CAMBRIDGE — There was no way Alex Boardman was ending his high school tennis career without a fight.
Hamilton-Wenham’s senior second singles player and two-year captain knew that all eyes were on him and his opponent, Mystic Valley’s Wes Cunningham, Saturday night on the courts of MIT’s duPont Athletic Center. With their teams tied in the Division 4 state final and the championship coming down to this match, Boardman used every last ounce of his talent and energy to stay alive.
He rallied from a first-set loss to prevail, 6-3, forcing a winner-take-all third set. After falling behind 1-5, he ripped off three straight wins while getting the Hamilton-Wenham fans cheering wildly on every point.
But Cunningham had the final say, winning that decisive third set, 6-4, to give his team the state crown.
“What kept Alex going? That’s just the type of kid that he is,” said Hamilton-Wenham head coach Ian McCracken, whose top-seeded Generals finished their season at 19-2. “I knew he was going to stay in in as soon as he started winning some games in the second set and it was trending towards a third set. That was exactly what I was expecting.
“Alex is a fighter,” McCracken continued. “The way he plays, I knew he was headed for a third set and for him to keep it close … that’s all we could ask for.”
Looking for their first state title since 2009 (when McCracken played for the team), the Generals scored both of their wins in doubles competition.
First it was the second tandem of seniors Kevin Spoon and Gavin Meyer who gave Hamilton-Wenham its first point by capturing a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Another senior, Patrick Driscoll, and sophomore Will Gregory followed suit shortly thereafter at first doubles, 6-2, 6-4. The two Cape Ann League all-league players went unbeaten as teammates this spring while tying the match at 2-2.
“We were aware those guys had won at second doubles, and honestly I think it gave us a boost,” said the 16-year-old Gregory.
Driscoll, who had the winning point of the match with a powerful forehand smash, said he and Gregory were able to take advantage of their opponents with strong net play.
“We knew they liked to play two back, so we wanted to take advantage of that because they didn’t have any pressure at the net,” said the UConn-bound 18-year-old. “We wanted to take the net … and did.”
Second seeded Mystic Valley (15-4), a charter school from Malden and a member of the Cape Ann League in tennis only since 2025, got victories from their three captains in all three singles matches to take home the trophy. That included CAL Player of the Year Jay Raj defeating H-W senior captain Rory Taylor, 6-1, 6-0, at first singles, plus Ethan Co earning a 6-2, 6-0 triumph for the Eagles at third singles over Generals sophomore Rowen McConnaughey.
“They have a lot of strong seniors on their team, and so do we,” said McCracken. “The score doesn’t show it, because he lost a lot of deuces, but Rory put up a real fight and was one of the last players to change over in that first set.
“It was a really fun match to watch,” he added. “I was hoping they’d be on the other side of the bracket so we’d have the possibility to meet in the final, and it worked out that way.”