The MIAA has released its boys and girls tennis state tournament brackets for the 2022 season, and the Lynnfield Pioneers sit near the top of the rankings in both sports.
The Lynnfield boys clocked in at No. 2 in Division 4 after finishing with a 15-1 record and winning the Cape Ann League. The Pioneers recently had all seven members of their starting lineup selected as CAL All-Stars as well.
Lynnfield will get a first-round bye before hosting a familiar foe in CAL opponent No. 31 Ipswich in the Round of 32 Saturday (4) at Lynnfield Middle School.
On the girls side, Lynnfield earned the No. 3 seed following a 13-5 campaign. The Pioneers also earned a first-round bye, and they will await either No. 30 Advanced Math & Science or No. 35 St. Mary (Westfield) in the Round of 32 Monday (4) at Lynnfield Middle School.
But Lynnfield wasn’t the only Div. 4 school to send both its boys and girls teams to the state tournament, as Winthrop did as well. The Vikings boys (7-7) earned the No. 19 seed and a first-round bye, but they will have to go on the road to take on No. 14 Bromfield Sunday afternoon (4) in the Round of 32. As for the Vikings girls (8-7), they picked up the No. 29 seed and will play a home game against No. 36 Leicester Saturday (4) in the preliminary round.
Moving back over to the boys side of things, the only local team that made it into the Div. 1 bracket was St. John’s Prep, as the Eagles enjoyed another strong year. The Prep (15-3) earned the No. 6 seed, a first-round bye and a home game, as the Eagles will host No. 27 Central Catholic Monday afternoon (4) in the Round of 32.
In Div. 2, the lone local team to make it to the big dance was No. 12 Marblehead. The Magicians, who finished 12-6 on the year, earned a home game and will host No. 21 Nashoba Monday afternoon (4) in the Round of 32.
The Swampscott boys are the lone North Shore representative in the Div. 3 tournament bracket, earning the No. 13 seed after finishing the regular season at 8-7. The Big Blue will get a bye in the first round before hosting No. 20 Ashland Monday afternoon (4) in the Round of 32.
The Lynn Classical girls snuck into the Div. 1 tournament bracket with an 8-5 season, picking up the No. 35 seed. That means the Rams will need to play in the preliminary round and go on the road, where they will face off against No. 30 Franklin Saturday afternoon (4).
Two local girls teams picked up top-25 seeds in the Div. 2 tournament, with Marblehead slotting in at No. 20 and Bishop Fenwick coming in at No. 25. Both teams will get a first-round bye before playing on the road in the Round of 32, with the Magicians (12-6) traveling to No. 13 Oliver Ames Monday (4) and the Crusaders (11-8) will venture out to Hingham to take on Notre Dame Academy Monday (4).
The Swampscott girls were the lone local team in the Div. 3 bracket, sneaking into the tournament despite finishing below .500 at 8-10. The Big Blue earned the No. 17 seed and will play on the road at No. 16 Cape Cod Academy Monday afternoon (4).
