NEWTON – St. John’s Prep and Lexington were both victorious in their respective semifinal matchup, and the two schools will meet on Saturday with the state championship on the line.
The D1 boys state semis were held in brisk weather at Newton North, with the winners forced to persevere in order to advance. Sixth-seeded Lexington was the first to punch their ticket to the finals, defeating second-ranked Acton-Boxborough, 3-1.
Led by third singles standout Daniel Lee, who got the better of Acton-Boxborough’s Jonathan Nguyen – 6-2, 6-1 – in straight sets, Lexington (23-1) seized a lead and never relinquished it.
“We never give up,” said Lee. “We turn negative situations into positive situations, and we find a way to stay strong.”
Lexington coach Chris Pugliese praised Acton-Boxborough (14-2), as well as highlighted his own team’s ongoing pursuit of excellence.
“That’s a really tough team we played,” said Pugliese. “And regardless of what happens on Saturday, my kids deserve to be in the state championship. It’s been a long season, but they’ve played so hard all year. I’m very proud of them – they’re fighters.”
St. John’s Prep and Concord-Carlisle met in a rematch of last year’s state finals, which the Prep won. That heightened the intensity, particularly when Concord-Carlisle’s second doubles team of Brooks Miller and Mack Rottenberg took the first point of the semis. Yet the top-seeded Prep (21-0) is as deep as it talented, and the defending state champs were resilient in their 3-1 victory.
The score was evened when Luke Free excelled in the third singles match, winning in straight sets–6-3, 6-1–against Charlie Derkazarian. Rudr Malayya then gave the lead to the Prep, also victorious in straight sets – 6-2, 6-4 – against Ben Ostrovsky, which forced Concord-Carlisle (14-4) into a difficult predicament.
“I was happy with my performance,” said Malayya. “I made a couple mistakes, but I stayed confident and I took it. We worked and practiced for this all year, now we get to play in the state championship.”
The number two singles match was called off before the start of the third set due to rain, but it would have been played if necessary. That was not needed, however, as the Prep clinched when first doubles team of Boris Kouzminov and Luke Prokopis battled past CC’s TJ Fahey and Dan Lynch–6-3, 3-6, 6-2–in an outstanding three-match affair.
“They made their shots, they put the ball in the right spots, and they controlled the net,” said Prep coach Mark Metropolis. “That’s how you win doubles. And we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We played Concord-Carlisle for the state title last year, we played them earlier this season, and it was always really close. They’re a solid team, and now we have Lexington, and they’re just as good.
“When you get to this point, you play like you practice. We’ve been practicing real hard, and it’s paying off. This was a real battle. Every point was earned, and it’s going to be a donnybrook against Lexington.”
