Wellesley caps 24-1 season with Div. 1 state championship
CAMBRIDGE — For the Wellesley High girls tennis team, it wasn’t the easiest road to a Division 1 state title.
After knocking off top-seeded Lexington in the semifinals, the fourth-seeded Raiders battled second-seeded Boston Latin, prevailing, 4-1 on Saturday at MIT’s DuPont Courts.
For Wellesley (24-1), it was the first state title since 2016.
“Our lineup is very strong top to bottom,” sai Wellesley coach Rob Miller, who took over the program in 2017. “Our first and second singles players are freshmen but they play a lot of tournaments. Our third singles and our doubles players are multi-sport athletes who are used to pressure situations. They lose a point or a game, they put it behind them and focus on what’s next.”
Sarah Mackey clinched the match for the Raiders with a 6-4, 6-1 win at third singles against Boston Latin’s Rachel Lantsman.
Mackey was up 5-0 in the second set Lantsman held off match point, winning an eight-deuce game before Mackey served out the set.
“It was nerve-wracking,” said Mackey, a junior. “I knew first and second singles had already won. (Lantsman) just got everything bac, placed her shots well and made her drop shots.”
At first singles, Bella Gopen defeated Halina Nguyen, 6-2, 6-4. Kimmy Tai won at second singles with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Vanessa Vu.
Boston Latin won at first doubles, with Lillian Nguyen and Gisele Ngo defeating Shannon and Shea Welburn, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Wellesley’s second doubles team of MIA Chung and Sari Hart defeated Iris Tuan and Mia Nguyen with a 10-6 super tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets 6-7 and 6-0.
Boston Latin finished its season at 17-3.