Sky Jara, Naomi Provost and Chloe Gern — to the lineup as anchors for the program.

“They’re the powerhouse 1-2-3,” said Hamilton-Wenham coach Joe Maher. “[Gern] has only lost, I believe, two matches in her three years of tennis, and Sky and Naomi are two of the best players in the state . . . It’s such an advantage to have those three set the table.”

Gern is the only senior of the trio, and she won her match at third singles 6-0, 6-0. Jara defeated Lenox’s Rory Lenehan 6-1, 6-1 in first singles, and Provost won 6-0, 6-0 in second singles.

At first doubles, Abby Simon and Sienna Gregory won 6-1, 6-0. Alle Benchoff and Laynee Wilkins won second doubles 6-1, 6-1. Hamilton-Wenham will face Cape Ann League rival Manchester-Essex, the No. 2 seed who defeated Lynnfield, 4-1, for the state title Sunday at 9 a.m. at MIT.

Manchester Essex 4, Lynnfield 1 — Junior Grayson Crocker had a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win in third singles to set the tone and lead the No. 2 Hornets (16-5) in the semifinal triumph.

“Today she took control,” coach Barrett Alston said of Crocker, who had been in a close match with her opponent the last time they squared off. “She won our first point, it was huge to get that first win on the board.”

Senior Calista Lai won second singles (6-0, 5-7, 10-7). Seniors Emery Weber-Proust and Sophie Zalosh won first doubles (3-6, 6-4, 6-0) and Junior Sienna Crocker and freshman Grace Scarborough secured second doubles (6-1, 6-2).

Boys

Division 2 State

Duxbury 4, Hopkinton 1 — Members of the Duxbury boys’ tennis team craved another crack at Westborough, and now, the Dragons will get that opportunity.

Duxbury grinded out a 4-1 Division 2 semifinal victory over Hopkinton in Lexington on Thursday to advance to the state final against the second-seeded Rangers on Sunday at 2 p.m. at MIT.

“It feels amazing,” said Duxbury sophomore Tim Vargas. “Last year we lost in the semifinals, so to come here and to win is a great feeling.”

Vargas (6-3, 6-2) won at No. 1 doubles, senior captain Colby Hall (6-2, 6-0) at No. 2 singles, Bennett Stout and Peter Evans (5-3, retired) at No. 1 doubles, and Adam Sohmer and Peter Burnham (6-1, 6-7 (4-7) 10-5) at No. 2 doubles for the No. 1 Dragons (22-1).

Pranav Kapur prevailed, 6-1, 0-6, 6-4, at No. 3 singles for the No. 5 Hillers (20-2).

“Tip your cap to them,” said Hopkinton coach Mike Miller. “They played a great match today. I don’t think there was necessarily anything wrong that we did.”

Duxbury took an early lead when Hopkinton had to retire late in the first set due to injury. Hall ripped off 11 straight games after falling behind 1-2 early and dominated at the baseline.

“Colby outhit the kid, outsmarted him, did what we expected him to do,” said Duxbury coach John Bunar. “We go into a lot of matches 1-0 because of Colby, and today was no different.”

Vargas was steady and powerful and notched a huge win over a formidable opponent to clinch it. With the match decided, Sohmer and Burnham prevailed and Kapur did the same in a tight third set with everyone glued to the action.

Bunar knows it’ll be tough once again when the Dragons face the Rangers. Westborough won, 4-1, in a competitive semifinal battle last spring, and Duxbury won, 3-2, when the teams met earlier this season.

Hall has one thing on his mind: finishing the job and cementing Duxbury’s first state title since 2013.

“Revenge from my sophomore year,” Hall said. “We’re finally getting to it. Hopefully we’ll pull out the win. We’ll see. I’m excited.”

Division 3 State

Wayland 4, Bedford 1 — The No. 1 Warriors (12-6) are one win away from their ninth state title under coach Shawn Powers.

Wayland outlasted No. 4 Bedford (12-7) in the semifinals at Lexington High and will face Dover-Sherborn Sunday at 9 a.m. at MIT.

No. 1 singles Jeffrey Zhang (6-4, 6-1), No. 2 singles Brendan Ip (0-6, 6-3, 10-6), No. 1 doubles Noah Malkin and Zach Todd (6-4, 6-3), and No. 2 doubles Andrew Hiebert and Ryan Prince (6-3, 3-6, 6-4) all won. Spencer Goss earned a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles for the Buccaneers.

Wayland will face No. 3 Dover-Sherborn in the final.

“There was a point in the match where I thought they were winning, but our guys stayed tough,” Powers said.

Matty Wasserman reported from Newton South, Trevor Hass from Lexington High and Colin McCarthy from St. John’s Shrewsbury. Zach Lyons contributed to this story.

Trevor Hass can be reached at [email protected].