Boys' Tennis Wins Sectional Final

Lexington High School's boys' tennis team should adopt a new unofficial nickname: Streak Busters. Sectional Champions will also suffice.

Second-seeded Lexington halted No. 1 Concord-Carlisle 3-2 in the Division I North final of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) tournament at Newton South High on Friday. The Minutemen's victory denied the top-seeded Patriots their third straight sectional title, and ended Concord-Carlisle's three-year winning streak in the process.

"It feels great," said third-year Lexington Coach Chris Pugliese, whose squad battled to win after losing both doubles matches and trailing 2-1. "I can't complain."

Almost fittingly, the match came down to the No. 1 singles duel between Lexington senior Cameron Ghorbani and Concord-Carlisle junior Alex Steinroeder. The two met last month in the North individual tournament final, with Steinroeder claiming a three-set victory to defend his title.

This time, however, Ghorbani got his revenge.

With all other matches decided, and the score tied at 2-apiece, players, fans and coaches all lined the fence to cheer on what would be the deciding match. One needed not watch, but just listen for the raucous cheering to know who won each point.

In the end, Lexington's supporters cheered loudest as Ghorbani won 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

"I learned a lot from last time (the two met)," Ghorbani said. "My whole goal coming into the season was, I didn't really care as much about individuals, I wanted to do it for the team. I think that really motivated me. I just really wanted it."

He and Steinroeder have met numerous times before in individual play in local tournaments, but never with a team result on the line.

For Pugliese, having Ghorbani account for the deciding point was exactly how he wanted his team to win.

"This is what we wanted," the coach said. "We wanted to come here, get to the championship and get him revenge. It only makes it more perfect that it was the last match and that he could do it for the team."

Beating the Patriots puts Lexington in the hunt for the Division I state championship. They're scheduled to take on the Division I South sectional champion in the state semifinals on Monday.

The season isn't over for Steinroeder either. He still has a shot at the state individual title, which will be handed out next weekend at Clark University in Worcester.

Concord-Carlisle Coach Alex Spence said he was proud of the way his team battled in the loss, something the Patriots aren't used to the past few years.

"I think our guys competed great today," Spence said. "I feel pretty good about how we played.

"We saw a lot of their guys in individuals and they had a 20-0 record coming in, so we knew they were tough."

Early on, it appeared the Patriots were well on their way to extending the winning streak. They led 2-0 after taking both doubles points.

Seniors Alec Ahee and Hayden Callahan, who own a spot in the state individual doubles tournament next Saturday, beat the team of Lexington senior Andrew Herrera and junior Preston Wu 6-4, 6-3.

The second doubles point was a bit harder to come by with the match going three sets, the only one of the day to do so. Patriots Erik Dinardo and Ben Aghion toughed out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over the Minutemen's Kyung Jeon and Dan Maffa.

Senior Jeremy Weiser put Lexington on the board with a 6-3, 6-1 win over C-C sophomore Thomas Kleyn at No. 3 singles. It was the first singles match to finish.

That put the fate of the sectional championship in the hands of Ghorbani, Steinroeder and the No. 2 singles match between Concord-Carlisle senior Jay Berajawala and Lexington sophomore Mark Pronchick.

"I can't deal with this stuff," joked Pugliese, whose superstitions had him pacing the fence, trying to find a spot that would bring his team good luck.

If Ghorbani was credited with the game-winner, the assist went to Pronchick. He won the emotional match, which included a score dispute that needed a ruling by the MIAA official on hand, 6-3, 7-5.

That tied the score at 2-all and set the stage for Ghorbani and the Minutemen's dramatic victory.

"We've had some really close and intense matches," Ghorbani said of facing Steinroeder. "But the atmosphere really added to it."