Page 16 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 14, 2024 Eagles advance in MIAA Division 4 State Tournament #11 Mystic Valley defeated #6 Lenox Memorial 5-0 on Tuesday afternoon By Emily Brennan M ystic Valley boys’ tennis captured victory in their second round of the MIAA State Tournament, taking down the #6 seed Lenox Memorial by a score of 5-0 to earn the first Elite Eight appearance in school history. It was Mystic Valley striking first in doubles as #2 Eli DeTore/Ryan Co outplayed Devon Smits/Aiden Tran to a 6-2, 6-0 final. All eyes were then turned to #1 Rakshit Rangaprasad/Jonathan Yip and Juan Manrique/ Ayden Shove, who were even at 3-3 in the second set after the Eagles took the first. In the end it was Mystic Valley coming out on top with a 6-2, 6-3 final. Ethan Co was the first to finish his singles match, making light work of Michael Piretti, 6-0, 6-2. On the next court, it was a highly anticipated matchup featuring #2 Wes Cunningham and Alexander Kolean. It was Cunningham establishing dominance with a 6-2, 6-2 win. Jay Raj was quick to follow suit as he claimed victory with a 6-1, 6-0 performance versus Alex Fuster, giving Mystic Valley the 5-0 win. “The boys played with such finesse,” remarked Head Coach Stacy Smith. “ It was extremely hot, and we rode for 3 hours to get to Lenox. But it was worth it. Everyone played their best and I could not be prouder!” Earlier in the week, #3 seed Manchester Essex defeated #14 Ipswich, setting up a thirdround matchup between the Eagles and Hornets. The two teams faced off on Saturday, June 8. Manchester Essex won, 4-1. The winner will advance to the Final Four of the Division 4 boy’s tennis state tournament. Elite Eight, shown from left to right: AJ Rutkauskas, Henry Cao, Nathan Tessema, Eli DeTore, Rakshit Rangaprasad, Head Coach Stacy Smith, Jonathan Yip, Wes Cunningham, Jay Raj, Ethan Co and Ryan Co. Boy's Tennis Starts Off Strong at MIAA Tournament By Emily Brennan T he Mystic Valley boy’s tennis team capped its best first season ever by reaching the MIAA Division Four State Tournament. The No. 11 overall seeded team punched its ticket to the second round of competition with a 5-0 triumph over Westport on Wednesday afternoon. The Eagles will take on #6 Lenox or #27 Mt. Greylock early next week. On the singles side, Wes Cunningham had a stellar day, winning two matches to help his team advance to the second round of playoffs. In his first match, Cunningham took down Brody Girard by a score of 6-1. He followed that up with another win, beating Girard again by a 6-1 score. At the #1 singles spot, Jay Raj jumped out to an early 6-0 lead over Sam Van Saun in the first set. Through a combination of powerful serves and crosscourt shots he proceeded to win the second set by the same score, earning himself a commanding victory. In Ethan Co’s match-up with Jack Keane, Co found himself up 6-2 in the first set. Co emerged victorious for the second, winning his match 6-1 and securing the Eagles victory. Rakshit Rangaprasad alongside teammate Jonathan Yip picked up the victory in doubles competition. The two faced off against Avery Howell and Ryan Keane. A tense first set saw the pairs trading points until it was knotted up at 6-6 apiece. In the tiebreaker, the Eagles duo racked up the point to take the set 7-6. Rangaprasad and Yip came out slower in the second set, eventually losing 6-7. Midway through set number three, Mystic Valley propelled themselves past another tiebreaker to a 10-5 win. The final doubles' match Shown from left to right, are; AJ Rutkauskas, Wes Cunningham, Jay Raj, Rakshit Rangaprasad, Jonathan Yip, Eli DeTore, Ryan Co, and Ethan Co. (Missing from photo: Henry Cao, Nathan Tessema) would put the Eagles up 5-0 as Eli Detore and Ryan Co posted a 6-4, 6-2 win over Zach Lopes and Anthony Raposa. Rakshit Rangaprasad Ethan Co
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