Brookline Boys Tennis Wins South Sectional Title

By Eliot Schickler

The Brookline boys tennis team won the Division 1 South Sectional title with a 5-0 win over Newton North Thursday (June 14).

This victory catapulted the Warriors into the Division 1 semifinals where they will face undefeated Lexington (22-0) at Newton North High Tuesday (June 19) at 3:30 p.m. for the Eastern Mass. title.

Brookline raised its record to 18-1 and defeated Newton North (15-3) for the third time this year. The Warriors won 5-0 in Newton April 23 and tamed the Tigers at Waldstein Park - their home courts – May 11. Although Brookline blanked Newton North High, the match was closer than the final score indicated.

“The second set in each match was close [except for second doubles, which was close in the first set],” Warriors coach Nick Pero said. “They are our rivals and every time we play them, it’s competitive, but we were able to pull it out.”

At first singles. Sam Feldman defeated Jack Vasu, 6-3, 6-3. Noah Schwartz was perfect in the first set at second singles, but faced a tough task in the second set before vanquishing Leo Kaluzhny in the tiebreaker for a 6-0, 7-6 (7-3) victory. Kei Ogawa topped Veer Gadodia at third singles, 6-4, 6-3.

In doubles play, the Tigers gave the Warriors all they could handle, especially at first doubles. After winning the first, Nate Comerchero and Josh Fleishman lost a second set tiebreaker but bounced back in the third set for a 6-2, 6-7 (8-6), 12-10 victory over Ben Archer and Nathan Cai. At second doubles, Ben Moolman and Aaron Fleishman beat David Arango and Anton Koenig, 6-4, 6-1.

Two days later, Brookline’s tandem of Moolman and Ogawa competed for the State Individuals Doubles crown as the South Sectional champions at St. John’s High in Shrewsbury. Moolman and Ogawa began their Saturday morning with a 6-3, 6-3 win over the Central Mass. champions, Wachusetts High’s Phillip Baird and Max Gobi in the Doubles Semifinals.

However, Ogawa and Moolman had to settle for second place as they lost to the North Sectional champions in the finals, Lexington High’s Aaron Chen and Charles Wang, 6-4, 6-3. “It was a great run [by Ogawa and Moolman] and I’m very proud of them,” Pero said. Although the doubles match is over, this isn’t the last time the Warriors will face anyone from the Lexington Minutemen. It’s also wasn’t the first time. Brookline’s only loss this year was a 3-2 decision at Lexington May 1. “A 3-2 match is basically a tie going in one direction or the other,” Pero said. “It [the rematch] will be interesting.” Playing the Minutemen in the regular season could work to the Warriors’ advantage in the rematch. “We played them earlier in the year and since then, we changed our lineup because we figured we’d see them again,” Pero said. “They are a good team, but it [playing Lexington May 1] puts us in the best situation of what we need to do to win.”

This post was by Eliot Schickler who is currently a Brookline resident. Schickler was the sports editor for the Westport News for 12 years.

Contributed photos

First photo. A Brookline player hoists the Division 1 South Sectional Tennis Championship plaque.

Second photo. The Brookline boys tennis team poses with the Division 1 South Sectional Tennis Championship plaque.