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Last spring, the Winchester High boys tennis team, under the direction of Mike Lauretano, was the 10th seed in the Division 1 state tournament after wrapping up the regular season with a 15-4 record. They went 2-1 in the postseason, before being eliminated by Acton-Boxborough (14-2), the second seed, in the Elite 8, 4-1.
The Revolution then ended up losing to Lexington (23-2), the sixth seed, in the semifinals. The Minutemen, however, fell to undefeated St. John’s Prep (22-0), the top seed, in the state championship matchup.
But the Red & Black have since turned the page to 2026, and are off to a fast 7-1 start that included 5-0 blowout wins over Cambridge (March 27), Stoneham (April 6), Woburn (April 8), Wilmington (April 9) and Melrose (April 10). They also defeated Arlington, 4-1 on April 13, but the very next day, the streak ended at six, when visiting Lexington shut them down, 5-0.
It turned out to be a temporary setback, however, as the Winchester boys resumed playing perfect winning tennis against Reading on April 16 that resulted in another 5-0 final. It was a great way to begin spring break after the match against BC High was postponed on April 17. They will eventually get together with the Eaglets on May 19 at the Packer Courts.
Lauretano said of all the teams they have beaten to date, Arlington provided the best competition with Reading not far behind.
But their lone loss against rival Lexington (5-0) on April 14 did not come as a surprise to the veteran coach.
“We were swept by them, but many of the individual matches were very competitive,” he said. “We aim to turn things around the next time we play them on May 1 at their place.”
Adhvay Karthikeyen (first doubles), Carl Stredicke (second singles), Tommy Kowalczuk (third singles) and Kadhir Kumaran are this year’s captains. Sophomore Henry May returns to start at first singles. Ethan Tan teams up with Karthikeyen to form the first doubles tandem, while Umberto Manganaro and Evan Wei play second doubles.
The Red & Black get back to work on Monday, April 27, when they go up against visiting Belmont at Winchester Swim & Tennis. Wakefield comes to town two days later, before the Winchester boys head to aforementioned Lexington for another showdown with the Minutemen to begin a brand-new month on May 1. All three matches will start at 4:15 p.m.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
