Like last season, Greenwich High School’s varsity boys tennis team tested its skills against Fairfield Prep with the CIAC Class LL Tournament championship at stake.

And like last season, the Cardinals prevailed, adding another state title to their already vast collection.

Top-seeded Greenwich continued its long reign of supremacy, winning its fourth consecutive state title by defeating Fairfield Prep, 4-0, in the championship match of the CIAC Class LL Tennis Tournament at New Canaan High School on June 3rd.

With the win, the Cardinals concluded another outstanding season in championship fashion. The Cardinals earned an overall record of 21-1 on the way to achieving a four-peat and capturing their 17th state title – the most of any varsity boys tennis team in Connecticut.

“We’ve been a great, close-knit group of guys and we all deserve it,” said Greenwich junior captain Owen Kwon, who flourished at No. 2 singles for the Cardinals throughout the season. “We worked so hard, stayed for extra practices and we’re just such a close group together and I’m glad we won FCIACs and states.”

Indeed, putting in the extra effort and honing their skills were among some of the aspects the Cardinals emphasized during their spring season to remember.

“I’m a new coach coming in and I stressed hard work and putting your nose down, putting your head down every day,” Greenwich first-season coach Mike Racanelli said. “I thank them for buying into what I was offering as a new coach and I thank them for the hard work. We had a lot of long practices and I know that was a little bit different for some. Hard work leads to new opportunity and good things happen.”

Receiving a singles victory from junior Zach Schwartz and wins from all three of its doubles teams clinched the triumph in the state title match for Greenwich, which topped Fairfield Prep, 5-2, in the 2025 Class LL Tournament final.

Schwartz, who found his niche at the No. 4 singles spot was victorious against his Fairfield Prep foe, 6-2, 6-3 – a victory that clinched the match and another state championship for the Cards.

“It was a pretty smooth one, I was controlling the points for most of the match,” Schwartz said of his matchup in the state final. “He was making a lot of balls, but I had a good match, so I was able to do that.”

Challenged in the second set, Schwartz dug deep and registered his most significant win of the season.

“The second set, he did give me more of a fight,” Schwartz noted. “I was up 4-0 and he was able to bring it to 4-3, so my nerves were definitely kicking in. But my coach had a talk with me and I relaxed and I was able to win the next two games and I won 6-2, 6-3.”

Schwartz also won the clinching match in the Class LL semifinals against Darien. His 6-1, 6-4 win at fourth singles against Darien completed Greenwich’s hard-fought 4-2 victory and sent them back into the finals.

“It feels great, I’ve had a very lucky season,” Schwartz said. “I was able to clinch a couple of times this year. It’s an unreal feeling and I’m definitely going to remember this the rest of my life.”

The other three singles matches in the state final between the Cardinals and Jesuits were not completed, since GHS clinched the match with four wins. Senior captain Elias Orrell played at the No. 1 spot as he had all season for the Cardinals, while Kwon competed at his usual No. 2 position in the lineup. Sophomore Francesco Lindia played at third singles, a spot he has excelled at for Greenwich during their exceptional season.

Kwon was edged in the first set of his match against his Prep opponent, 7-6 (4) and the second set was just about to get underway when the Cardinals clinched.

“I don’t think the score was reflective,” who, along with Orrell, provided outstanding leadership to the team as a captain. “I played a good set, it was very hard-fought and I was grinding. But overall, I was hitting the ball clean.”

Greenwich got the better of Fairfield Prep in doubles play, which proved to be the difference in this title match between the non-conference rivals.

Junior Jake Orbanowski and sophomore Ryan Stanton gave Greenwich a straight set victory at first doubles over their Fairfield Prep opponents at the No. 1 spot.

“It’s a good feeling, we’ve been here before as a team we lost and it’s nice to get a win,” Orbanowski said. “We didn’t play our best, but we were able to pull it out.”

Said Stanton of the Cards’ championship win: “I think it’s a great accomplishment. Through all this year the program has been great. It’s never dropped off. Every year the new guys always seem to do well and we have great depth in our lineup. Everyone just performs through hard work.”

In the No. 2 doubles match, junior Will Neuenfeldt and Milo Russo won in decisive fashion once again for GHS, taking a 6-0, 6-2 decision from their Fairfield Prep opponents.

“The first set they kind of came out slow, I guess,” Russo noted. “They were very consistent at the baseline, so we were moving around a lot and trying to poach and win the point that way.”

“It was very energetic, people were screaming,” Neuenfeldt said of the atmosphere involving the title matchup. “We played well. It means a lot, because we won it four straight years.”

Russo/Neuenfeldt were able to dictate most of the points, using their power to their advantage.

“We were trying to win points at the net mainly, because they didn’t have much pace,” Russo noted. “So, we had time to run across the court. Especially if we hit a deep groundstroke, they’d be falling back and hit it weak and we just tried to hit overheads and volleys at the other net guy.”

At third doubles, junior Teddy Aaron and sophomore Nikita Shterk partnered up for the first time all season due to the fact that the Cardinals had to make a lineup change and they rose to the all-important occasion.

Aaron and Shterk, showing the confidence and chemistry of an experienced duo, won their title match, 6-2, 6-4.

“It feels great, I’m happy to do it for the boys, we deserve it the whole team is great,” Aaron said.

Said Shterk: “In practice, we’ve been teaming up for the past week and we’ve been working great together. It just made sense, the switch made sense and we were ready to go. I warm-ups, we were striking the ball well, the nerves went out quick. We just played our game.”

The Cardinals’ No. 3 doubles team in the title match had the advantage once they settled into the matchup.

“Me and Nikita have a good relationship outside the court we are close friends,” Aaron said. “In the first set, our started to work after we got the jitters out. Our groundstrokes started to work, our volleys started to work and we were all clicking on all cylinders.”

Greenwich earned another berth in the state final by topping Darien, 4-2, in an ultra-competitive semifinal-round match on June 2 at GHS.

Lindia won his match at No. 3 singles, 6-0, 6-4 and Schwartz was victorious at No. 4, 6-1, 6-4. In doubles action, Greenwich received wins from Orbanowski and Stanton in straight sets and Neuenfeldt/Russo, also in straight sets.

Greenwich’s exceptional 21-1 season also included another FCIAC Tournament championship, its fourth straight conference crown. Over the course of four seasons, Greenwich has registered an incredible record of 87-1, its lone loss coming during this past regular season against New Canaan.

With the Class LL title win against Fairfield Prep, their second straight championship triumph against the Jesuits, the Cardinals have claimed 17 state titles, with the championships coming in 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2016, 2013, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2000, 1999, 1997 and 1993.