Seniors power C-C to team title

Alex Steinroeder, Concord-Carlisle's No. 1 single, sets up a return in his victory over Longmeadow's Matt Himmelsbach. (ROBERT E. KLEIN/FOR THE GLOBE)

"Success" had been a relative term around the Concord-Carlisle tennis courts, as three years of unbeaten regular seasons by the boys' team did not translate into playoff triumph.

Yesterday, however, the squad's four seniors made sure they went out in successful fashion.

At Shrewsbury High School, the Patriots swept Western Mass. champ Longmeadow, 5-0, to take the Division 1 state team title, capping an unblemished (25-0) season. The team did not surrender a point in its postseason run.

Backed by vocal supporters, Concord-Carlisle was led by its doubles teams, which made their own noise with unrelenting overhead smashes.

"The guys came out with so much energy and focus," said Patriot coach Alex Spence. "The doubles teams set the tone, which took pressure off the singles players and helped them to focus.

"[The singles] players knew they were already going to get 2 points."

At No. 1 doubles, seniors Sawyer Lawson and Nathaniel Hack grabbed the first point, winning, 6-1, 6-0. Not long after, the No. 2 doubles team of Sam Megowen and George King won, 6-0, 6-4, and clinched the championship with the team's third point.

For the No. 1 tandem, the convincing win was spurned by an aggressive execution of a wise game plan.

"We thought their weakness was at backhand, so all our serves were high kick serves to the backhand," said Lawson. "It left easy sitters at net."

Added Hack, "We just set each other up."

The afternoon's most anticipated match lived up to its billing, as freshman Alex Steinroeder took a tight battle from Longmeadow's Matt Himmelsbach at No. 1 singles. The 7-5, 6-4 decision, filled with long baseline rallies, ended long after the gold trophy was set to reside with the Patriots. After falling behind, 5-1, in the opening set, Steinroeder came back to tie it at 5 when Himmelsbach uncharacteristically missed an easy opportunity at the net.

"To be down and come back, that's a microcosm of how he plays: steady," Spence said about Steinroeder.

As individual winners from their respective regions, Steinroeder and Himmelsbach are both in the state semifinals at Clark University. They could meet again in the finals Saturday.

Taking the other two singles points for Concord-Carlisle were Ari Syskind and Justin Lee. Syskind, a lanky and powerful senior, won, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 2, while Lee, a methodical junior in the third spot, won, 6-2, 6-0.

The Patriots spoke highly of the quartet of seniors who led the team over the postseason hump.

"It's great that we finally got here," said King, "and to do it with these four seniors, it's just been an awesome time."

"This team has great camaraderie, rooting for each other the whole time," said Spence, "and today it all just came to fruition."

Speaking specifically of his seniors, he added, "By the playoffs, this was their team."

Concord-Carlisle's No. 2 doubles team, Megowen and King, will also be playing Saturday for the individual state title.