Here's everything you need to know about Saturday's Boys Tennis Championship matches

eric rueb, the providence journal

Sat, Jun 3, 2023, 5:09 AM·6 min read

If Mother Nature cooperates, the boys tennis season is going to come to a close today at Slater Park with the Division I, II and III Championship matches that are set to start at 11 a.m.

If Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, the RIIL is going to try and play as many of the matches as possible Saturday and whatever is leftover will be rescheduled for Monday and Tuesday afternoon.

Regardless, titles will be handed out in three matches that should all come down to the wire.

Here’s everything you need to know about the six teams making the trek to Pawtucket in hopes of claiming a championship trophy, including a breakdown of what each team needs to have to have happen to win and my picks for who will raise a trophy.

RIIL Boys Tennis State Championship

Gabe Anderson (left) and Bryce Kupperman (right) won the state doubles title together, but can they come through and grab a big win at No. 1 doubles to try and help Barrington beat La Salle for the team state title on Saturday?

No. 1 Barrington vs. No. 3 La Salle

WHEN AND WHERE: Saturday, 3 p.m., Slater Park

REGULAR SEASON: Barrington 11-1, La Salle 10-2

PREVIOUS MEETING: On April 4, La Salle hosted and beat Barrington, 5-2; at home on May 16, the Eagles flew past the Rams, 4-3.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: In the quarterfinals, La Salle beat No. 6 Lincoln, 4-1; in the semifinals, Barrington beat No. 5 Mount St. Charles, 4-0, while La Salle beat No. 2 Hendricken, 4-3.

TOTAL TITLES: Barrington 8 (8 State), La Salle 12 (10 State, 1 Division II, 1 Division III)

LAST TITLE MATCH APPEARANCE: La Salle beat Barrington, 4-0, in the 2022 State Championship.

LAST TITLE MATCH WIN: La Salle beat Barrington, 4-0, in the 2022 State Championship; Barrington beat Wheeler, 4-0, in the 2019 State Championship.

It's been a grind of a season for Dyllon Litmanovich and the La Salle boys tennis team. The Rams worked through some issues early in the season and find themselves in the state title match Saturday against Barrington in search of their third straight state title.

PROBABLE MATCHES: Singles – Luke Sapolsky, B, vs. Andrew Smith, LSA; Charlie Martin, B, vs. Nolan O’Brien, LSA; Jeremy Kuo, B, vs. Dyllon Litmanovich, LSA; Vineet Abbineni, B, vs. Joey Cavanagh, LSA. Doubles – Gabe Anderson/Bryce Kupperman, B, vs. James Grace/Zach Perullo, LSA; Henry Birbiglia/Darwen Cheng, B, vs. Rami Daou/Max Wallace, LSA; Garrett Meehan/Zach Spear, B, vs. Ryan Coffey/Ryan Souza, LSA.

BRIEFLY: It seems unusual that the two-time defending state champs would be an underdog in this year’s state final, but this has been an unusual season for La Salle. Barrington’s been steady all season and with a powerhouse at No. 1 singles and the kind of depth at doubles that win titles, the program’s ninth state title seems very much a possibility for the Eagles. After its top singles player declined to play this spring and two quit after the ladder matches, La Salle had to regoup and figure out what kind of team it was. Barrington’s recipe for success looks like a win at No. 1 and a sweep of the doubles, but if La Salle can sneak a doubles win the title might be theirs for the taking.

THE PICK: La Salle

RIIL Boys Tennis Division II Championship

Can Charlie Lawton come through and grab a win over East Greenwich in Saturday's D-II title match like he did in North Kingstown's win over the Avengers in its regular-season finale?

No. 1 North Kingstown vs. No. 2 East Greenwich

WHEN AND WHERE: Saturday, 1 p.m., Slater Park

REGULAR SEASON: North Kingstown 13-0, East Greenwich 12-1

PREVIOUS MEETING: On May 17, North Kingstown beat East Greenwich, 4-3.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: In the quarterfinals, North Kingstown beat No. 8 Middletown, 4-0, while East Greenwich beat No. 7 Prout, 4-0. In the semifinals, the Skippers beat No. 5 Tiverton, 4-0, while the Avengers, beat No. 6 Classical, 4-1.

