Behind Chan’s clinching 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) win at third singles, , sixth-seeded Brookline topped No. 3 Newton North, 3-2, in a thrilling Division 1 boys’ tennis quarterfinal at Newton North High.
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The Warriors (18-4) also received victories from juniors Kiran and Ravin Bhatia at first doubles (6-1, 6-0), and senior Anish Shrivastava and junior Peter Khudyakov at second doubles (6-1, 2-6, 6-0).
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“I really feel the adrenaline pumping when everyone gathers around and focuses on my match,” Chan said. “I feel like it motivated me and if anything, I play even better under pressure. So really, it’s all thanks to my team. I’m just so happy to be part of it.”
Though the Warriors faced more adversity than usual this year — they were undefeated the past five regular seasons before losing four matches this year — Thursday’s win secured the program’s sixth consecutive state final four appearance.
Two of those losses had come to Newton North, with the Tigers (17-2) taking both matches 3-2 in Bay State action. Though the role of underdog was unfamiliar for Brookline, the team embraced the challenge to respond when it mattered most.
“We knew that even though we lost to them twice, they were good losses and it was close enough that it could be a win with a couple tweaks,” said Brookline coach Mike Mowatt. “We knew we were right there.”
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Doubles was once again the sweet spot for the Warriors, with the Bhatia twins having lost just once this season, and Khudyakov — who spent much of last season at third singles — returning from a midseason injury to form a dominant second-doubles unit with Shrivastava.
With the competition only increasing deeper into the tournament, Brookline’s depth will need to continue delivering.
“To watch the way [the Bhatia twins] play together, it’s just phenomenal,” Mowatt said. “But both of our doubles teams are playing really well right now. We just have so much confidence in them every time,”
Division 1 State
St. John’s Prep 5, Acton-Boxborough 0 — The top-seeded Eagles (20-0) continued their dominant run, cruising to the quarterfinal victory over No. 8 A-B (11-4). Jack Prokopis won 6-0, 6-0 at second singles, Luke Free took third, 6-2, 6-3, and the doubles pairs of Luke Prokopis and Boris Kouzminov (6-1, 6-2) and Mark McDuffee and Alex Melville (6-1, 6-1) won easily John DeAngelis won first singles via retirement after taking the first set, 6-3.
Girls’ tennis
Division 1 State
Lexington 3, Winchester 2 — The two-time defending state champion Minutewomen (23-0) recorded their third victory of the season over Middlesex rival Winchester (16-4), but the quarterfinal was the most contested, with Lexington taking all three singles matches for the win. Sisters Kyra (6-0, 6-1) and Mia McCandless (6-1, 6-2) won at the first and second singles, and Phoebe Jiang took No. 3, 6-1, 6-0.
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The Red & Black swept doubles with the duo of Nora Dunn/Andrea Bilic (6-4, 6-1) rallying from down 4-1 in the first set to take 11 of the next 12 games. At No. 2, Siena Pierce/Amy Lyon won 6-4, 6-2. Lexington will face No. 4 Wellesley in the semifinals.
Division 4 State
Hamilton-Wenham 5, Sutton 0 — Emma Jani and Naomi Provost dominated first and second singles, each winning 6-1, 6-0, before the doubles pairs of Sienna Gregory and Emily McIntosh and Maddie Minich and Angelina Meimeteas both won 6-0, 6-1 to secure a third consecutive trip to the state semifinals for the No. 1 Generals (15-2). Ellie Holbrook won a third-set tiebreaker, 10-1, to take third singles, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 and complete the sweep.
“I’m really proud of these girls, only two of them started last year, so it truly is a testament to the work they all put in to better their games,” Hamilton-Wenham coach Joe Maher said.
Boys’ rugby
Division 2 State
Hanover 64, Brookline 19 —Brookline’s scrappy defense presented challenges that the No. 2 Hawks (5-1) hadn’t seen before, but behind a fast-learning group of junior backs, Hanover solved the riddle to advance to the state final.
Matt Bellerby, Lochlan Garvey, Max Goitia, Juneau Mofford all found the try-zone from the backfield.
“All of them are just really bright kids who learn really quick,” Hanover coach Andy McClean said, who teaches at the school and has most of the players in his classes. “There’s some high GPAs back there.”
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The group stormed to a 38-12 halftime lead that was never challenged in the second half. “Ball in hand, our backs have been doing a really good job moving the ball wide and exposing those gaps,” McClean said.
From the forward pack, number eight Aidan Boutin and second row Noah De Meule each scored, and prop David Bonilla punched in twice to help pull away. The Hawks earned a berth in the June 15 final at Curry College opposite top-seeded Weymouth, which eliminated Hanover in the last two tournaments.
“I don’t think we’re thinking about revenge,” McClean said. “We try to be process-oriented. We’re just trying to be as good a rugby team as we can.”
Globe correspondent Sam Robb O’Hagan contributed to this story.
Matty Wasserman can be reached at matty.wasserman@globe.com. Follow him @Matty_Wasserman.
