Today marked the Greenwich High School boys tennis team’s 20th victory of the season, a win that put it only two away from completing a perfect season and achieving its ultimate goal.

The Cardinals’ goal of course, is winning the CIAC Class LL Tournament championship, which they have become closer to achieving with each match they play.

Second-seeded Greenwich took another step in the right direction, eliminating 10th-seeded Westhill with a 6-1 home triumph in the Class LL quarterfinals.

Up next for the Cardinals is their third and final match against FCIAC rival Darien. Greenwich last met Darien recently in the championship match of the FCIAC Tournament and this time, the Cardinals and Blue Wave will play for the right to reach the Class LL state tournament finals.

The Class LL semifinal-round match between the Cardinals and the Blue Wave is scheduled to be held tomorrow at Greenwich High with a starting time of 4:15 p.m.

“It brings the best out of both of us,” Greenwich senior No. 1 singles player/captain Dylan Atkinson said. “So, it’s going to be super exciting and it will be a super competitive match.”

Atkinson was a 6-0, 6-3 winner at the top singles spot for Greenwich against Westhill’s Vishal Nayak. An experienced competitor, Atkinson made the proper adjustments against Nayak, also a tough player.

“I started off pretty hot, I was playing well,” Atkinson said. “Today, I took care of business, 6-0, 6-3 and I’m really proud of the way I played. I was serving really well, he was a lefty, so that can be tricky, but I adapted well.”

Westhill’s win came at second singles. Ryan Karam was awarded the match after Greenwich freshman Volodymyr Dombrovskyi was forced to retire in the first set due to a sore shoulder.

At third singles, David Karetsky, a senior, was in top form in posting a 6-1, 6-3 win against Rohan Sahu of the Vikings.

“Our guys were really sharp today,” Greenwich coach Ray Marschall noted. “Having a day of rest helped. We won decisively at 1 singles. Dylan was on task. David Karetsky looked sharp and Manuel’s match was the longest.”

Sophomore Manuel Galli Specos’ match at fourth singles was the final matchup of the state quarterfinal-round match. He registered a workmanlike 6-3, 6-3 win.

“It was a fun match to play,” Galli Specos said. “This guy played three singles last time. The energy outside, everyone was cheering, especially because it was the last match, so that energy helped me.”

Like his GHS teammates Galli Specos is eagerly anticipating tomorrow’s match versus Darien.

“It is going to be really tough, they are a really good team, both times we played them it was 4-3, so I’m expecting the same tomorrow,” he said.

Doubles play saw the Cardinals excel once again. Senior standouts Cai Jain and Nick O’Brien were victorious, 6-1, 6-1.

“Nick and I both went into it trying to work on a few things,” Jain said of today’s match. “We worked on our returns, our lobs and I think we were able to do that. We had a really good score, 6-1, 6-1 and used everything that we worked on in practice.”

Jain and O’Brien have won every match this season except one – a loss to Darien in the FCIAC Tournament final.

“We have played Darien two times, the first time we won in a really close match,” Jain noted. “At FCIACs, we got beat, it was the first loss for us and it meant a lot to us. So, I think we’re going to come out better tomorrow I think we’re going to play a better game.”

Junior Harrison Wolfe and sophomore Rohan Mittal kept rolling at second doubles, adding another win to their ledger. The Cards’ duo were victorious, 6-3, 6-1. In the No. 3 doubles match, juniors Bruce Lunder/Tristan Sowter earned an impressive 6-0, 6-0 win.

“Our 1 doubles Nick and Cai won handily, using great volleys and good serves,” Marschall said. “The same for Harrison and Rohan at two doubles and Tristan and Bruce at three. Everybody played high percentage, thoughtful strokes, thinking one shot ahead. All in all, I was very pleased. Wethill to their credit, gave us a fairly different look from the first time we played them.”

Greenwich is seeking to win its first Class LL state tournament title since the 2016 season, when it shared the championship with Staples. The last time they won the championship outright was in 2013.

Of course, before Greenwich can think about the championship match, it must get past Darien in the semifinals.

“Tomorrow is the tough one, so we have to be fully rested,” Atkinson said. “It’s a big match and this year, we’ve had pretty long battles with Darien – 4-3 both times – so we’ll see how it goes.”