After capturing the FCIAC championship, the Greenwich High School boys tennis team has its sights set on winning its second title of the season – the CIAC Class LL Tournament state championship – and it took its first step toward accomplishing such a feat today.

Seeded second, the Cardinals hosted No. 18 East Hartford this morning and they impressively swept their unfamiliar foe in the first round of the Class LL Tournament, 7-0.

Greenwich (19-0) advanced to the Class LL quarterfinals, where they will play host to 10th-seeded Westhill on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

“To come off the FCIAC title with just a few days rest and to come out here today and put it all on the court again – it was a good win and I feel like it was great to get it done pretty quick, because we have a jam-packed week with matches coming up,” said Greenwich senior No. 1 singles player Dylan Atkinson, one of the Cards’ captains.

Indeed, Greenwich could have quite a busy week ahead of it. Should the Cardinals defeat Westhill in the quarterfinals, they will host the semifinal-round match on Wednesday. A semifinal-round win will put them into the Class LL final, which is scheduled for Thursday at Wesleyan University.

In today’s Class LL Tournament opener, the Cardinals took every match against East Hartford in straight sets. Atkinson was in top form in cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 win over East Hartford’s Dan Shemonsky at No. 1 singles.

Atkinson helped spark the Cardinals past Darien in the championship match of the FCIAC Tournament this week, winning his match at the top singles spot at Wilton High School.

“Winning the title, it felt so special,” Atkinson said. “It came down to the No. 3 doubles kids, who have been so strong this year and I was so happy that it came down to them. “Hopefully, now, we can win the state tournament. We have Westhill, next, they’re always tough.”

First doubles today saw seniors Cai Jain and Nick O’Brien add another perfect performance to their ledger. The Cardinals duo swept Seb Mardales and Azaan Siddigy of East Hartford, 6-0, 6-1 at first doubles – a spot they have excelled out throughout the season.

“We’re just all in it to win it all,” Cain said. “We really want to get to the finals, we obviously have a tough match coming up and we hope everything goes smoothly the next round. Then, we would have Darien in the semifinals. We beat them twice and I think we can do well.”

If Greenwich beats Westhill in Tuesday’s quarterfinals and third-seeded Darien defeats sixth-seeded Fairfield Warde in the quarterfinals, the Cardinals and Blue Wave will meet in Thursday’s Class LL semifinals. Greenwich edged Darien, 4-3, in the FCIAC Tournament finals this week and is 2-0 against their conference rival.

“We’ve both been on the team three years, so to win FCIACs – it was awesome to get that done,” O’Brien noted. “It meant a lot to the both of us and especially all the seniors on our team too.”

Senior David Karetsky was a 6-0, 6-1 winner for GHS at second singles against Zach Perkoski, while sophomore Manuel Galli Specos gave the Cardinals a 6-0, 6-0 sweep at No. 3 singles over Bauer Larkin.

“It was a good chance for some guys to get into the lineup,” Cardinals coach Ray Marschall said of today’s state tournament matchup. “We played a workmanlike set of matches and were impressive.”

At No. 4 singles, senior captain Zach Toback was victorious for GHS against Ben Boland, 6-1, 6-1.

“This feels great, we’re coming off a great win at FCIACs and we’re feeling really good now,” Toback said. “I think we’re going to win it.”

“Toback used his aggressiveness to dictate the points of his singles match.

“I came to net as our coach loves to talk about,” he said.

“Our depth has been strong, so that’s been our strongest factor,” Toback added.

As for being one of squad’s captains?

“It’s been awesome, you feel like you can help motivate the team to player better,” he said. “Our young players have been great. We’ve taken them under our wing and help them strive and do well.”

At second doubles, Greenwich juniors Harrison Wolfe and Bruce Lunder, won their match today, 6-2, 6-0. Third doubles saw senior Eli Norton and junior Tristan Sowter top their East Hartford foes, 6-0, 6-0.

When Greenwich beat Darien for the FCIAC championship this week, it marked the first time since 2013 that the Cardinals claimed the conference title.

“We were really solid,” Marschall said. “Darien is a tough team that’s very deep and very skilled. They gave us a new look in finals, but our guys stepped up their game. We performed better than we did when we played them the first time, as did they, because of another three weeks of practice and strategy. I was a little concerned that we weren’t on our home court, but with these group of guys, there’s always more than enough support. You couldn’t write a better script for the finals. The match tied at 3-3, with it coming down to third doubles.”