NORTHAMPTON ― The Lancers met with the Blue Devils once again on Wednesday, with glory and bragging rights on the line.
Against a dull and murky backdrop at the Smith College tennis courts, the Western Mass. Class A final did not disappoint as Longmeadow boys tennis prevailed over Northampton, 4-1, clinching a fourth consecutive WMass title in dramatic fashion.
John Rousou picked up the first decision of the day, earning the Lancers an early win in the second singles match with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Durrell Patrick.
After a lengthy first set against Will Wartman, Reilly Fowles cleaned up the second set to win the first singles match for Northampton, 6-4, 6-0.
The score did not remain level for much longer as Nate Brody and Jackson Combe soon wrapped the second doubles match over Jackson Briggs-Nye and Kaz Sugihara, 6-2, 6-2.
The fate of the Class A title hung in the balance as the two remaining matches raged on. Longmeadow’s Richard Li and James Wray were locked in back-and-forth battle in the second set with Northampton’s Oliver Levine and Reed O’Connor after the Lancers’ duo won the opening set, 6-3.
Over in the third singles on the next court, Northampton’s Eli Wool had responded well to a hard-fought loss in the opening set to Matt Desrosiers, 7-6, taking a 3-0 lead early in the second.
But Desrosiers did not panic. He had worked too hard to get back on the court for him to wilt now.
“Just staying calm, staying in it, using that frustration as motivation and keep hitting shots,” Desrosiers said.
The Lancers’ sophomore clawed his way out of the deficit and eventually took a 5-4 lead, but split the following set.
With Li and Wray continued duking it out on the next court over, the pressure of winning second set and securing the title for Longmeadow did little to faze Desrosiers — it only steeled his resolve.
“I also just use that as motivation (as well),” Desrosiers said.
Wool rallied back from the precipice of defeat on a couple of occasions, but Desrosiers eventually put away the Blue Devils’ sophomore, 7-5, in the second set.
Desrosiers’ victory comes in his first return to the tennis court after suffering an ACL and meniscus tear in his right knee in the beginning of the season. He had initially been told he would likely miss the rest of the season and it was not until last week that he had been given a surprise clearance to play with the support of a brace.
“It’s a great feeling, especially coming off an injury, it feels really good,” Desrosiers said. “Super happy and glad I could help the team out.”
Li and Wray would later close the first doubles match, needing a tiebreaker to decide the second set, 7-5. The two pairs had previously faced off against one another on Saturday in the WMass Individuals Championship boys doubles final, where Li and Wray were victorious as well; likewise, Reilly faced Wartman in the boys singles final, with Reilly clinching the title.
Longmeadow coach Patrick Magowan was well-prepared for the likelihood of the title being decided by the finest of margins, having split their two matches in the regular season.
“I wasn’t surprised at all that it came down to the wire like it did,” Magowan said. “Even though in the first one (Longmeadow won) 4-1 and then the second one (Northampton won) 5-0, it was down to the wire every point, so I was expecting a match like that.
“It came down to who could execute the best and maintain their nerve the best and I thought we were able to do that by a slim margin — but credit to (Northampton), they made us produce our best tennis to beat them all season… it was an honor playing them multiple times this (year).”
Northampton boys tennis competed in the Western Mass. Class A finals against Longmeadow at Smith College on May 21, 2025.Kenneth Manoj
As the two lone athletes who have been on the Lancers’ varsity team since their title run began in 2022, Brody and Combe have been witness to the standard it takes to be this successful throughout their careers.
“With such a great program, it comes with a lot of responsibilities,” Brody said. “We worked hard, we definitely earned it. It was fun keeping the boys on track to win this great award.”
But as the Lancers’ lineup displayed — with sophomores like Rousou and Wray and a freshman like Wartman — the future of the Lancers’ program remains bright.
“It’s great, we have young guys here who are (going to) keep the team going,” Combe said. “We hope to have had an affect on (them), just to inspire them to keep working hard and hope that they’ll continue that in the future.”
Longmeadow enters the Div. II state tournament with a 13-3 record, while Northampton enters the same tournament with a 14-2 record.
“This team has worked hard all seaosn in practice, competing in matches, learning from each other (and) learning from their opponents,” Northampton boys tennis coach Ben Lewis said. “I’m incredibly proud of how far they’ve come (and) they’re proud of themselves.
“We knew it was going to be a tough match. We felt like going into each match (against Longmeadow) over the course of the season we could win all five lines or we could lose all five lines and part of that is what it means to compete against a really talented opponent and one that we know is going to bring their best every time.”
