Perfection repeated.

One season after registering a record of 22-0 on its way to winning the FCIAC and Class LL championships, the Greenwich High School boys tennis team produced the same success this spring.

And, of course, two more titles came the Cardinals’ way.

The winning streak is now 44 for second-seeded Greenwich, which won its second straight CIAC Class LL Tournament championship with a 4-1 win over fifth-seeded Staples in the title match held Thursday at Wilton High School. The victory capped Greenwich’s second straight 22-0 season and provided the team with its 15th state championship.

“At tryouts, we had a feeling we could be pretty good, but after last year, it didn’t seem likely to do it again,” Greenwich coach Ray Marschall said. “Going undefeated this year in the FCIAC regular season, with its level of competition was a real tribute to the guys. And then winning the FCIAC and State tournaments, going up against new and perennial powerhouses, really pushed us to our limits.  Last year 22-0 was a goal to strive for and now the guys did it again.”

Thursday’s Class LL final marked the third straight season the Cardinals and Wreckers met for the state championship, with GHS winning the last two matchups.

“We went in there knowing it was going to be a tough and loud match, but we were ready for it,” said Greenwich junior captain Manuel Galli Specos, who excelled at No. 2 singles.

In singles action in Thursday’s Class LL title match, Cardinals junior Alexander Salib was victorious against Staples’ Noah Wolff, 7-6 (1), 6-2, at the No. 1 spot.

“While we won 4-1, the actual matches were a lot closer than that score line,” Marschall noted. “Alex at one singles, played really solidly. He went in with a plan and executed it and pretty much controlled large chunks of the match.”

At second singles, Galli Specos won in straight sets for the Cards against Brett Lampert, 6-1, 6-4.

“My match was tough, I started really solid, winning 6-1 the first set and knew this was not over,” Galli Specos said. “The match continued to be hard and also loud, which made it fun to play. I started trailing in the second set 3-0. At that time, I looked around and saw that we were losing in some of the courts and knew that I had to change the energy and try to switch the momentum.”

“I was able to come back and win it 6-4 to finish 6-1, 6-4,” Galli Specos continued. “This was the first match to finish and I helped the team, giving it confidence knowing that we were one step closer to the win. This was a good match for me personally playing mostly at 2 singles, because of Vlad’s (Volodymyr Dombrovskyi) injury and I’m glad that I could step up and help the team to finish this amazing season.”

Junior Matthew Hunt of Greenwich played Lucas Ceballos-Cala at No. 3 singles and their match was not completed, since the Cardinals clinched the win before they finished competing. Hunt lost the first set, 6-4, but rebounded by winning the second set, 6-4, then led 2-0 in the third set.

At fourth singles, GHS junior Pierre August took his first set against Staples’ Robert Jacob, 6-1. The second set went to a tiebreaker, with the score tied at 1-1 when Greenwich clinched the match and state championship.

In doubles action, the experienced tandem of senior captain Harrison Wolfe and junior Rohan Mittal won a three-setter versus Hayden Frey/Mattie Guadarrama, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

“Harrison and Rohan, who like Alex and Manuel are heading to the invitational, lost their first set,” Marschall noted. “But as the state doubles champions, they know how to deal with things like that, and came out strong to take the second set and then clinch the third, which ignited a water bottle festival, right there on the court.”

Senior captain Bruce Lunder and junior Daniel Lee played well while being edged by the Wreckers’ Jared Even and Clint Graham at second doubles, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. In the third doubles matchup, juniors Ishan Ambastha/Cole Frumin were victorious for the Cardinals, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

“At 3 doubles, Cole and Ishan lost the first set, then made a few changes and took the next set and really started rolling and won the third set at love,” Marschall said.

Besides winning the state championship on Thursday, Greenwich’s other state titles came in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2023.

“The depth and the intensity and the desire to push each other all year really paid off,” Marschall said. “We had injuries right from the start with Bruce out with a hip flexor/ ab strain combination. And then Vladi first got sick and then injured his elbow, so we all had to be flexible and imaginative. Alex and Manu and Matt stepped up big time all season. And other than Harrison and Rohan at 1 doubles, that side of the lineup was up in the air for most of the season.”

The Cardinals went undefeated at No. 3 doubles, while as Marschall pointed out, using 11 combinations of players.

“We were all nervous, because it was the chance to finish something that was never done before, two undefeated seasons in a row, making it 44-0,” Galli Specos said. “Even when we were trailing, we felt like we were always there and ready to come back. Through battling and hanging on to the matches that we were up in, we managed to switch the momentum and get the 4-1 win to make it an historic season.”

Indeed, it was another sensational season to remember for the Greenwich High School boys tennis program – another season of perfection.

“There are a few words that can match the magnitude of the accomplishment that these guys have achieved,” Marschall said. “So, I’ll just say simply that I’m “so proud to be undefeated.”