After a frustrating 2016 season, the Wayland boys tennis team is once again on top of the mountain. The No. 3 Warriors (16-2) defeated No. 12 Belmont, 5-0, to capture the Division 2 North title, their third in four years. The Warriors dominated all five matches, not relinquishish a single set to Belmont.
Singles stars Charlie Sharton and Jaylen Wang led the way for Wayland, defeating Caleb Harris and Jackson Luce, 6-0, 6-0, and 6-1, 6-0 respectively. Both players were unable to play last year, Wang suffered a back injury while Sharton left to focus on college recruiting, and their return has undoubtedly bolstered Wayland’s chances at a state championship.
“This year is exciting because we have Jaylen back and healthy again so we picked up where we left off, said Sharton. “It feels great,” added Wang, “Getting that injury last year was really unfortunate but there’s nothing better than just to come back in my junior year and try to get a state title.”
Beyond Sharton and Wang, Wayland scored impressive victories from the back end of their roster. Will Barton dispatched Anton Kutsman without dropping a game. While in doubles play, Wayland’s Gage Fuller and Will Gardner and Evan Curtin and Zhenyang Luo swept Belmont’s teams 6-1, 6-3, and 6-3, 6-4 respectively.
“It feels nice,” said Wayland coach Shawn Powers on his team’s bounce-back year, “Our league is tough, you might see this year in all three divisions the state champions come from our league. So, we have tough matches every year and it makes you better.”
