Acton-Boxboro girls roll to third straight D1 tennis championship

WESTFORD — They were pre-schoolers and tiny tots, taking wild swings and giggling as the burning summer sun radiated off the hard courts a couple blocks up the street from the scheduled Division 1 state title match.

The inadvertent message was strong: At Acton-Boxborough, girls tennis is serious business.

And when the Acton-Boxborough High School girls finally took the courts Tuesday morning — shifted indoors due to the extreme heat — hunting for their third straight state championship, they left little doubt. A-B stung the Colonials of Shrewsbury High, 5-0, to complete a perfect 16-0 campaign and claim the title that coronavirus would not allow them to compete for a year ago.

“(Moving indoors) was no problem. We’re flexible. We stay together,” said senior tri-captain Lindsay Ristaino. “We make sure we’re all comfortable. We are just out here as a team. We make sure everyone feels supported. And we have a good time.”

The result of this one was never in doubt as Central champ Shrewsbury did not win a set, managing only eight games won in the quintet of matches.

“The kids show up to all the practices. They play all winter,” said A-B coach Mike Gardner. “This is fantastic. The senior captains were on the team that won the state title as freshmen. It’s been quite the run for them.”

Senior Ashleigh Parlman, who did not get an opportunity to defend her 2019 individual championship due to the COVID-19-ruined season, put the exclamation point on her brilliant career with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Grace Gerber.

At No. 2, it was Saanvi Vutukur taking a 6-0, 6-0 win over Anushka Mukopadh, while Niki Surapanini rolled at three, 6-0, 6-1 over Shrewsbury’s Aanya Gupta.

Finishing the job in style, A-B took both doubles with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 1 from Lindsay Ristaino and Anjali Pasari and a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 2 by Makenna Muindi and Ahwita Kasar.

“The team works for everything we’ve gotten. It’s not necessarily in terms of deserving it, but everyone has worked really hard and I’m really proud of everyone for getting to this spot,” said senior Makenna Muindi. “A-B tennis did deserve to be four-time champs, but it wasn’t handed to us by any means.

“Last year was really tough. After having the first two years of tennis, we really got going. We were really excited (for 2020). Lindsay and I played with the boys team, literally the day before school got shut down. So I remember looking at pictures of that and being really bummed out we didn’t get that (chance). I’m really happy the team came together this year.”

Replacing Parlman, Ristaino and Muindi will not be easy, but with its rich tradition and dedication to the game, don’t expect A-B to be slipping anytime soon.

“We have such a strong team (returning),” said Parlman. “They are left in the hands of three really solid captains. They’re there working when nobody is watching, and that’s what will keep this team going.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3y5pel1