After growing up playing together since elementary school, Masconomet’s long standing core capped off their multi-year run of excellence with one of their most dominant victories of all.
With a dominating 4-1 win Sunday over No. 3 Westborough, the fourth-ranked Chieftains (16-0) capped off an undefeated season with a second straight Division 2 girls’ championship.
Masconomet secured two-set victories by senior Kendall Skulley at first singles (6-2, 6-4), senior Nina Klink at second singles (6-1, 6-4), and sophomore Teagan Skulley at third singles (6-0, 6-0). With the title already clinched, the first-doubles pairing of sophomore Maya Klink and senior Shaylee Moreno also notched a comeback win (6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 10-5 tiebreaker).
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The Chieftains beat Westborough in last year’s state title in a 3-2 thriller, but was even more dominant this season with all seven players returning from last year’s championship squad.
“It’s bittersweet, definitely,” said Kendall Skulley, who lost just one match in her final season. “I cried both tears of joy and tears of sadness. This is my last time with these girls after so long, but we went out with a bang and I’m just so proud.
Masconomet coach Kathy Farnham knew this core was talented from the start of their sophomore year in 2021, but their commitment to growth amidst their success impressed her most.
“They’re fierce, fierce competitors, and they push each other all the time — in a good way,” Farnham said. “They’re a very unique situation. And to finish this way, winning states two years in a row, you couldn’t ask for much more.”
Division 1 State
Lexington 4, Lincoln-Sudbury 1 — Lexington senior captain Jessica Dai and coach Chance Fechtor pointed to the team’s camaraderie as the defining characteristic of its back-to-back run as state champions.
That culture came through again in a commanding victory over Lincoln-Sudbury at MIT’s duPont tennis courts.
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“It’s a lot everyone thinking about what we want and how we’ll put our best foot forward,” Dai said. “Everyone’s very supportive of each other.”
The fifth-seeded Minutemen (24-1), who earned its title shot with a 3-2 victory over top-seeded Boston Latin, outlasted the No. 3 Warriors (16-4) in a rematch of last year’s Division 1 state final, which Lexington won, 3-2.
After starting the season with a 12-match unbeaten streak, the third-seeded Warriors dropped three straight matches before winning four in a row to reach the title match.
Lexington’s top two singles cruised with sophomore Diya Pachamuthu surpassing L-S freshman Emily Naum 6-0, 6-0 and sophomore Kyra McCandless dispatching L-S sophomore Lia Swire 6-0, 6-1. L-Ssenior Carly Heslop took third singles with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Lexington junior Megan Lu.
In the decisive second doubles match, senior Aashna Sahani and sophomore Sally Choi topped L-S senior Heather Naum and sophomore Lindsey Grosberg 7-5, 6-1 to clinch the title. Lexington’s first doubles pairing of Dai and sophomore Kiki Reddy topped L-S sophomore Nina Gill and freshman Asha Nagel 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) to punctuate the title victory.
“Our focus is on having fun and being there to support the entire team — no one member is important than the others,” Fechtor said. “It’s helpful to know you have that support, and it gives the kids extra when they’re fighting.”
Division 3 State
Newburyport 3, Weston 2 — With her third-singles match dealyed over three hours due to a series of rain delays on Sunday, Newburyport junior Ana Lynch faced a unique situation: After the two sides split the four matches held indoors earlier in the afternoon, the state title rested squarely on her shoulders.
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Feeling the pressure, Lynch fell into a 5-3 hole in the first set. But with her back against the wall, she finally found her footing –– and never looked back.
Behind Lynch’s 7-5, 6-3 deciding victory at third singles, and wins by star senior Caroline Schulson at first singles (6-0, 6-0) and Bridgette Mellete and Lauren Brennan at second doubles (6-3, 7-5), the second-seeded Clippers (20-3) triumphed over the top-seeded Wildcats (6-9) to win the rain-mired state title on at MIT.
“I honestly didn’t expect it to all come down to me. I was pretty nervous about it,” Lynch said. “I thought to myself, ‘you know what, I might lose this and I’m just gonna have to deal with that.’ But I pulled myself out of it.”
After winning the program’s first-ever state championship last season, Newburyport returned six of seven starters — the most important being Schulson, the state’s top-ranked player in her age group. Still, coach Jana Schulson, Caroline’s mom, encouraged her team to keep improving throughout the offseason if they wanted to repeat.
“Figuring out how to repeat isn’t easy,” Jana Schulson said. “But the girls practiced really hard all year, even not in-season, to keep up what we had . . . I’m just so happy that we did it again.”
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Division 4 State
Hamilton-Wenham 4, Manchester-Essex 1 — Hamilton-Wenham girls tennis had faced Manchester-Essex twice in Cape Ann League play this season, with the Generals taking both matches, 5-0. But Hamilton-Wenham coach Joe Mahar saw something in the Hornets’ postseason run that told him it would be different when they met in the state final at Endicott College.
“We knew they were capable of beating us, because they have great athletes and a tremendous coach,” said Mahar. “We knew they would come out and do things differently.”
The No. 1 Generals encountered a new postseason grit in the No. 2 Hornets, but used a sweep of first, second and third singles to earn their second-straight state title. Through their five-game title run, Hamilton-Wenham (22-1) only dropped one match, going 24-1.
Dominant Sky Jara took first singles over Vanessa Gregory, 6-0, 6-0, with Naomi Provost doing the same at second singles over Calista Lai.
“We always feel good that Sky and Naomi can set the table for us,” said Mahar.
Chloe Gern fought for every point at third singles against Grayson Crocker, and as rain started to fall, she won, 6-2, 6-0, earning the team victory.
Manchester-Essex (16-6) got a win at second doubles where Grace Scarborough and Sienna Crocker used quick footwork to edge Allie Benchoff and Laynee Wilkins, 6-2, 6-2. First doubles rounded out the evening, with each team taking a set before Hamilton-Wenham’s Abby Simons and Sienna Gregory won the tiebreak to defeat Emily Provost-Weber and Sophie Zalosh, 5-7, 6-4, 10-8.
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Greg Levinsky reported from MIT, Kat Cornetta from Endicott College.
Matty Wasserman can be reached at matty.wasserman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Matty_Wasserman.