THE WARRIORS will most definitely be bringing their guitars to the dance. Wakefield punched a ticket to the Div. 2 North Tournament for the first time since 2004 after closing their regular season with wins over Stoneham and Watertown. The 16th-seeded Warriors will play No. 1 Somerville at Tufts University tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. Pictured from left to right is Johnny Stumpf, Lucas Smith, Jack Palmer, Joshua Cieniewicz, Noah Greif, Ian Schermerhorn and Sean DeCourcy. (Katherine Cruise Photo)

Published in the June 3, 2019 edition.

By NOAH GREIF

WAKEFIELD — The wait is over: the Wakefield High boys’ tennis team accomplished their goal of making it to the MIAA State Tournament with must-wins over Freedom division opponents Stoneham and Watertown.

This a momentous accomplishment for the team and the future of the program, as the last time the team made it to the playoffs the Red Sox still had not broken the Curse of the Bambino and Brian Robertson was the head coach of the team.

In 2004, Wakefield sneaked into the tournament with a 9-9 record and lost a heartbreaker to North Reading. Despite the 15 years between these accomplishments, the Warriors are hungry as ever for victory as they look to assert themselves against the best of the best.

Against Stoneham, the Warriors showed no fatigue at the end of the season, collecting a solid 4-1 win. The three singles players for Wakefield lost a combined seven games, with Johnny Stumpf moving to third singles and Jack Palmer switching to first doubles.

“Switching Johnny and Jack was a great move as it gave the team more depth in the lineup. Johnny is able to handle a variety of shots, while Jack is a great doubles player with a big serve which sets his partner up at the net to put balls away,” said head coach Cheryl Connors.

Stumpf showed he was ready to play the more physical game of singles, beating Marco Lograsso 6-3, 6-0.

Lucas Smith played a respectable opponent in Matt Marchant, with Marchant leading 3-2 early in the first set. Smith quickly found his game, going on to win ten of the next eleven games to complete a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Noah Greif double bageled Luke Arnois for the second straight time to give Wakefield the match win with a sweep of the singles.

In the doubles, both matches went the distance in three sets, but only the new duo of Joshua Cieniewicz and Jack Palmer came out on top. Cieniewicz and Palmer dominated the first set 6-1, while Stoneham fired back in the second set for a 6-3 win. In the deciding set, both players stepped up their games to win 6-4, as they were able to both play aggressively from the baseline and net, something that Palmer notably brings to his doubles game.

The only loss of the day for Wakefield came at second doubles. Ian Schermerhorn and Sean DeCourcy fell to Colin Campbell and Marco Sanella 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. The duo had numerous chances down 6-5 in the third set to send the match a third set tiebreak in a game that saw endless deuces, but they couldn’t gain the momentum needed to.

With a win over Stoneham, that set the stage for Tuesday’s matchup against Watertown. Wakefield edged Watertown 3-2 in their previous matchup, so the Warriors knew it wasn’t going to be a simple win. Due to the rain, the match was played at Woburn Racquet Club, changing the conditions with no wind as well as faster court conditions.

At second singles, Lucas Smith completed his outstanding regular season, beating Cooper Petrie 6-1, 6-2 to finish personally at 14-5.

Johnny Stumpf put Wakefield up 2-0 in the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Henry Yussen.

With only one win needed to clinch, Jack Palmer and Joshua Cieniewicz delivered in the clutch. After winning the first set with ease, the duo played under the pressure to win the tie break set (7-5 in the tiebreaker) and to clinch the win for Wakefield.

The Warriors weren’t able to finish off the day with any more wins, but the mood was already high after receiving news of a tournament berth. Noah Greif fell to Evan Fleischer 6-2, 7-5 at first singles. Greif was up 5-1 in the second set, but couldn’t string together enough points to send the match to a deciding set.

At second doubles, Ian Schermerhorn and Sean DeCourcy lost in what turned out to be a condensed match with limited time on the courts of Woburn Racquet Club. The duo lost 6-3, 2-4, 1-0 (10-9 in the tiebreaker).

“We will take it one match at a time in the tournament,” said Connors. “We achieved this goal through hard work, dedication, teamwork and always being ready to play. I am so proud of the tennis we played to make it to states.”

Varsity regulars Noah Greif, Lucas Smith, Johnny Stumpf, Jack Palmer, Josh Cieniewicz, Ian Schermerhorn and Sean DeCourcy along with three freshman alternates, Michael Leary, Kyle Russell and Zachary Harter will travel for the tournament.

The Warriors will play the No. 1 seed Somerville on Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. at Tufts University. Although Wakefield is the No. 16 seed, they can not be overlooked because of their record in a tough Middlesex League. As seen with No. 16 UMBC’s upset of No. 1 seed Virginia in the 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament, anything is possible.