THE LHS boys’ tennis team is off to the D4 Final Four. The No. 2 Pioneers earned a banner by beating No. 7 West Bridgewater 5-0 on Monday at Lynnfield Middle School. Lynnfield will travel to Newton North High on Wednesday at 4 p.m. to play No. 6 Cohasset for the right to play in the state finals on Saturday at MIT against the winner of No. 1 Weston vs. No. 4 Hamilton-Wenham. (Courtesy Photo)

 

 

Takes on Cohasset at Newton North HS on Wednesday

 

 

By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI

LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield High boys’ tennis team took care of business in front of a good-sized crowd on Monday afternoon as they blanked visiting West Bridgewater, 5-0, at Lynnfield Middle School on a hot, sunny day in the Round of 8 match in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament.

With the victory, the 2nd-seeded Pioneers improved to 17-1 while the 7th-seeded Wildcats finished at 14-5.

Lynnfield will now take on 6th-seeded Cohasset in the Div. 4 state semifinals on June 15, 4 p.m. at Newton North High School.

Harrison Luba played first singles and he beat Graham Russo in three sets. He lost 4-6 in the first one but won the next two, 7-6 (7-3 tiebreaker) and 10-6 in a 10-point match for the final set.

Second-singles player Dan Levin defeated his opponent, Thomas Sheedy, 6-4, 6-0.

At third singles, Shea McCarthy beat Chase Ryan, 7-5, 6-4.

The first doubles team of Dave Kasdon and Rafik Khodr won, 6-2, 6-0, beating Noah Schneeweis and Nolan Rec. The second duo of Jason Yang and Russell Kasdon defeated Keagan Bunker and Noah Holland, 6-0, 6-3.

“West Bridgewater is an excellent team and their singles players gave us a battle,” said Pioneers head coach Joe Dunn. “Their doubles teams were not as strong and that helped us.”

On June 7, the Pioneers blanked guest Bartlett, 5-0, in the Round of 16 game. With the loss, the 15th-seeded Indians ended the year at 15-3.

Bartlett is a regional school located in Webster out in central Mass.

Luba, at first singles, shut out Arthur Solacki 6-0, 6-0. Second-singles player, Levin, knocked off, Ethan Minarik, 6-2, 6-3.

At third singles, McCarthy beat Colin Minarik also in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.

In doubles action, Dave Kasdon and Khodr won, 6-0, 6-1, defeating Eric Navjokas and A.J. Heenan, 6-0, 6-1. The second pair of Yang and Russell Kasdon rolled over Kwadno Agyemang and Tyler Heath, 6-1, 6-0.

“When you play some of these teams you don’t know anything about, you don’t know how good their league is,” said Dunn. “They weren’t as strong as I thought they would be.”

If the Pioneers can defeat Cohasset, they will play for the Div. 4 state title this Saturday at MIT in Cambridge (time unknown at press time).