MIAA boys tennis: Dominant performance from PVCICS secures Div. 4 Round of 16 sweep over Bourne

AMHERST — The No. 3 PVCICS boys tennis team punched its ticket to the Round of 8 with a clean, 5-0 sweep of No. 14 Bourne in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament Round of 16 on Tuesday night at Hampshire College.

As has become a common theme throughout this season to this point, Derek Ye set the tone for the Dragons on Tuesday, making quick work of his opponent on the second singles court. Taking on Doug Lunedei from the Canalmen, Ye was the first one off the courts with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Ye has yet to lose a matchup all year long, continuing his success on the biggest stage of the season to this point with another dominant victory under his belt.

“You look at [Ye] and you say, ‘How is this kid so good?’ But he’s very analytic,” PVCICS head coach Mike Locher said. “He figures out what the other guy’s weapons are, and he just takes those weapons away very subtly. He gets the ball back, he makes the other person work hard, and so far, it’s been the magic formula. He just keeps on cruising and making it look easy.”

On the first singles court, Lee Ferguson also continued what has been a great season to this point as well, having little trouble defeating Jonathan Santucci, 6-1, 6-1. The eighth grader was all over the court, using his quickness to make acrobatic plays that led to the win.

Devan Ye took home the win in third singles for the Dragons, using his powerful swing to earn a 6-0, 6-3 victory over James Kirby for Bourne. The team’s three singles players continued to dominate opponents as they have for most of the season, cementing the spot in the Round of 8.

“We’re [going to] need the rest of the team to step up,” Locher said. “… We’ve been relying on [our singles players] all year, and, you know, we’ll ride them as far as we can.”

Both doubles pairings came away with wins for PVCICS on Tuesday, but each matchup came down to a tiebreaker. At first doubles, Simon Speek and Jack Herman looked to be set for an easy win after winning the first set 6-1, but lost the second 4-6 before bouncing back and taking the tiebreaker 10-3.

James Ferrer and Alexander Rachele took home the victory on the second doubles court, with an even more narrow, 6-4, 4-6, 10-7 match against Ryan Conlon and Caden Dion.

“I think both doubles teams are playing better doubles tennis,” Locher said.
”I think they were perfectly fine tennis players before, but they weren’t necessarily meshing as a team, or they didn’t understand what to do in certain situations. Now, I think they’re beginning to appreciate that, and they’re facing tougher opponents, and so they need to step up their game, and so far, [on Tuesday], they managed to do it.”

With the win, the Dragons advance in the state tournament to take on No. 6 Cohasset in the Round of 8. The matchup will once again be played at PVCICS’s home Hampshire College courts, presumably later this week.

“Having this home field advantage has been huge for us,” Locher said. “It’s allowed us to come out, relax, not having been on a bus… They can just come out here, play at their home court, and enjoy themselves.”

Late Monday Results

Boys volleyball

Marlborough 3, Granby 1 — The Rams battled in an underdog matchup on Monday night, coming up short in the Division 2 Round of 16.

Jake Gagnon finished the match with a team-high 16 kills and three aces in the loss, adding 15 assists.

Granby’s season comes to an end with a final record of 14-6.