Boston Latin’s Vanessa Vu, Middlesex School’s Declan Power rule state individual tennis championships
WELLESLEY — Trailing 5-4 in the second set of the girls’ championship match of the USTA’s Massachusetts Individual Tennis Tournament, Boston Latin senior Vanessa Vu felt the pressure during every point.
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Even as the stakes mounted and adversity struck, Vu never let her demeanor waver.
Vu battled back to win the final three games of the set, highlighted by a key service break at 5-5, en route to a 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 victory over Ursuline freshman Kiera Delima at the Longfellow Club in Wellesley.
“Every time I would get down I would just tell myself I could get back up, and I would take deep breaths to focus,” said Vu.
Vu’s victory concluded three days of single-elimination competition, which brought together top players from public, private, and prep schools across the state.
Organized for the third year by the United States Tennis Association, the event featured a boys’ singles draw with 65 participants, a girls’ singles draw with 43 participants, and boys’ and girls’ doubles draws with 20 and 12 pairs, respectively. Competition was moved inside Sunday and Monday because of the wet weather.
Vu entered as the top seed and dropped just five total games across her first three matches, highlighted by a dominant 6-0, 6-1 dispatching of Newton South junior Manel Guermazi in the semifinal earlier on Monday.
Though only a freshman, Delima’s blend of power and consistency pushed Vu to the brink. Vu cut down on her unforced errors as the second set wore on and buried winners into both corners with her lethal backhand to seal the win.
“You see the growth in her maturity,” said Boston Latin oach Paulanne Wilson. “In matches like this, you have to stop, refocus, take a deep breath, get your act together, and somebody like Vanessa can regroup. Not everyone can.”
▪ Since 2017, Middlesex junior Declan Power and Newton North senior Johnny Wastcoat have trained alongside one another at The Thoreau Club in Concord.
But until Monday’s boys’ singles championship match, the longtime friends had never faced one another in an official match.
The two staged a back-and-forth battle in the opening set, before Power pulled away in the second set for a 6-4, 6-0 triumph.
The victory marked Middlesex’s second straight year winning the boys’ singles crown, after teammate Lachlan McCaghren won the title last season.
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“I knew [Wastcoat] was amazing, but I didn’t know he was that amazing,” said Power. “I knew it would be incredibly difficult, and I would have to play really well to have a chance.”
▪ For the Winchester girls’ team, which posted a 19-0 regular season and is seeded No. 2 in the upcoming MIAA Division 1 tournament, Monday offered the latest display of its formidable depth.
Both Red & Black doubles teams reached the girls’ doubles finals, where the pairing of junior Esha Bhalla and freshman Kaiyal Kumaran downed seniors Mia Lock and Cate Sheehan, 6-1, 6-1.
“We set each other up really well,” said Bhalla. “We dominate the net. I set Kaiyal up, and Kaiyal rips the ball.”
Bhalla and Kumaran were pushed to the limit in their semifinal match earlier on Monday, where they prevailed 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), over Boston Latin sisters, Maya Nguyen and Lillian Nguyen.
After a brief rest period before the final, the pair viewed topping their older teammates as icing on the cake.
“I think it was just about having fun, because there are also teammates,” said Kumaran.
▪ Leading 5-2 in the second set, Lexington seniors Ryan Wade and Evan Saptari appeared to be cruising to the boys’ doubles title.
That’s when adversity struck. The Lincoln-Sudbury tandem of Pranit Rao and Lance Taylor fought back to win the next three games, forcing the Minutemen seniors to regroup for a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory.
The performance was the latest step in a dominant season for the two captains, who went 18-1 at first doubles as part of Lexington’s undefeated regular season.
“We just like to lift each other up, and when the other person’s shot goes out or misses, just move on and forget about the point and focus on the next one,” said Wade.
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