Wayland lined up to defend its title
A year ago, Shawn Powers told his Wayland boys’ tennis team that it was talented enough to win the Division 3 state title. Although his players were unsure, his vision was ultimately spot on.
A couple of months later, the Warriors capped a 14-5 season with a 3-2 victory over Dual County League rival Bedford at MIT’s duPont Tennis Courts. It was the team’s eighth state championship during Powers’s 32-year tenure as coach, but the first since the 2017 squad ruled Division 2.
Despite the graduation of key contributors Alex Camacho (first singles) and Jonathan Zhang (second singles), Powers is once again planting the seeds that Wayland is primed for another deep postseason run.
“In Division 3, it’s really going to be four teams — Bedford, Dover-Sherborn, Martha’s Vineyard, and Wayland,” Powers said. “It’s not easy, it’s just straightforward. Last year, I knew it was going to be us, Bedford and Dover-Sherborn, but I wasn’t guaranteeing anyone a state championship. This year, I won’t know until I see Martha’s Vineyard, but we definitely have a good shot at it again.
“But it’s not easy to repeat.” Wayland didn’t have to look far to replace its top singles players. Freshman Jeffrey Zhang, the younger brother of Jonathan, has taken over at No. 1. Although he might be unknown to opponents, the Warriors have been awaiting Jeffrey’s arrival.
“Last year, his brother told us Jeffrey was better than him,” Powers said. “He looks good, he’s got an all-around game.”
Sophomore Brendan Ip has been bumped up from third singles to second, while classmate Josh Proctor will take on a larger role at No. 3. There is some continuation at doubles — senior captain Noah Malkin will anchor first doubles alongside fellow senior captain Zach Todd, who played
No. 2 last year.
Another senior captain, Ryan Prince, returns at second doubles. His partner will be determined before Monday’s opener against Shrewsbury.
“We have good chemistry. I feel like we’re really, really strong,” Malkin said of the first doubles pairing. “I’m a big net guy. I stay at the net a lot and get to the net as much as I can. I play on the deuce side pretty exclusively and he has a great backhand on the outside, so it works out pretty well.”
Todd said he and Malkin complement each other because they are both consistent at the net and on the baseline.
“I really like playing with him because he’s so consistent and aggressive at the net,” Todd said. “I would say he’s probably the one that might finish the point often, whereas I’m the one getting it back in play or setting up a point.”
The road to the state tournament won’t be easy while playing in the DCL, which is home to fellow boys’ state champions ActonBoxborough (Division 1), Concord-Carlisle (Division 2), and Weston (Division 4).
“I think that’s a huge part of our success because we play against teams like Weston, A-B, and C-C,” Malkin said. “Just playing against them helps with our confidence if we beat them. And even if we lose, we take huge things out of those matches.”
Powers said facing the gauntlet of DCL teams has “always been a positive.”
“I would rather be 13-5 or 13-6 and have a lot of really good matches [than be undefeated], because that makes you tougher,” he said. “It makes you better. This year will be no exception.”
The biggest difference between this year’s Wayland squad and last year’s title team is this year’s group knows what it takes to climb the mountain.
“Our goal is definitely the state championship and we’re not going to hide that,” Prince said. “Coach has mentioned it a couple times, and I don’t think it puts any extra pressure — we want to get back there and face some of those teams again.”
Extra serves
Defending Division 2 girls’ state champion Masconomet is bringing back its entire lineup from a 20-0 team that upset second-seeded Westborough, 3-2. But coach Kathy Chen Farnham isn’t allowing her players to be complacent.
“It was very exciting and unexpected because Westborough was favored and we were unknown, but now we have to keep working hard because there’s no assumptions once we get to states,” Chen Farnham said. “That’s what I’m working on with them — that they really come at it with a hungry attitude and not a complacent one that they’re thinking, ‘Oh, we won it, we’ll win it again.’ That doesn’t work. They need to earn it and work hard.”
Led by two pairs of sisters — senior captain Kendall Skulley (first singles) and sophomore Teagan Skulley (third singles) and senior
Nina Klink (second singles) and sophomore Maya Klink (first doubles) — Masco opened with a 4-1 victory over Manchester Essex.
The younger Klink is joined by senior captain Shaylee Moreno at first doubles, while senior captain Chloe Ahern and junior Taylor Mastrogiovanni partner at second doubles.
With a trio of third-year starters, the Arlington boys opened with victories over Watertown (5-0), Wakefield (4-1), and Wilmington (3-2).
“We started off the year winning the matches that we should,” Arlington coach Matt Siegel said. “We have a pretty tough week next week where we play Lexington, Winchester, and Belmont — three really, really strong teams. But we’re off to a good start and we got the wins we felt like we could get and we played well.”
Experience starts at the top, with three juniors at at singles: Omkar Adhiya (first singles), Eita Kikuchi (second singles) and
Lance d’Halluin (third singles). Senior captain Evan McCarthy and junior Henry Ruderman will play first doubles, while junior Yuta Kikuchi and sophomore Leo Fritsch are at second doubles. Adhiya and the Kikuchi brothers have started since they were freshmen.
“Every year we’ve gotten a little better,” Siegel said. “Now they’re the big guns, and it’s a different feeling that they have.”