With top-seeded Brookline controlling the top matchups, No. 6 Lexington needed its lower lineup to step up. Joshua Chen and the doubles team of Lucas Dai and Ryan Wade did just that.
Their gritty three-set wins at No. 2 singles and doubles helped lift Lexington to a dramatic 3-2 victory over No. 3 Brookline in the Division 1 boys tennis quarterfinals Thursday at Waldstein Park.
Lexington (22-1) now advances to face No. 2 Acton-Boxborough in the state semifinals. Acton-Boxborough defeated Winchester 4-1 in another quarterfinal matchup.
“Just keep fighting. I guess we wanted it more,” said Lexington head coach Chris Pugliese. “Josh played unbelievable. He’s been doing it all year, and he deserves everything that’s coming to him.”
Chen dropped the first set at No. 2 singles to Winston Chan but came back strong. With Chan struggling in the heat, Chen took control of the match, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. As he clinched the victory, his teammates rushed the court in celebration.
“Josh doesn’t get tired,” Pugliese said. “He plays long points, grinds all day, and makes you hit a thousand tennis balls.”
The doubles team of Dai and Wade also faced pressure. After narrowly missing a second-set win, they lost a tiebreaker but rebounded in the third. They held off Brookline’s Anish Shrivastava and Peter Khudyakov for a 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1 victory.
“In the third set, we really used our energy,” Dai said. “We pounced on the balls and took our chances.”
Lexington’s first point came from Daniel Lee, who dominated at No. 3 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Brookline substitute Michael Miao.
Brookline earned its two points through strong performances at the top. Deven Devaiah defeated Arvind Rajarajan 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. The Bhatia twins, Kiran and Ravin, claimed a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles.
This is Lexington’s second win over Brookline in three years. The Minutemen previously swept the Warriors in the 2023 state championship.
Nearly all of Lexington’s starters are underclassmen, suggesting more success may be ahead. For Brookline, Winston Chan was the team’s only non-senior starter.
“Most of them started as freshmen and stayed until seniors,” said Brookline coach Mike Mowatt. “That says a lot about the program. They stepped up and played amazing, and I’m very proud of them.”
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