Staples Boys Tennis Advances To FCIAC Final

With Greenwich's eight-year reign as FCIAC boys' tennis champions over, Staples is now poised to win its first league title since 2001.

The undefeated Wreckers advanced to the finals Wednesday with a 4-0 victory over Ridgefield on the steamy Staples' courts.

Staples will seek the title Thursday at Wilton High at 3:30 p.m. Standing in the Wreckers'  way, however, is a formidable opponent in New Canaan. The Wreckers (19-0) beat the Rams, 5-2, during the regular season, but it was one of their toughest matches all year.

The teams battled sweltering heat Wednesday, as the temperature reached 94 degrees in Westport when the match started at 4 p.m., and probably closer to 100 on the courts.

The player who seemed the least affected by the conditions was junior Danny Hirschberg, the Wreckers' No. 1 singles  player who cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Zach Passman.

"It was definitely a challenge staying cool, but I was able to shorten the points," Hirschberg said. "I used my  forehand to bring him up the court and I tried to get done with it as quickly as possible."

Hirschberg's brother, Jake, a freshman, defeated Keith Beizer, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 4 singles. Cam Marco, another freshman, bested Shane Lovallo, 6-3, 6-1, in the third singles and Graham Hyman cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Andrew Pollack at No. 5 singles.

"(The heat) was tough, but it works both ways," Staples coach Kris Hrisovulos said. "I told the guys they are gonna have to play, there's no advantage, and not to really worry aout it. You just got to deal with it."

According to postseason rules, all matches under way are suspended when a team wins four matches and thereby assumes an insurmountable lead. Three matches were stopped Tuesday.

Ridgefield was poised to win the No. 1 doubles, as the duo of Greg Jacob and Oliver Murray led Ken McDonald and Jordan Ratner, 6-4, 5-1.

Staples' No. 2 doubles tandem of Alex Ratner and Sam Hickok was leading Soichi Hirokawa and Mike DePrima, 6-1, when the players were called off the court.

The most competitive match of the day could have been the No. 2 singles, if it had been allowed to continue. Staples'  Jesse Heussner was ahead of Arnaud Valentin, 7-5, 1-2, when play was stopped. Valentin was up, 5-4, and serving for
the opening set before Heussner rallied to win the final three games of the set.

Hrisovulos felt halting the three remaining matches was the right call (sometimes, they are played out even though they have no bearing on the final outcome.)

"We didn't warm up too much early before the match, just to save energy and stay out of the sun," he said. "But other than that, they just took care of business."

Danny Hirschberg only got home Tuesday night after a strong performance in the USTA under-18 national championships in Georgia, where he won two matches in the main draw and two matches in the back draw.

In the main draw, he defeated the No. 2 seed, who was ranked 40th in the country. In the back draw, he knocked off the No. 5 seed, who was ranked 30th nationally.

The tight travel schedule also didn't bother Hirschberg, who made quick work of Passman, needing less than 40 minutes to win the match.

"I wasn't too tired," Hirschberg said. "I was pretty refreshed. I played one of the best tournaments of my life over the weekend, so maybe I was a little bit more excited to play today."

Hirschberg did not play in Staples' 6-0  quarterfinal win over Westhill on Monday, but the Wreckers will need him against New Canaan. 

"Every match is a toss-up against them, so I mean it's really just a flip of a coin who will win," Hirschberg added.