No. 1 Longmeadow girls tennis defeats No. 3 Westborough in D-II state tournament semifinal

SPRINGFIELD — With two matches to go, fans of Longmeadow and Westborough girls tennis watched each point eagerly.

Longmeadow held a 2-1 advantage, with Bailey Downes taking down Westborough’s Isabel Feldman and the duo of Marly Ducharme and Ellen Kennedy taking care of business in doubles.

Sarah Tiru and Sophie Dove began their third sets confidently, each taking their respective first sets. Gina Hajiseyedjavady forced a third set against Tiru, but Dove continued to battle Diya Bhattacharya on the second court.

Tied at six, Dove entered the final game on a mission. She jumped out to a 5-1 lead, needing just one more win. With Tiru soon going up 5-0, the question was no longer whether or not the Lancers would win – instead, which Lancer would clinch it.

Dove ultimately sealed the result, scoring one final point to cap off a 7-6 second set win over No. 3 Westborough and helping No.1 Longmeadow clinch a spot in the Division II state championship round.

“It’s pure joy right now,” Longmeadow head coach Michael Framarin said. “We’ve worked so hard for this. Credit to Westborough that is a very, very good team. We know we had to play our best and we did.”

The excitement that Framarin alluded too was evident in the postgame celebratory dance. After each win, the Lancers huddle together and for a dance party, and this night was no different. After the Westborough coaches and players congratulated them, the Lancers broke out in a dance to Pitbull’s “Fireball.”

But despite all the wins Longmeadow has experienced in this undefeated season, the memory of this dance stands above the rest.

“It feels different,” Dove said. “When we won against Westboro the first time, there was a dance party in the back of the bus, but this time we’re going to (the state final).”

Despite not being a part of their league, the Lancers were quite familiar with Westborough. Two seasons ago, the Lancers lost to the Rangers in the quarterfinal round, while earlier this year defeating them, 3-2.

“I knew it was gonna be close this time (too),” Framarin said. “But I knew we were the better team. We were super confident going in and we played very confidently.”

After winning the first set of Doubles, Sahasra Kommineni and Elena Chen outdueled Lia Manoussoff and Grace Tyler to even things up – mirroring what happened in the previous matchup.

This time though, Downes would hold her own in her singles match, clearing the court for the final two matches.

Although a state championship appearance lay ahead, the Lancers were building for this moment and were ready to break through after losing in the quarterfinals each of the previous two years.

Dove was ready too. The senior had been a part of the heartbreak of the last two seasons and she did not want to come up short.

“I have so much love for Sophie Dove,” he said. “She’s a heck of a player. I trust her to get the job done and she got it done.”

After Dove clinched the win for the Lancers, Tiru finished out her match with a 6-2 dominant final set, the Lancers’ fourth win of the match.

“I have high expectations for my singles players,” Framarin said, referring to a clean sweep on the singles side. “I was oddly calm because I trusted my players and they didn’t then let us down.”

Longmeadow (22-0) will take on the winner of No. 1 Notre Dame (Hingham) and No. 4 Hingham High School in the Div. II state tournament final.