The boys’ tennis team yesterday won the class LL state tennis championship for the first time since 2011. Baxter Stein ’14 and Connor Mitnick ’14 clinched the title by winning their doubles match with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Greenwich.

“It was absolutely unreal. It felt like the whole team was holding their breath until the final point, and when it was all over we couldn’t believe it,” said Griffin Haymes ’15, a varsity tennis player.

According to team members, Staples was favored to win states after its undefeated season. However, they knew that nothing was certain. “Every team was gunning for us,” said Josh Moskovitz ’15, a varsity tennis player. “We needed a lot of results to go our way in order to win.”

The team went undefeated, won FCIACS, and took home the state title this year. Winning FCIACs as well as states has not been achieved by Staples boys’ tennis since 1988.

Although the boys had a remarkable season and were favored to win, the championship didn’t always look promising. In both FCIAC’s and states, it came down to one match. In both of those matches, Staples lost the first set. However, the team kept fighting and ended up with both trophies. “It was a storybook season,” said Captain Luke Foreman ’14.

According to the boys’ tennis coach Kris Hrisovulos, the team had a great season as because players were determined and accepted their roles, which created team chemistry.

“We had everyone chasing us and wanting to beat us, to see us rise to the occasion when it mattered was an accomplishment the boys deserved,” said Hrisovulos.