Longmeadow 5, Algonquin 0: Journey comes to an end

Entering the Division 1 state semifinal at Shrewsbury High School, the Algonquin boys tennis team was venturing into uncharted territory. After winning its first Central sectional title since 1995, this was the furthest a Tomahawks squad had advanced in 14 years.

Algonquin's journey through the tournament, however, came to an abrupt end yesterday against undefeated Longmeadow, as the Lancers didn't drop a single set in rolling to a 5-0 victory for their second straight state final berth.

Algonquin finishes its season at 16-4 while Longmeadow (21-0) plays EMass champion Concord-Carlisle in a battle on unbeatens for the state title on Thursday at Shrewsbury High.

"It seems a little too short in retrospect," said Algonquin's senior co-captain Josh Jordan. "It was a really good season because we basically built this team up since my freshman year. It's good to make it this far and it's good to win more than two matches in a district tournament."

After finishing the regular season 13-3, the Tomahawks beat Shrewsbury 3-2 on Thursday to win the Central title.

"The boys winning the district title was critical for them," said Algonquin first-year head coach Dick Lodi. "I'm proud of their efforts and the work they put into their matches. We developed the doubles teams, we had great one and two players in Josh and Nate (Davis). Those doubles matches kept us in it all year long."

Algonquin athletic director Fran Whitten, now in his 12th year on the job, said he had to consult the record books to find the last time the school won a sectional title. He has witnessed the program's growth firsthand and has seen it grow from a team on the cusp of a CMass title to finally winning it.

"To see the seniors here who came so close (to a sectional title) as freshmen shows that hard work pays off," Whitten said. "They came up short today but our kids were right there with (Longmeadow). To get to the state semifinals is something very few kids ever have the opportunity to do."

The Tomahawks quickly went down 0-1 when the defending West champion doubles team of Neal Freyman and Chandler Morehardt dispatched Ricky Fagan and Mike Hanna 6-1, 6-2 to put Algonquin in an early hole.

Longmeadow, the 12-time defending Western Mass. champions, sprinted ahead at the start by winning the first set of all five matches by at least two games. Struggling to keep his team afloat, undefeated Algonquin co-captain Davis managed to take a couple of games from Chris Barnhart in second singles, but ultimately lost the first set 6-3. He lost the second set 6-2 to suffer his first loss of the season as Algonquin trailed 0-2.

"It was frustrating because I knew I could play with him," Davis said. "When you play the whole season without playing people like that all the time, it takes a toll on you."

The clinching victory came in second doubles when Longmeadow's Matt Rosenkrantz and Ben Krevalin defeated Julian Gording and Jeff Lunder 6-3, 6-2. At the time of the win, the first and third singles matches were ongoing with the Lancers up a set in each.

James Barnhart closed out Jordan, who entered the match undefeated in dual meets, with a 6-3 victory in the second set after winning the first 6-4. Longmeadow's Ben Karim defeated Ethan Miller in the second set 6-2 after winning the first 6-4 to complete the Lancer sweep.

"The key to today was that you can always come up against a better player or a better team," Lodi said. "Longmeadow, in every position, has a solid, solid team. Their depth is exceptional."

Although disappointed with the semifinal loss, a sectional title still means a lot to the players, particularly seniors like Davis who saw the Tomahawks lose to St. John's in the 2006 CMass final.

"One of the things we wanted to accomplish this year was to take the district title," Davis said. "Winning CMass was something we all looked forward to since we were freshmen. At that point we wanted to win. We wanted to be great. When it all came together and we took the title that was really good."

In what will be a rebuilding year next spring for the Tomahawks after losing every starter but Gording, Lodi knows that his team will face short-term challenges.

"You always have those good teams and then once you have those you've got two choices - start the rebuilding process or retire and go out on top," Lodi said. "I'm not planning on (leaving), so next year hopefully we'll have a good crew of freshmen coming in. We're losing all three singles players and that's where the key is going to be."