Class B First Round
You can find the Class B Preview here if you missed it.
(1) Brunswick beat Tabor
I didn't hear what the score was or any details but after watching Brunswick play I can't imagine it was too close.
Belmont Hill beat Moses Brown 4-0
As expected Bel Hill cruised to victory in this one.
Roxbury Latin beat Berkshire
Not sure what happened.
Hopkins beat BB&N 6-1
Hopkins was very impressive in their dominant victory. Nolan Paige and Bobby Berkowitz didn't play singles but I know that Nolan played in the second match and that he's going to play in the match Sunday. I'm not sure whether Bobby is planning on playing the match Sunday.
Class B Second Round
(1) Brunswick beat Belmont Hill 4-1
Brunswick took the doubles point to start the match and apparently they put Sam King '10 (their 1st singles player) at 3rd doubles which I didn't even know was legal because it's a stacking red flag. Anyway, since the match was at Harvard I was able to make it back from Connecticut in time to watch the singles. Brunswick dominated the singles early, taking 5 of the 6 first sets in convincing fashion. The crowd had a lot more Bel Hill supporters but Brunswick stayed very pumped up throughout the singles and they were a lot more emotional and vocal than the Belmont Hill players. The fourth singles match finished first with a 6-0, 6-0 win for Brunswick. The sole highlight of the fourth singles match up for Belmont Hill was when Nick Tierney pegged the Brunswick player in the chest late in the second set, much to the delight of the Bel Hill fan section.
Brunswick then won sixth singles to bring the overall score to 3-0. Belmont Hill looked like it might come back when Carl Reid '13 was able to close out his match against Sam King '10 7-5. 6-2 in what was a very physical battle. Most of the time it was Carl Reid dictating play and attacking the net while Sam King sat on the baseline pounding ground strokes and chasing down volleys.
With the match score at 3-1, Belmont Hill remained in survival mode as Peter Yanofsky '10 was able to win a second set tiebreak at second singles after dropping the first set. A few minutes later it was Bashiru Akinfolarin '10 who pulled out a second set tiebreak at fifth singles for Belmont Hill to send his match into a third set as well. In the third set at second singles Peter Yanofsky '10 of Belmont Hill nearly broke back receiving at 2-4 but ultimately he wasn't able to and he was broken serving at 2-5 to end the match and the postseason for Belmont Hill. The third singles and fifth singles third sets had just started when the match finished.
It was a very competitive match but in the end Brunswick had too much depth for the Senior-heavy Belmont Hill squad.
(2) Hopkins beat Roxbury Latin 4-0
Preview of the Class B Final
(1) Brunswick at (2) Hopkins
It was hard to do the last prediction since I hadn't seen either team play but after today I think that I have a better idea of what's going to happen. If both teams use the same doubles lineups I envison Hopkins winning easily at first doubles and Brunswick cleaning up at third doubles. Hopkins has an edge at second doubles but it should be a tight match.
In singles, Nolan Paige '12 should win easily against Sam King '10 at the top spot and the second singles could go either way. When these two teams played a few weeks ago the second singles point went to Brunswick when Russell Einbinder '12 defaulted at 2-2 in the third set. I think that whether Bobby Berkowitz '10 plays singles for Hopkins or not, the singles will split 3-3 and whoever gets the doubles point will come out victorious. I'm tempted to take Brunswick 4-3 because their competitiveness and team spirit is pretty intense but I think that Hopkins will find a way to pull the match out 4-3. Final Prediction: Hopkins will upset Brunswick 4-3 and prevent them from winning a third straight New England Title.
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