BELCHERTOWN — Half of Belchertown’s No. 1 doubles team knew.
Alec Morgado had no idea his and Dennis Lelic’s 6-2, 6-1 win over South Hadley’s Nate Piligian and Gavin Lipp sealed a return to the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Boys Tennis championship when he walked off the court.
Morgado needed his friends to tell him they represented the top-seeded Orioles’ third point in a 4-1 win over the No. 4 Tigers.
Lelic stayed aware of the other courts and knew exactly what their win meant.
“We knew we were moving on to the finals,” Lelic said. “We did it.”
Belchertown (20-2) will face No. 3 Mount Greylock (11-1) at 4 p.m. Friday at Lee High School. The Mounties beat the Orioles in the finals the last two seasons.
Greylock defeated second-seeded Monument Mountain 3-2 in the other semifinal Wednesday. It’s Belchertown’s third straight trip to the sectional final.
“They don’t want to come home with another second place trophy,” Belchertown coach Zach Siano said.
Lelic and Morgado wrapped up their match shortly after Belchertown’s Mike Laughner and Nolan Vogel beat Jake Remillard and Hunter Steinbock 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
“We needed something out of our doubles teams,” South Hadley coach Dan Dubuc said. “What they do, they do really well.”
It was the third time South Hadley lost to Belchertown this season.
The two wins in quick succession turned a 1-1 match into a win for the Orioles.
“It was bang-bang. I looked over and all four courts were cleared,” Siano said. “I’ve never seen it quite like that.”
Noah Pare got Belchertown on the board first with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Jack Canavan Gosselin at No. 3 singles.
“I tried to limit my mistakes, keep the ball in play, place my shots,” Pare said. “It worked out.”
Connor Barbacki beat Cyrus Raines 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 singles for South Hadley’s only point.
South Hadley will return its entire lineup except for No. 1 singles next year.
“These guys have a lot of fun, and that makes my job a lot easier,” Dubuc said. “If you have guys who hate losing as much as you do, that’s great. They want to get better.”
The Tigers watched their lone senior, Matt Gelinas, close out his career against Jon Vinagre. They’d split their two meetings during the regular season.
Vinagre prevailed 7-6 (5), 6-3 to cement the final score. The second set was mostly played with the match outcome in hand.
“I wanted to set an example for my team. Even if it’s decided you’ve got to show out and bring it,” Vinagre said.
Belchertown 4, South Hadley 1
at Belchertown
First singles: Jon Vinagre (B) def. Mat Gelinas, 7-6 (5), 6-3; Second singles: Connor Barbacki (SH) def. Cyrus Raines, 6-2, 6-2; Third singles: Noah Pare (B) def. Jack Canavan Gosselin, 6-0, 6-0; First doubles: Alec Morgado & Dennis Lelic (B) def. Nate Piligian & Gavin Lipp, 6-2, 6-1; Second doubles: Mike Laughner & Nolan Vogel (B) def. Jake Remillard & Hunter Steinbock, 6-3, 6-2
Records: Belchertown (20-2) South Hadley (11-9)
