AMHERST – The two defending Western Massachusetts boys tennis champions met to open the 2022 season.
Amherst, the reigning Division 1 kings, prevailed 5-0 against two-time defending Division 3 champions Belchertown on Monday.
The Hurricanes re-racked nearly their entire title team, returning six of seven positions. That experience and familiarity showed at Amherst Regional Middle School.
“We had a match last week that was canceled, so we’ve been itching to start playing,” Amherst senior Aengus Cox said.
Cox beat Belchertown’s Thomas Vinagre 6-0, 6-3 at No. 1 singles behind a strong serving performance.
“Always when it’s the first match of the season, there’s some sort of nerves to shake off, some sort of rustiness to shake off,” Cox said. “I’m focusing on keeping focused, making sure I’m moving my feet, making sure I’m keeping an eye on the ball and just all of the fundamentals trying to get myself back into the swing of things.”
Amherst’s Zach Richards took down Trevor Weiss 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.
“First game of the season I was trying to test out my own playing style,” Richards said.
It’s his first season as a Hurricane after moving to Amherst from Dubai last year. He practiced with Amherst during last year’s Western Mass championship run and got to know some of them over the summer and through soccer.
“The coaches and the kids are really welcoming, and there’s not much more you can ask for,” Richards said.
Freshman Miles Jeffries bested Belchertown’s Chris Adzima 6-2, 6-2.
“It’s a really good match to start with. It’s a good amount of challenge so we’re not going in too arrogant or cocky,” Jeffries said. “You only want a good match with good competition to set the tone.”
Belchertown came closest to taking a set in the No. 1 doubles matchup. The Orioles’ Carson Boscher and Kiernan Corish forced a tiebreaker in the first set tied 6-6, but Amherst took the tiebreaker 7-3 and closed out the match 6-3 in the second set.
Amherst’s Josh Kellogg and Ben Oates won 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles against Jacob Chaisson and Jackson Couchon.
“We’ll piece it together. We know what we need to focus on now. We always say in these matchups like this, ‘be better tomorrow for what you learned today,’” Belchertown coach Zach Siano said. “That’s what we’re hoping to do.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.