Friday’s match between Greenwich High School and Manchester in the first round of the CIAC Class LL Boys Tennis Tournament began more than two hours late, so the second-seeded host Cardinals had to patiently wait to start its journey toward another state championship.

Yet once the match finally began, the Cardinals wasted little time in defeating their non-conference foe and moving on to the next round of the tournament.

No. 2-seeded Greenwich continued its dominant season, sweeping 15th-seeded Manchester, 7-0, in the first round of the Class LL Tournament. Heavy traffic, coupled with the fact that the bus Manchester was traveling in on their 70-mile plus ride to Greenwich, had problems resulted in Friday’s Class LL opening-round match starting at just past 5 p.m., instead of 3 p.m.

Fresh off winning the FCIAC Tournament with a 4-2 victory against rival New Canaan, the 22-0 Cardinals won all of their matches against Manchester in straight sets.

“I’m feeling confident that we are going to do well,” Greenwich junior Alexander Salib said. “The team has suffered a couple of injuries, but our team is still strong, our lineup is very deep and we can keep doing damage and can go all the way.”

With the win, Greenwich advanced to Tuesday’s 4:30 p.m. Class LL quarterfinals against seventh-seeded Westhill. The Vikings earned a berth in Tuesday’s Class LL quarterfinals by eliminating 10th-seeded Southington, 7-0.

“Starting Tuesday, it is going to be a tough week, but really fun,” said Greenwich junior Manuel Galli Specos, who played at the No. 2 singles spot against Manchester. “We know that next week is going to be tough, so we’re ready for it.”

Salib swept to a 6-0, 6-1 win at first singles against Manchester’s Joseph Richards. Salib played at the No. 1 singles position as sophomore Volodymyr Dombrovskyi missed the match with an injury. Throughout the season, Salib has given the Cards a boost at both first and second singles.

“I just have to play with confidence,” Salib said of playing at No. 1 singles. “There’s pressure, but I have to use the pressure to play well.”

At second singles, Galli Specos posted a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Manchester junior Tuan Phung.

“I was able to stay solid throughout the match, which was important,” Galli Specos said.

With a record of 19-0, GHS has won 41 consecutive matches dating back to the 2023 season.

“Of course, we feel really confident,” Galli Specos said. “We just won FCIACs, so now we want to close it all off with a perfect season.”

In the No. 3 doubles match, junior Matthew Hunt was off the court quickly in registering a 6-0, 6-0 triumph against his Manchester opponent.

Hunt emphasized that the team is intent on remaining focused against every opponent.

“We’re feeling good, we went undefeated during the regular season and FCIACs we were undefeated,” Hunt said. “We have confidence, but we are also cautious, because we know the FCIAC is a very good conference and if we let down our guard it can be catastrophic. So, we’re trying to focus and keep our level of play.”

Of course, Greenwich is aware of its long winning streak.

“It’s cool, but the titles are more important,” Hunt noted. “We have to win to get the title. Hopefully, it (the win streak) becomes 44 by the end of the season.”

At No. 4 singles, GHS received a 6-0, 6-0 win from junior Pierre August against Manchester junior Misha Nguyen. First doubles saw Cardinals senior Harrison Wolfe and junior Rohan Mittal sweep another opponent. They were 6-0, 6-0 winners over Manchester’s Emmett Banks and Ryan Skoog.

“We have a pretty tough draw coming into the tournament as the two seed this year,” Wolfe said. “I feel like this is a good match to get everyone into a rhythm. It was a good way for everyone to warm up for what’s coming.”

Senior Bruce Lunder and junior Daniel Lee won at second doubles for GHS, 6-0, 6-2, while the junior duo of Ishan Ambastha/Nicholas Frumin were victorious at No. 3, 6-0, 6-0.

If Greenwich defeats Westhill in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, they will move on to Wednesday’s semifinal-round. The Class LL championship match is scheduled for Thursday.

“Everyone wants it, especially the seniors,” Galli Specos said. “This is their last season and we want to give it to them as well. We want to stay undefeated.”

“We have to stay locked in – don’t get ahead of ourselves,” Salib said. “All of the teams that we’re going to play, we’ve beaten them in the past, but we have to beat them consistently to stay in this. We can’t get too confident. So, we’re going to be focused. We want to repeat and to do that we have to win.”

Greenwich coach Ray Marschall is especially impressed with his team’s depth and resolve.

“The guys have been playing really well,” Marschall said. “The thing that I’m most proud about the team is we lost our No. 1 singles for the better part of the year – Volodoymyr Dombrovskyi and once again Alex stepped up to one, Manuel stepped up to No. 2, Matt stepped up to three, everyone moved up and has played so well. They are aware of what’s going on the court and what their opponent is doing.”