Doubles teams pave way in 4-0 quarterfinal victory
WOONSOCKET— When the Division II tennis bracket was released earlier this week the No. 3 Mount St. Charles tennis team knew the only way it would return to the Division II final was by avenging a frustrating, regular-season loss.
The Mounties took the first step toward returning to Pawtucket’s Slater Park on Memorial Day by cruising past No. 6 Toll Gate, 4-0, Friday afternoon to setup a second contest with Division II Suburban-A champion Classical Saturday morning at Lincoln High School.
“It doesn’t matter who we face,” Mount St. Charles coach Sean McClelland said before he knew about the No. 2 Purple’s 4-0 victory over the Crusaders in Providence. “They are both good teams and we have something to prove against both of them. It was 4-3 against Classical and there were a couple of three-set matches in there.
“Whoever we play, I just told the guys that we have to play our game and anything can happen in the playoffs. In a tight match the difference will be endurance, stamina and mental toughness in the match. Whoever has the mental edge will come out and win.”
McClelland and assistant coach Richard Lawrence don’t have much time to prepare the Mounties (13-3 Division II Suburban-B) for the Purple, but they probably don’t need much time because the two squads met in Providence in the regular-season finale on May 16.
The Purple rode a dominant win from All-State No. 1 singles player Austen Clark and three set wins from No. 4 singles player Matt Worshey and the No. 1 doubles team of Harry Binder and Arlo Heimer to win the match, 4-3.
“I think we still have a chance at beating one of those teams,” No. 4 singles player Mitch McCoy said after scoring one of Mount’s four points against the overmatched Titans. “We’re very close teams and we’re not very far apart. If we play our game and we can just play better than them we will win the match.”
McCoy dropped one of those threesetters to the Purple, while singles standouts Jacob Lawrence and Paul Resende secured wins. The No. 3 doubles team of Justin Aquliante and Shaan Arira also picked up a win.
Aquilante and Arora barely broke a sweat Friday afternoon because it took the Mounties all of 70 minutes to dispose of the Titans, who dropped the opening five sets of the contest in just 25 minutes.
The No. 1 doubles team of Tristan Cox and Aidan Keating put the first point on the board when they handled Colin Levin and Mason Savaria, 6-1, 60. The No. 2 doubles team of Ryan Luisi and Anuj Swaminathan quickly followed by defeating Toll Gate’s Griffin Hart and Daniel Tariq 6-1, 6-2.
“I’d like to think that our doubles, especially in the last week of practice, really stepped it up,” McClelland said. “It’s good to see those doubles player play well because we need everyone – singles and doubles – to play well. From No. 1 singles to No. 3 doubles, they carry the same weight. We’ve really been working on net play and serves.”
No. 1 singles player Matt Dubois, Lawrence and McCoy combined to drop just two games on their way to first-set victories. The second sets, however, were a different story. Lawrence found himself in a physical and emotional battle with Henri Snyman.
McCoy posted a 6-1 victory in his opening set against Will Fox, but the Mountie was forced to work to win the second set. McCoy eventually prevailed, 7-5, to put the Mounties on the precipice of a return to the semifinals.
“A lot of the points that were won on both sides were at the net,” McCoy said. “What would happen was either he would come to the net and I would put it past him or he would hit a good volley or overhead. The match was really about who could execute at the important time.”
Dubois, who won the final five games of the opening set of his match with Nick Mattioli, trailed 5-4 in the second set. The sophomore held his serve and then broke the Titan to take a 6-5 advantage. Dubois overcame a 1540 deficit to win the match 6-1, 7-5.
“I think Matt’s confidence is growing as the season is going on as a sophomore and as our No. 1 player,” McClelland said. “His confidence is growing.”