With six-time defending champion Weston tied, 2-2, on Saturday in its Division 3 boys’ tennis final against Dual County League rival Bedford, the match came down to first singles, Max Ding vs. Dillon Denny-Brown. It was Ding, a senior playing his final match for the Wildcats, who wore down Denny-Brown, a junior, to close out a 3-2 victory as Weston (14-6) earned its seventh consecutive title (5 in Division 3, 2 in Division 4), and 13th overall, at MIT’s duPont Courts.
“We are going to miss Max,” said Weston coach George Conlin. “When it was 2-2, we felt confident that he was going to bring home the match.”
In the first set, Ding trailed, 3-4. But he battled back to take the win. Ding rode that momentum in the deciding set, with decisive and quick play to earn the victory.
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“It feels good to win all four years (of high school,)” said the Washington University of St. Louis-bound Ding.
Bedford (14-6) took both doubles matches, while the Wildcats took all three singles, with second singles Peter Chen remaining undefeated with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep and Magnus Starrett at No. 3.
Kat Cornetta can be reached at sportsgirlkat@gmail.com.