MIAA Boys Tennis State Championships: St. John's Prep, Manchester Essex Repeat ... Duxbury Turns Tables ... Bedford Finally Nets Another

MIT's duPont Courts once again were the site of the 2025 MIAA Boys Tennis Championships. Despite an extra day of wait because of rain, the four title matches included a pair of repeat champions, an exchange of hardware between recent rivals, and the rise of one team and the end of another's long championship run.

Here is a look at all of the action: 

Division 1

No. 1 seed Saint John’s Preparatory School swept the doubles matches and capped back-to-back unbeaten seasons with a 3-1 victory over Lexington High School and another state championship.

The second doubles team of juniors Wade Evitts and James de Buy Wenniger earned the clinching point for the Eagles with their 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 victory. The No. 1 tandem of senior Luke Prokopis and junior Boris Kouzminov earlier had gained a 6-2, 6-3 victory, and junior Rudr Malayya swept his No. 1 singles match, 6-3, 6-3.

The championship is the seventh overall for the Eagles.

Freshman Daniel Lee won at third singles (6-4, 7-5) for Lexington, which suffered both losses this season to St. John’s Prep.

Division 2

Much like in a tennis match itself, No. 4 seed Duxbury High School now has bragging rights in its best-of-3 with Westborough High School.

After splitting matchups in the state finals the previous two seasons, the Dragons left no doubt with their 5-0 victory.

Seniors Tim Vargas (6-0, 6-0), Bennett Stout (6-1, 6-0) and Taylor Bettencourt (6-1, 6-0) put together dominant singles performances for the Dragons.

The doubles were much tighter, particularly at No. 1, where freshman Subash Pallothu and junior Jordan Hlawek earned the only set win for the No. 7 seed Rangers. But Senior Peter Burnham and sophomore Willy Pierce still ground out a 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 win. Junior Nick Gallagher and sophomore Lucas Pratt completed the Duxbury sweep at No. 2 singles (6-4, 6-3).

The title was the seventh overall for Duxbury, which won 3-2 in the 2023 state final before Westborough returned volley last season, also by a 3-2 score.

Division 3

For the first time since 2015, No. 1 seed Bedford High School is a state champion. And for the first time since 2016, Weston High School is not.

The Buccaneers finally ended the reign of their Dual County League rivals with a 4-1 victory for the third championship in program history. Bedford won both doubles matches and added a pair of singles victories to complete the season sweep after also beating the Wildcats during the regular season (3-2).

Senior Spencer Goss battled for a 6-1, 4-6, 10-7 win at No. 2 singles, and senior Logan Cox turned in a solid 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 3. The Bucs scored doubles victories behind seniors Leo Natalizio and Charles Demeo (6-4, 6-0) at No. 1 as well as juniors Rylan Nichols and Ryan Liu (7-6 (7-1), 6-1) at No. 2. 

Junior Peter Chen got the lone win at No. 1 singles (6-2, 6-2) for No. 6 seed Weston, which was the defending D3 champion and had won Division 4 in 2022 and ‘23. The Wildcats also were four-time Division 3 champions from 2017-21 (no tournament in 2020 because of Covid).

Division 4

The rematch from 2024 was a much tighter one, but No. 1 seed Manchester Essex Regional High School had just enough to outlast Cape Ann League rival Lynnfield High School for a 3-2 victory.

The Hornets took a pair of singles matches and got a key victory from the No. 2 doubles team of seniors Shay Engelhart and Charlie Rubens (6-3, 4-6, 6-2) to earn the program’s fourth state championship. Manchester Essex had swept Lynnfield, 5-0, on this stage a year ago.

But this time the Hornets needed every point they could get. Sophomore Alex Montaresi won at No. 2 singles (6-3, 6-2) and senior Charlie Langendorf swept No. 3 singles (6-0, 6-2). Manchester Essex had beaten Lynnfield, 4-1, in their CAL regular-season meeting.

Despite wins from senior Shea McCarthy (6-0, 6-0) at No. 1 singles and the No. 1 doubles team of seniors Raffi Arkun and Matt Reinold (6-4, 3-6, 6-4), No. 2 seed Lynnfield fell short in the state final for the fourth consecutive season.