ENFIELD, Conn. – An unusual sort of quiet hung over the deciding set. The atmosphere had changed entirely.
No passing cars. No chirping birds. No resounding cheers. Just tennis, stripped down to its purest form.
Anaya Mohani and Maia Oh stood in a winner-take-all arena. The two had battled through uncommon contests before, and were familiar with this kind of environment.
But resuming a match indoors, with one set left to decide their team’s fate, was an unprecedented setting.
Check that off the unwritten bucket list.
Ushered forward by Mohani and Oh’s three-set clinch at second doubles, No. 1 Longmeadow girls’ tennis (22-0) survived an upset bid from No. 8 Milton (12-7) in the MIAA Division II state quarterfinals Friday.
A match ultimately won 3-2 by the Lancers began at Longmeadow High School’s Blinn Tennis Courts, but due to lightning in the area, was moved to the Enfield Tennis Club in bordering Connecticut.
Over one hour passed between the last point of Mohani and Oh’s second set and the first of their third frame.
“That was a good delay to just recharge and re-track our minds onto the right mindset,” Mohani said. “We’re both comfortable with playing indoors, so we just play to our strengths.”
By the time a siren sounded to impose a 30-minute suspension of play, teammate Bailey Downes had just emerged victorious, 6-4, 6-2, at second singles. It leveled the match at two points apiece.
That cultivated a statistically-strange situation for the defending state champions. Now winners of 45 straight dating back to the beginning of last season, Longmeadow has rarely been on the ropes, entering Friday having only played one 3-2 match in 2025.
On top of that, complications had risen for Mohani and Oh.
The pair eased their way to a 6-2 start as the Lancers claimed three of five first sets. The following frame, though, was a different story, as Caitlin Sanchez and Viena Do assembled a 6-3 answer.
As the two clad in black embarked on an extended period of regrouping, coach Michael Framarin affirmed his belief.
“I just told them, ‘You’re going to win. I have total confidence in you. You’re the better team – go out there and get the job done,’” Framarin said. “They did just that.”
Mohani and Oh only know victory. They’re now 12-0 and 14-0, respectively, this campaign.
The decider for this occasion proved to be an exercise in such winning ways. With the Longmeadow faithful celebrating every favorable point from the enclosed viewing area – audible, but muffled – their tandem was triumphant.
They didn’t even surrender a game at the close en route to their 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 showing.
“We just worked really hard to adjust, and we knew it would be a big change going from outdoors to indoors,” Oh said. “Made sure we got a good rest with the team so that, when we got here, we were ready to go.”
As Milton departed the court, Mohani and Oh embraced. Framarin put up two hands toward onlookers above, gesturing for teammates and fans to hold off from coming down to the court.
But he soon reversed course, beckoning everyone to congratulate the clinching duo and commence a celebration.
They’re headed to the state semifinals as the title defense rolls on.
“What makes them special are the kids that have stepped into new roles, embraced that challenge and are now flourishing,” Framarin said. “Just really proud. Everybody’s stepped up.”
Players broke out into song after a sea of hugs and smiles. DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” played from a phone with the Final Four trophy at the heart of their post-match gathering.
The Lancers lost four starters from last year’s championship lineup. Including 2024, they had only reached the state semifinals twice before in program history.
But here they are again.
“They knew what they had to do, and they went out and got it done,” Framarin said. “That’s what we do. We get things done.”
