CAMBRIDGE — When a program goes on a 44-match winning streak and captures back-to-back Division 1 state titles, what’s the secret?
If you ask St. John’s Prep Coach Mark Metropolis – whose top-ranked Eagles defeated No. 6 Lexington, 3-1, Sunday morning on MIT’s duPont Tennis Courts – his answer is straightforward.
“They put the time in,” said Metropolis, a Peabody resident who has now coached six state championship teams. “They’re one of the hardest-working groups I’ve had in a long time. They showed how tough and resilient they were and 22-0 isn’t an easy thing to do with the schedule we play.”
Prep’s Rudr Malayya, a Lexington native who attended Lexington High as a freshman, delivered an early first-singles win (6-3, 6-3).
Then again, the 16-year-old just completed an undefeated regular season.
“I just trusted my hands – I have a lot of trust in them,” said Malayya, who admitted to having hometown friends on the other side. “I just tried to put balls into play and not do too much.”
Lynnfield’s Luke Prokopis and Boris Kouzminov won at first doubles (6-2, 6-3). Despite winning early and not knowing if their teammates would replicate, the duo remained positive.
“We knew they needed our point,” Kouzminov said. “That point is crucial and hopefully it gave everyone else some confidence.”
Prokopis admitted it was tough spectating after an early win, but took pride in supporting his teammates.
“You’ve got to trust your guys,” he said. “It’s also a point to not get them too amped . . . too high or too low.”
With Kouzminov, Prokopis, and other Eagles cheering on James de Buy Wenniger and Wade Evitts at second doubles, in came the theatrics.
Ending a hard-fought showdown (4-6, 8-6, 6-2), Evitts’ forehand smash after a Wenniger serve won the state title for St. John’s.
“I just turned and saw him (Wenniger) start going crazy,” Evitts said. “Keep my feet moving forward. If you know Coach Metro, that’s what he says to his doubles teams every day in practice.”
When asked about his mindset – with hundreds of people wrapping around the court – Wenniger kept it simple.
“One point at a time,” he said.
Metropolis was happy seeing the duo “keep their adrenaline going.
“They’ve come close, but they haven’t been able to win against the big teams,” Metropolis said. “But they kept working and kept their heads up – that was huge.”
Lynnfield’s Jack Prokopis split the first two sets in his second singles match and was up 4-1 in the third, but once the doubles team clinched the championship, the match was suspended.
The Eagles, 10-0 in-conference, picked up tournament wins against No. 33 Methuen, No. 17 Belmont, No. 8 Needham, and No. 5 Concord-Carlisle en route to Lexington.
“When we got to the end of the season, they were ready because we played some great teams,” said Metropolis, whose program defeated Concord-Carlisle, 4-1, in the title match last spring. “It just worked out.”
