With a big rally at first doubles, Lexington girls' tennis squeaks past Newton South and into Division 1 final
'It was just about our mindset,' Eamranond said. 'We had to just play more aggressively and just play more offensively. We were playing very tentatively at first, definitely some nerves were kicking in.'
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Senior Kiki Reddy came off the court first for Lexington with a dominant 6-2, 6-0, triumph at third singles, and sophomore Adhiti Hariram added a 6-3, 6-2, victory at second singles.
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The win earns Lexington a spot in the Division 1 title game on Saturday at MIT, where they will face either No. 4 Wellesley or No. 8 Winchester.
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'We have a lot of seniors on our team, and the thought of it being my last year on the team and this being possibly our last game, it motivates us,' Choi said.
Division 2 State
Longmeadow 3, Hingham 2 —
Ellen Kennedy and Nora McMahon (6-2, 7-5) secured the deciding victory at first doubles to lead the top-ranked Lancers (23-0) to a semifinal victory at St. John's (Shrewsbury). Sarah Tiru (6-4, 6-2) and Bailey Downes (6-2, 6-1) also surged to dominant wins at first and second singles, respectively. The win sends Longmeadow back to the Division 2 championship game on Saturday at MIT, where they will face No. 2 Wayland.
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Wayland 4, Notre Dame (Hingham) 1 —
After trailing 5-0 in the opening set, Olivia Todd stormed back to claim a 7-5, 6-1 victory at third singles en route to a dominant semifinal win for the second-seeded Warriors (11-5) at Stoughton High. Senior Bella Camacho (first singles) and freshman Elena Tan (second singles) also earned straight-set wins. The victory sends the Warriors to the title game on Saturday at MIT, where they will face top-seeded Longmeadow.
Division 3 State
Martha's Vineyard 3, St. John Paul II 2 —
In a hard-fought clash at first singles between Vineyarders sophomore Laina Dubin and JPII senior Lily Walker, Dubin emerged victorious with a 6-4, 6-3, triumph to earn the deciding point for third-seeded Martha's Vineyard (19-1) in a semifinal meeting of Cape & Islands foes at Somerset Berkley High. The Vineyarders' other points came from sophomores Leah Thomson and Zoe Treitman (6-4, 7-5) at first doubles and seniors Ella Moran and Clementine Zeender (6-1, 6-3) at second doubles. The win sends Martha's Vineyard to the state final Saturday at MIT, where it will face the winner of No. 1 Dover-Sherborn and No. 21 Bishop Fenwick.
Division 4 state
Manchester Essex 3, Bromfield 2 —
When the moment got big, Grace Scarborough thought small.
With the match tied, 2-2, and only Scarborough's No. 3 singles match remaining, there couldn't have been more pressure on the Manchester Essex senior to send her sixth-ranked Hornets to the championship. Caught in a three-set, three-hour semifinal epic with her Bromfield School opponent, no point came easy.
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Her Manchester Essex teammates help pick up No. 3 singles player Grace Scarborough after her epic three-hour win to send the Hornets to the state championship.
Evan Walsh
Scarborough went ahead in the season-defining third set, 5-2, but fell back to 5-all. She had three match points in the tiebreak and lost them all. But even without the bounces going her way she earned the victory (5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6)) and sent her team past No. 2 Bromfield to MIT's duPont courts for a shot at the state title.
'I say that I have the mind of a goldfish. I just try to let points that I lose go,' said Scarborough. 'I just try to move on, because I've learned that if I take things personally, things go south. I try to stay calm, and I just try to get it over – that's what my dad says to me.'
'This is the fourth or fifth time she's been in a big match that's come down to the third set,' said Manchester Essex head coach Barrett Alston. 'She's come through every time, and it was no different today under as much pressure as you're going to find.'
Manchester Essex's Sarah Cort won at No. 2 singles (6-1, 6-1), while Nina Zalosh and Libby Lawler scored another point for the Hornets, winning their No. 1 doubles match (6-3, 7-6 (2)).
Hamilton-Wenham 3, Lynnfield 2 —
The fourth-seeded Generals (17-2) took control of the match early, but had to battle to hold on and upset top-seeded Lynnfield (18-3) in the semifinals at St. John's Prep in Danvers. H-W got early wins from Naomi Provost at first singles (6-4, 6-2) and Emily McIntosh at second singles (6-1, 7-5), but Charlotte Ireland lost a tough tiebreaker to lose at No. 3 singles. After a loss at second doubles, it all came to first doubles, where Olivia Romans and Evelyn Esdaile jumped out to a 6-1 first-set lead, but then dropped the second set 7-5 before rallying to win a third-set tiebreak 7-6 (5). Romans finished off the win with two vicious backhands, followed by an aggressive backhand volley at the net to clinch a spot in the state final for the Generals. 'I can't say enough about this group of girls, all of them, not just the starters but the whole team,' said coach Joe Maher. 'They stick together and support each other and work hard to make each other better. I am so proud of the way we competed today. Lynnfield is a talented and well-coached team and we had to play at a new level to beat them.'