TOTAL TITLES: North Kingstown 5 (5 Division II), East Greenwich 4 (3 Division II, 1 Division III)

LAST TITLE MATCH APPEARANCE: North Kingstown beat Westerly, 4-3, in the 2006 Division II Championship. East Greenwich beat Lincoln, 4-1, in the 2019 Division II Championship.

LAST TITLE MATCH WIN: North Kingstown beat Westerly, 4-3, in the 2006 Division II Championship. East Greenwich beat Lincoln, 4-1, in the 2019 Division II Championship.

Kyle Poccia's match at No. 3 singles is the one to watch and the East Greenwich senior will do everything he can to help the Avengers win the D-II title on Saturday.

PROBABLE MATCHES: Singles - Henry Coghlin, NK, vs. Henry Seeley, EG; Charlie Lawton, NK, vs. Owen Padula, EG; Brady Hanks, NK, vs. Kyle Poccia, EG; Drew Neville, NK, vs. Cyrus Davoudi, EG. Doubles – Owen Tegan/Max Zangari, NK, vs. Duncan Kling/Ben Neimark, EG; Jacob DiBenedetto/Hunter Freitas, NK, vs. Liam Levy/Ravi Vishnu, EG; Michael DiBenedetto/Will Michaud, NK, vs. Aristo Liu/Rajeev Sen, EG.

BRIEFLY: The two teams were both undefeated before playing each other in the regular-season finale. On a perfect afternoon in East Greenwich, North Kingstown got a huge point from Brady Hanks at No. 3 singles and picked up the 4-3 win over Kyle Poccia. If there’s a match that’s going to decide the title on Saturday, that No. 3 singles match seems like the likely candidate. Both players have similar styles, but whoever has the steadier hand will end up on the right side of this one. Look for Poccia to enact some revenge.

THE PICK: East Greenwich

RIIL Boys Tennis Division III Championship

Can Josh Bolek keep his undefeated season going and help Chariho claim the Division III title?

No. 1 Chariho vs. No. 3 St. Raphael

WHEN AND WHERE: Saturday, 11 a.m., Slater Park

REGULAR SEASON: Chariho 11-0, St. Raphael 9-2

PREVIOUS MEETING: On April 6, Chariho beat St. Raphael, 5-2.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: In the quarterfinals, St. Raphael beat No. 6 Central, 4-1. In the semifinals, Chariho beat No. 4 Tolman, 4-1, while St. Raphael beat No. 2 North Smithfield, 4-1.

TOTAL TITLES: Chariho 1 (1 Division III), St. Raphael 2 (1 Division III, 1 Division IV)

LAST TITLE MATCH APPEARANCE: Chariho lost to East Providence, 4-2, in the 2022 Division III Championship. St. Raphael beat North Smithfield, 4-2 in the 2021 Division IV Championship.

LAST TITLE MATCH WIN: Chariho beat East Providence, 4-3, in the 1992 Division III Championship. St. Raphael beat North Smithfield, 4-2 in the 2021 Division IV Championship.

Milo Crisp's match at No. 3 singles could prove to be a point St. Raphael might need to win its Division III title match on Saturday at Slater Park.

PROBABLE MATCHES: Singles – Christian Resinger, C, vs. Travis Chartier, SRA; Jack Loring, C, vs. Ricky D’Agostino, SRA; Phil Abby, C, vs. Milo Crisp, SRA; Josh Bolek, C, vs. Aaron Baker, SRA. Doubles – Ryan Edenbach/Zach Lerner, C, vs. Nathan Corbett/Blake Webster, SRA; Maddox Burdon/Jack Grissom, C, vs. Yago Fraga/Joey Rekrut, SRA. Will Fritz/Travis Liese, C. vs. forfeit.

BRIEFLY: Chariho has to feel good being up 1-0 before they even arrive at Slater Park, but No. 3 doubles was a spot the Chargers thrived at all season. St. Raphael will have the two best players on the court occupying its top two singles spots, but Chariho’s won all season thanks to the play of its undefeated duo at No. 3 and 4 singles as well as dominant doubles play. With one win already in the bag, the Super Chargers are expecting wins at those two spots and from one of the doubles. St. Raphael must take the top three singles matches and then hope one of the other three spots comes through, otherwise someone is going to be tweeting “PLAY THE SONG” while everyone continues to not know what that means.

THE PICK: Super Chargers

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Preview of the RIIL Boys Tennis team championships Saturday at Slater