“Ajmo!” (“Let’s Go!”) was the cry that rang out from the stands at Belmont Hill School, as junior Koya Radojevic won his final point, ending an epic, almost four-hour, deciding match at third singles and booking No. 12 Belmont’s place in the MIAA Division 1 round of 16.
Belmont was matched up against No. 21 Acton-Boxborough, which, despite being 3-9, had the statistically most difficult schedule of any team in the state.
The Marauders came out swinging, as sophomore Miles Hendriks swept his opponent at second singles, while classmate Jack Moriarty won his match, 6-2, 6-1, at first singles. Belmont seemed in complete command of the match and only needed to win one more contest to clinch the win.
But the Revolution would not be put away easily. They beat Belmont’s doubles team of Henry Running and Dorsey Mitchell, 6-3, 6-1. Belmont’s duo of sophomore Graham Coradeschi and senior Brady Chan took their first set, 6-4, but Acton-Boxborough won the next two, 6-3 and 6-4, respectively, leveling the match at 2-2.
Meanwhile, Radojevic had just been outdueled by his opponent, Ryan Dibya, 7-6, in a first-set tiebreak. If Dibya were to win one more set, Belmont would have been eliminated from tournament contention.
“I never had any doubts,” Hendricks said. “He’s a great player, and he keeps his head. Obviously [Dibya] played an amazing match, but I knew [Koya] would pull through.”
Radojevic won a grueling second set, 6-4, sending the match to a deciding third set. By this point, Dibya and Radojevic had been playing for two and a half hours.
Their third set was rife with complaints and controversy. The players paused for almost five minutes to argue a call, and for another 10 minutes when Dibya took a break. Radojevic stayed warm, kept on serving, and played a strong third set. He won the first five games, on his way to a 6-1 victory, sealing the win for Belmont.
For the girls team, there wasn’t the same tension, as the No. 9 Marauders dispatched No. 24 Chelmsford with ease, winning all five matches.
Isha Appadwedula swept her opponent, 6-0, 6-0, and Armela Mahadi came close to a sweep, winning 6-0, 6-1. Melina Loretan also dominated her match, winning 6-1, 6-1..
Belmont’s doubles were also perfect. Rishika Garg and Gwen Cornett won 6-3, 6-0, while Avery Cai and Kate Polina won 6-2, 6-2.
“This is a great team,” Mahadi said. “We have a lot of talent, and I think we can go far this year.”
Both of Belmont’s teams move on to the next round, and both carry high expectations with them.
The girls will visit No. 8 Wellesley, and the boys will go on the road to take on No. 5 Lincoln-Sudbury.
