If the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tennis Tournaments end the way they were seeded, it’s going to be an exciting time in Belchertown.
The girls and boys tennis programs each claimed the top seed in their respective tournaments Tuesday.
The 19-1 girls squad tops the nine-team field. The Orioles will host the winner between No. 9 Palmer (8-8) and No. 8 Greenfield (8-4) on Friday.
“They’re very excited,” Belchertown coach Jackie Kowal said. “They hounded me today — ‘Do you have the schedule?’ ‘Do you have the seeds?’”
The 13-6 boys team leads its eight-team tournament. The Orioles will host No. 8 Lee (8-7) at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
“It’s been a great season for us and the girls have rattled off a ton of wins,” Belchertown coach Zach Siano said. “It was a forgone conclusion they were would be at the top. … When I mapped everything out I assumed we’d be in the top three, hopefully the two.”
Defending boys champion Mount Greylock (10-1) is the No. 2 seed.
Should Belchertown advance, it would face the winner between No. 5 Sabis and No. 4 Monument.
Siano didn’t put much weight on the seeds.
“When I looked at the seeds I was looking at who we would be matched up with,” he said.
The Belchertown girls saw their 43-match regular season win streak end late in the season. The loss came at the hands of No. 7 Lee (13-3), the lone Belchertown opponent from Division 3 to qualify for the tournament.
The Orioles’ schedule is loaded with Division 1 teams.
“We always have a tough match against Ludlow, East Longmeadow and Northampton, and it was nice to see we beat them all,” Kowal said. “We played the teams that were really difficult.”
Undefeated Frontier Regional (14-0) earned the No. 2 seed, followed by No. 3 South Hadley (12-7). Defending champion Lenox (9-2) is seeded fifth.
Frontier hosts Lee at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. South Hadley hosts Mohawk Trail (9-3) on Thursday.
Three-time sectional girls champion Amherst Regional (10-5) earned the third seed and will host No. 6 Central (8-8) at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
“We’re happy with how the seeding worked out,” Amherst coach Gloria McCann said. “I feel pretty positive about the match on Thursday.”
The Hurricanes stumbled late against a tough schedule, dropping four straight matches prior to a season-ending win against Pope Francis.
“I thought it was a good way to end the season,” McCann said. “Sure, it was tough matches in a row that we lost but two of them were on the same day. … I think the girls played well and it was nice to have that win after a couple tough losses.”
Amherst fell to No. 1 Minnechaug, No. 2 Longmeadow, and twice to No. 4 East Longmeadow on the same day.
If the Hurricanes advance, they await the winner between Longmeadow and West Springfield.
“They’re working hard. We had a great practice (Tuesday) and we’re looking forward to (Wednesday),” McCann said. “Everyone feels good. With such a small team and literally half of them with no experience, it’s been a great season for them.”
In the nine-team boys field, Northampton (10-6) earned the fourth seed and will host No. 5 West Springfield (15-3) at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The teams did not play during the regular season.
Defending champion Longmeadow (15-1) is No. 1.