Medfield's 'Great Run' Comes to an End in Boys' Tennis Semi-Final

The Medfield High School varsity boys tennis team on Wednesday narrowly missed advancing to the 2011 MIAA Boys Tennis South Division 2 finals.

The Warriors took host Sharon to three sets in every match before the Eagles won their semifinal, 4-1. Sharon is the top seed and Medfield was seeded fourth.

Medfield (16-2 regular season) won in second singles. Junior Kevin Lynch defeated Sharon senior co-captain Brad Malenich, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

"It was a great run for us. It was our 21st year in a row in the tournament, and co-champions of the league," Warriors head coach Vinnie Joseph said.

"I would be remiss if I didn't say we felt like from the very beginning we could go this far," he said. "But when you get this far, you're playing great teams. And there's no question, Sharon's a great team."

The Eagles now face second-seed Hingham (18-1 regular season), which defeated 11-seed Scituate, 5-0, in the semifinals Wednesday, according to the tournament bracket. The MIAA website did not have the final match's schedule as of Thursday evening.

Sharon (16-0 regular season) lost in the 2010 sectional semifinals, 3-2, to Falmouth.

That loss inspired Sharon first singles Vivek Nangia to battle through severe leg cramps during his final set with Medfield junior Jay Latimer.

Nangia took a 10-minute timeout for treatment by Sharon High trainer Jen Edmonds, two days after retiring from Monday’s quarterfinal with Falmouth trailing 5-4 in the second set.

But with his teammates, head coach Matt Freeman and others cheering behind him, Nangia hung in and beat Latimer, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Nangia said Sharon’s 3-2 loss to Falmouth in the 2010 sectional semifinals kept him on the court despite the cramps that were so severe Monday that he had to retire trailing 5-4 in the second set.

“After the loss last year, I just wanted to make it to the finals,” said Nangia, a junior.

“We got back in the semis, and we had to win. It just feels so good right now. It was worth it.”

Sharon won the last match of the day, third singles. Junior Aditya Puttigampala defeated Medfield sophomore Dan Cher, 1-6, 7-6, 10-7.

Earlier, the Eagles won both doubles matches.

In first doubles, Sharon sophomore Jake Steinberg and junior Eric Bloom defeated Medfield seniors Art Lewis and Alex Kerisiotis, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. In second doubles, Sharon seniors Kevin Lee and Dan Elfman defeated Medfield seniors Chris Dipasa and Scott Cope, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.

"We swept the doubles, and after losing momentum by losing the second sets, they came back and took the third sets," Freeman said.

"And second doubles was down big in the third set."