The quarterfinal-round of the FCIAC Boys Tennis Tournament marked the beginning of Greenwich High School’s journey toward another conference championship.

The top-seeded Cardinals took their first step toward, what they hope, is another title, defeating eighth-seeded Fairfield Ludlowe, 4-0, in the FCIAC Tournament quarterfinals on May 12, at Greenwich High.

Greenwich, which has a record of 15-1 and has an incredible 81-1 mark dating back to the 2023season, will host third-seeded rival Staples in the FCIAC semifinals on May 18th at 4 p.m. Staples moved on to the semifinal-round by topping Wilton in the FCIAC quarterfinals, 4-0.

In its quarterfinal victory over Fairfield Ludlowe, three-time defending FCIAC Tournament champion Greenwich received singles victories from Owen Kwon and Zach Schwartz and doubles wins from Ryan Stanton/Jake Orbanowski, Will Neuenfeldt/Milo Russo and Liam McGovern/Teddy Aaron. Even though GHS had five wins, four counted toward the final score, since four victories clinches a match in the postseason.

“I’m grateful to our players and our depth, it really shined through today with some hasty victories at doubles and singles, taking some of the pressure off,” Greenwich senior co-captain Elias Orrell said following the Cardinals’ triumph versus Ludlowe.

Junior co-captain Owen Kwon of Greenwich earned a 6-4, 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles, a position he has excelled at throughout the highly successful season.

“The team played great, we had good energy going into the match and stayed focused,” Kwon said. “We all knew the goal: get business done and be quick.”

For the matches that were completed, that certainly was the case for the Cards. Schwartz promptly won his match for GHS at fourth singles, 6-1, 6-2. At No. 1 singles, Orrell’s match was not completed against his Fairfield Ludlowe foe and sophomore Francesco Lindia’s match at third singles for the Cardinals was stopped in the second set once the team clinched the match. Lindia was ahead in his match at No. 3, 6-1, 2-1.

In doubles action, Stanton and Orbanowski were off the court quickly in registering a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1. Neuenfeldt, a junior and Russo, a sophomore, cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 triumph at second doubles for the Cardinals, who also won the FCIAC regular season title, giving them the No. 1 seed in the conference tourney.

McGovern and Aaron also won quickly in straight sets at third doubles, 6-2, 6-2 for Greenwich, which has goals of winning its fourth consecutive FCIAC Tournament title.

“We’re very grateful to our supporters and parents and excited for the upcoming Staples match, as we know they are very hungry for a victory,” Orrell noted. “I have full faith in our team and I know we’re going to work extremely hard to make it happen.”

In the other FCIAC Tournament semifinal-round matchup, fifth-seeded Darien visits No. 1-seeded New Canaan, which handed Greenwich its lone loss this season.

Should Greenwich and New Canaan both make it through to the finals, it will mark a rematch of the 2024 FCIAC Tournament final won by the Cardinals.

“I’m grateful for all of our parents and supporters who came to watch and for all the guys fighting,” Kwon said. “We are hungry and want to win, so we will just take it one match at a time and stay locked in.”