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Boys' tennis
Division 3 State
Weston 5, Martha's Vineyard 0 —
From the moment Peter Chen (6-3, 6-1) won at first singles, the sixth-seeded Wildcats (7-7) didn't look back, upsetting the second-seeded Vineyarders (15-2) with a semifinal sweep. 'Our number one never loses so that makes it easy,' said head coach George Conlin. 'That puts pressure on everyone else like, 'Hey, look what I'm doing.'' Winston Starett (6-1, 6-3) won at second singles and Jacob Wu (7-6 (5), 6-4) won at third singles. 'We're the 'smashing seven'. We have no replacements. It makes it easier and harder because you have nobody to replace anybody, but at the same time, everybody knows how to communicate with everybody,' said Conlin. Nate Ko and Siyang Ding (6-3, 6-2) won at first doubles and Sammy Reggelman and Ben Rosenthal (2-6,6-0,6-4) were victorious at second singles. Conlin said that his team is going into the championship game with the same mindset they've had all year, 'Let's get all the way to the finals and let's play better than we did the first time we played.' Weston now awaits the winner of top-seeded Bedford (11-4) and 13th-seeded Latin Academy (12-6).
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Evan Walsh reported from Shrewsbury and Chloe Wojtanik contributed.
Matty Wasserman can be reached at
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Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Playing ‘Agawam volleyball' got it done in the Division 2 boys' championship
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Yahoo
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Petoskey hoping to put the pressure on, swipe another couple wins Saturday
CHEBOYGAN — There are a lot of ways to get into the mind of an opponent and put the pressure on. The Petoskey baseball team isn't waiting around to do so in 2025. They're pushing the envelope and turning up the pressure on the base paths. Advertisement And opponents are crumbling to the pressure along the way. With 132 steals as team this season, it's the most bags the Northmen have swiped in at least over a decade, after 95 last season and nearly as many as 2022 and 2023 combined. Over the previous seven seasons, Petoskey had averaged just 74. Their 92.96% success rate is also the highest since an even 93% in 2021. 'It feels good because I've definitely been one of the top guys doing it and it feels good to be (running) more,' Petoskey senior Drew Olson said. 'I just like being aggressive and it puts the runners in scoring position.' Petoskey senior Drew Olson has taken 28 bags on the base paths this season, leading the charge for a team that's taken more than 130 for the season. Olson leads the way with 28 steals for the season, often out of the No. 2 hole for the Northmen. His 28 are the most for a Petoskey player since Keaton Walker's 28 in 2019 and the first time a PHS player has eclipsed 20 in a season since Walker. Advertisement Olson might be leading the charts, but he's not alone. AJ Speigl has taken 25 bases and Haden Janes owns 23 steals. Three more have taken double digits. Petoskey's Speigl: The colors might have changed, but Petoskey's Speigl is still coming up big in postseason While he hasn't been opposed to sending guys in the past, Petoskey head coach Shawn Racignol wants to take advantage of the speed he feels this group possess. 'I'd say this has been the best overall team speed that we've had,' Racignol said. 'There's not a guy in the lineup that can't swipe a bag. We've just got to have the right situation and try to minimize the risk and maximize the reward. When those situations come up during the game, we just have to push that button.' Advertisement Simply put, if the opportunity is there, take it. In Racignol's eyes, that's smart baseball, but only when the reward keeps outweighing the risk. 'It's been a nice addition to keep pressure on the defense,' Racignol added. 'We've done that with the bats, we've done it on the bases, with small ball. It's just another way to add pressure and we'll go to it if we're able to go to it.' One thing that's helped with the amount of steals is Petoskey's highest on-base-percentage (.445) since 2021 (.450) and their first time with over a .400 OBP since 2022. Guys have just had more opportunities this season. Advertisement 'We've just got to get on base, that's the main thing,' Olson said. Petoskey: Petoskey baseball can go home again, advance to hosted Division 2 regional final After 18 steals in an all-state season a year ago and playing around the infield, Olson, who has stuck primarily to second base in 2025, has given himself more opportunities with his best season at the plate. He's batting .382 with a .462 OBP, to go with 40 runs scored and 24 RBIs. He also carries a 100% rate on 28 steal attempts and has struck out just nine times in 122 plate appearances. While Petoskey's steals are up, so too are the hits and on-base-percentage for guys like Haden Janes in the lineup. As someone who knows his game and doesn't try swinging for the fence, Olson has been one of the most consistent players in the lineup, which included taking two bags against Kingsford in a Division 2 regional semifinal victory Wednesday, June 4. Advertisement 'I feel great,' Olson said. 'I just have to do what I do best, hitting hard ground balls and stealing bases.' It's not like the Northmen have been swiping against nobody this season. They've been putting together one of their best seasons against one of their most challenging schedules. East Jordan: East Jordan holds off late Inland Lakes rally, tops Bulldogs in regional semifinal Gaylord St. Mary: Snowbirds still flying: Gaylord St. Mary baseball tops Alcona, onto D4 regional finals And, that schedule continues at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 7 at Turcott Field in Petoskey with a Division 2 regional championship game for the Northmen, potentially followed by a 3 p.m. quarterfinal. Advertisement The No. 9 ranked Northmen will face either Ludington (8-18) or No. 2 Standish-Sterling (33-4). No. 12 Fruitport (28-5) already has its spot in the noon regional final and will face either Frankenmuth (21-12) or Saginaw Swan Valley (22-7). Looking to move on again Saturday, Petoskey's Drew Olson believes they just have to keep playing their game, in the field and on the bases. If Petoskey is hoping to steal a couple wins Saturday, Olson believes they just have to keep doing what they've been doing. 'We're making the routine plays in the field, we've just got to get on base,' he said. 'It's the same kind of approach. Get the ball out and swing away.' Then, swipe away. Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@ Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey baseball's aggressive play on base paths has them lifted to regional finals
