The Hand boys’ tennis team remembered the sting of a 4-3 loss versus Amity in its regular season finale that ended the Tigers’ hopes of a perfect season. Displaying the true resolve of a champion, Hand used that defeat to get fired up for a rematch with the Spartans in the SCC championship match and got its revenge by edging Amity for the title.

The No. 2-seeded Tigers took on top-ranked defending champion Amity in the SCC Division I Tournament final at Yale University on May 26, just eight days after the Spartans gave the Tigers their first blemish of 2016. However, Amity couldn’t make it 2-for-2 as the Tigers notched a thrilling 4-3 victory for the program’s third conference crown. The title was decided after a three-set comeback win at No. 3 doubles by juniors Brian Lynch and Gianni LoMonaco, who improved to 20-0 while putting Hand back on the SCC throne.

“Clinching the SCC title with Brian was the best tennis moment of my life. Nothing trumps the feeling of our teammates constantly cheering for us, whether we won or lost the point,” said LoMonaco. “During the match, I’ve never felt more nervous in my entire life. I felt like I would’ve let everyone down if we failed to win the match. It went downhill in the third set while both my legs cramped up when we were tied 2-2. I just remember the intensity of our team pumping me up. We couldn’t stop until we saw the trophy. The moment when I hit the final shot to win the match, I remember it taking a few seconds for it to really kick in that we won.”

With four matches in the books, Hand (19-1) appeared well on its way to the gold with a 3-1 lead. Amity (18-2) wouldn’t relinquish its reign so easily, though, by winning at No. 1 and 2 singles to even things at 3 and set the stage for the dramatic duel at third doubles. Lynch and LoMonaco found themselves down after dropping the first set 6-7 against Logan Berke and Henry Molot. With Amity six games away from a championship, Hand’s pair stormed back with consecutive 6-3 triumphs that sent the Tigers into a frenzy.

“It was an honor to be a part of the deciding match for the SCC title. I wouldn’t have wanted to fight that battle with anyone else than Gianni. I’ve played with him since kindergarten and we came onto this team together,” Lynch said. “During our matches this season, we motivated each other to keep our heads together and make a game-plan. During this match, we kept repeating to ourselves, ‘We want it more,” because we wanted to have a perfect season.”

At No. 1 singles, Tigers’ junior Kyle Fay took on Amity senior Ethan Bershtein. Fay saw a 1-6 defeat in the opening frame before Bernstein cinched it by winning 6-3 in the second. For the No. 2 solo showdown, Tigers’ senior Andrew Pace took a 0-6, 5-7 defeat versus senior Max Einbinder. Rounding out singles contests, Tigers’ senior Dan Weinreb, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, made quick work of his opponent with a 6-0, 6-1 triumph. Finally, sophomore Justin Pace swept away his adversary, 6-0, 6-0.

For the remaining tandem tussles, sophomore Rob Israel and freshman Noah Gulla prevailed for Hand, 7-6, 6-4, while senior Dante Egidio and sophomore Alex Bueno fell dropped their contest, 5-7, 5-7.

Hand Head Coach Dawn Fagerquist, who was recently named the SCC Division I Coach of the Year, was proud of her club for bouncing back from its loss to Amity by pulling off a stirring victory with so much at stake.

“The loss to them last week was hard because we thought we could squeak it out and finally beat them at home. But they had the desire and determination in this final,” said Fagerquist. “I was a little nervous with No. 3 doubles after that first set, but they both fought hard and played well. I was coaching them like I would any other time. We also had the girls’ tennis team [which was also playing its SCC final at Yale that day] cheering us on, which was great. They all played with confidence, though, and trusted themselves.”

Fagerquist added that the way in which her team responded to that lone loss is a microcosm of what the boys have been about all year with keeping their nose to the grindstone and focusing on the next task at hand.

“For the seniors, that match was their last one at home, so they were disappointed. But I think the loss grounded us and made us work harder going into SCCs. We just had a feeling we could pull this off,” said Fagerquist. “For a while, I couldn’t put my finger on the difference between this year’s team and last year’s. But now I see that they are a young team that pulls together. They were just more determined to win this one. We talked about playing smart tennis going in and they listened well.”

The Tigers then went to the Class L State Championship and scored 22 points to finish a close second to New Canaan, who had 24. In singles, Andrew Pace made the third round, losing to top-seeded Roy Smith of Hillhouse 6-0, 6-0; Justin Pace made the round-of-8 before taking a 6-2, 6-2 loss to No. 4 Andrew Forchetti of Notre Dame-West Haven, Weinreb reached the final 16 prior to a 7-5, 6-1 defeat to No. 2 Nicholas Condos of Wilton, and Fay lost in the third round by the score of 6-1, 6-1 Bobby Neuner of Darien.

For doubles, Gulla and Israel made the quarterfinals before taking a 6-2, 7-5 defeat to No. 3-ranked Luke Crowley and David Haven of New Canaan, LoMonaco and Lynch also made the Elite 8 prior to losing 6-2, 6-2 to No. 2 Tommy Gileo and Kyle Mettler from New Canaan, and Egidio and Bueno were the third team to make the quarters before being defeated 6-1, 6-3 by top-seeded Jordan Lord and Henry Murphy of Wilton.

From the Sidelines

Making the All-SCC Division I Team for Hand were singles player Kyle Fay, Andrew Pace, and Danny Weinreb.

In the SCC DI semifinals on May 24, Hand took down No. 3 Fairfield Prep by a 6-1 count.

The Tigers’ previous SCC DI title victories in 2013 and 2014 both came against the Spartans.