CAMBRIDGE — Just a bump in the road.
Weston bounced back from a defeat last year to reclaim the Division 3 boys tennis state championship with a 3-2 win over rival Wayland.
The top-seeded Wildcats captured a state championship for the seventh time in the past eight years. Weston won all three singles points. Senior Weston Starrett clinched the match at No. 2 singles.
“It’s a culmination of four years of hard work to be a senior playing on these courts,” Starrett said. “To win my last match ever as a high school player feels so great.”
The win gave Weston its 14th state championship.
“We got beaten pretty badly in the finals last year to Bedford, so that gave us inspiration to go back to work,” Weston coach George Conlin said.
Weston seniors Peter Chen (No. 1 singles), Starrett and Nate Ko (No. 1 doubles) reached the state final every year of their careers.
Wayland, the No. 2 seed, won both doubles matches. The Warriors’ No. 2 pair Arya Nheala and Max Zhuang earned the match’s first point.
“Just slamming a ton of balls,” Nheala said. “When it goes in, it’s fun, and if it doesn’t, you still have the next point.”
Kiyoshi Niimi and Charlie Haddad ended the match with a three-set win at No. 1 doubles.
The loss was Wayland’s first state final defeat in 10 trips. They fell against a Weston team they lost to twice during the regular season. The towns border each other, and many of the players and coaches know each other and play against each other outside of high school.
“It brought the two schools together and it drew in a bigger crowd. We all know each other, and there was some friendly smack talk. That’s what makes it interesting and that’s what made me excited to play here, that energy and atmosphere.”
One team gets bragging rights until next spring, though.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Weston boys tennis claims MIAA D3 state championship over Wayland
