AMHERST – The Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School girls’ tennis team quietly put together a stellar season.

The squad continued that streak into the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 4 Tournament on Thursday. 

The No. 26 Dragons handily defeated No. 38 David Prouty 4-1 on their home courts at Hampshire College. PVCICS will have a couple of days rest before they play in the Round of 32 against No. 7 Monomoy on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Brooks Park in Harwich. 

Senior captain Rachel Gao was excited to make it to the next round of the postseason, in part because it shows that PVCICS athletics can keep up with some of the best in the state. 

“I think it's actually a really great experience because our school isn't really known for sports and the girls’ team is actually moving up really quickly this season, so I think it's really exciting to be part of that,” Gao said.

The Dragons’ singles competitors swept their matches with relative ease – No. 1 singles player Elisa Shinn earned a 6-2, 6-0 win, No. 2 singles Christina Heiney defeated her opponent, 6-2, 6-3, and Gao earned a win at No. 3 singles with a 6-1, 6-0 score. 

The No. 1 singles pair of Nina Zorzi and Anna Alcorn also secured a win with a 6-3, 6-1 final. No. 2 doubles pair Avery Richards and Biya Chaudhry fell 6-0, 6-1 in their match. 

Though the sun was out in full force in the 90-degree heat on Thursday, the Dragons muscled through in their matches. 

“I started just warming up, getting into it, it was really hot as well,” Gao said. “So I think that kind of factored into how I played just to speed the games up a little bit more.”

Div. 2 Round of 32

No. 8 Duxbury 5, No. 25 Amherst 0 – The Hurricanes saw their season come to an end on the road in Duxbury on Thursday.

Amherst finished its season 8-9 overall.

Duxbury advanced to the Round of 16 and a home match on Monday against No. 9 Westwood.

Boys tennis

Div. 4 Round of 32

No. 20 PVCICS 4, No. 13 Stoneham 1 – It’s been quite a season for the PVCICS boys’ tennis team.

The Western Mass. Class C champions were at it again on Thursday, opening the state tournament with a convincing 4-1 victory on the road in Melrose.

The win vaults the 20th-seeded Dragons into the Division 4 Round of 16, where it will play at No. 4 Hamilton-Wenham on a date and time to be determined. It was the second year in a row PVCICS defeated Stoneham in the state tournament. 

Hugo Shinn set the tone at first singles, notching a 6-1, 6-4 victory for PVCICS, while Aidan Cleary was a 6-2, 6-0 winner at No. 2 singles.

Teddy and James Scott were first off the court at first doubles, where the pair breezed to a 6-0, 6-1 win. The second doubles tandem of Devan and Derek Ye also snagged a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 victory.

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