WEST HARTFORD – Lukas Phimvongsa had never lost a regular season match at Enfield High in four years.
He had also never won a State Open tennis title. The last two years, he lost in the semifinals.
Wednesday, that changed. Phimvongsa became the first boys player from the Greater Hartford area since 2007 to win a State Open title in boys tennis. Phimvongsa, the top seed, defeated Michael Lorenzetti of Notre Dame-West Haven, 6-1, 6-0 at Conard High School.
“I’ve been wanting this for four years,” Phimvongsa said. “It’s the main reason I played (high school tennis) this year. I was nervous today.
“I had to go through five hours of school, taking finals, and this was all I could think of. I’ve been worrying about this since last year’s defeat.”
Last year, Phimvongsa lost to Greenwich’s Dylan Atkinson 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinal.
This year, he breezed through the tournament. He dropped the first game Wednesday but recovered quickly.
“He’s the kind of guy who gets better as the match goes on,” Enfield coach Armando Ramos said. “It was hot, he didn’t have a great start, but he just kept fighting hard. Eventually you could see him wear down his opponent. That’s what he’s been doing his whole career.”
Phimvongsa, who is going to play at Brown next year, went undefeated through the regular season in four years of high school, losing only in the state tournament the last three years, the last two in the state semifinal. This year, his goal was to win the whole thing.
Enfield’s Lukas Phimvongsa wins the State Open tennis title 6-1, 6-0 pic.twitter.com/7efIFGRts4
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He said he played well Wednesday.
“I served well, hit my forehand well,” he said. “I came into the match with a goal – to win on my terms and I definitely did that. I was always in control, taking advantage of the ball. Didn’t ever step back, that’s what helped me win today.”
The two had played each other years ago in US Tennis Association (USTA) play, and Phimvongsa remembered that it was a tough match. Lorenzetti, a sophomore, hadn’t lost this season until Wednesday.
“He hit every serve in, made me run,” Lorenzetti said. “He made me hit every ball. He did not miss.
“(His serve was) very early and flat and hard and his second serve had a lot of kick on it. It just pushed me deep.”
Lukas’ father Pho Phimvongsa, who went to East Windsor but also played for Enfield High in mid-90s (because East Windsor didn’t have a team) and went on to play at UConn, has coached his son since he was very young.
“He was level-headed,” said Pho, who went 60-1 while at Enfield and was a Class MM semifinalist in 1995. “He’s a very smart young gentleman. He knows how to fight on the court. He knows how to think on the fly and make good decisions. Of course, there’s always room for improvement but he’s excelled quickly among his peers and I’m happy to see him have the success he had today.”
The last boys player to win from the Greater Hartford area was Hall’s Dan Couzens in 2007. The State Open has been dominated by Fairfield County players in recent years and they have won eight of the last 12 titles.
“This was something that started many years ago, this wasn’t something that just happened,” Ramos said. “He’s been practicing at a high level and working hard ever since he was probably in diapers. This is a culmination of all that work.”
Cheshire’s Alex Orlins defends State Open title
Top-seeded Alex Orlins, a junior from Cheshire, defended her Open title on the girls side, defeating Branford’s Peyton Gaudreau, 6-4, 6-3.
“It’s a crazy feeling, obviously,” Orlins said. “It’s tough making it through this tournament, with a lot of the best players in Connecticut.”
Her semifinal match against Leah Zheng of New Canaan was hard: Orlins won the first set, dropped the set and won the tiebreaker 12-10 after being down 10-9.
“She managed expectation really well,” Cheshire coach Peter Zacharias said. “She came in as the 1 seed and everybody expects, ‘This girl’s No. 1, she belongs in the final.’ At this stage, I feel like anyone can be beaten.
“The thing I’m most impressed with this year is her mentality. That used to be something she would get down on herself and she might drop a game. Now she’s better about composing herself. When someone is close to her like the No 5 seed was yesterday, she was able to stay composed.”
