Duxbury boys tennis handles Westborough to reclaim Divsion 2 state championship

CAMBRIDGE - The third part of Duxbury and Westborough's boys tennis state championship match trilogy lacked the drama of the first two.

The No. 4 Dragons swept through 5-0 and only lost two games across the three singles positions at MIT's DuPont Tennis Courts. Tim Vargas beat Zachary Forjette 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1, while Bennet Stout (No. 2) and Tyler Bettencourt (No. 3) earned 6-1, 6-1 wins. Duxbury No. 1 doubles team Willie Pierce and Peter Burnham bested Subash Pallothu and Jordan Hlawek 7-5, 4-6, 10-7. The Dragons No. 2 pair Nick Gallagher and Lucas Pratt prevailed 6-4, 6-3 against Arnav Chinthapatla and Ishaan Thekkekunnel.

It's a familiar position for the No. 6 Rangers, who ended three years of heartbreak in a thriller last season.

"There's a constant battle about appreciating the big picture o things. We talked about having like a little ember burning in your chest of reaching the state finals as a really young team, that's a feather in your cap," Westborough coach Leonard O'Neil said. "However, you still lost, and if you want to get beack here and win, you have to be like what's it going to take to do that?"

Westborough's Jordan Hlawek hits the ball during the Division 2 state championship vs. Duxbury at MIT on Sunday, June 15, 2025.

The Rangers put three freshmen and two sophomores on the court in the state final. They didn't return any players that won matches in last year's final. Hlawek was a junior, and Jorge Garcia Gonzales was the team's lone senior.

"I try to alleviate the pressure they have," Garcia Gonzales said. "I've been really impressed. I playe dwith some of them before they were in high school, and their progression from eighth grade to freshman year has been insane. It's something they should be really proud of to be here."

Westborough, the No. 6 seed, pulled upsets over No. 2 Hingham and No. 3 Sharon to get back to MIT.

MIAA tennis state championships: Live coverage for Wellesley, Westborough, Wayland & DS

"They had some pretty big shoes to replace," O'Neill said. "We work hard not just on the court but on the mental side of tennis, not giving up, which they demonstrated."

Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Duxbury reclaims D2 boys tennis state championship over Westborough



* This article was originally published here

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