EG boys tennis pulled off a historic victory, showing it might be the team to beat in D-I

EAST GREENWICH — The East Greenwich boys tennis team hasn’t wasted any time letting its Division I opponents know it means business.

Chasing trophies is something the Avengers have gotten used to and after getting bumped from D-II to D-I, it looks like they’re going to be after another one this spring. Hosting perennial powerhouse La Salle, EG used its experience to build a lead and the No. 3 doubles team of Arya Gaind and Kevin Hayes made sure the Rams’ comeback attempt fell short in a 4-3 statement win on Wednesday.

The Avengers were D-II finalists in 2023 and won the title last spring before realignment pushed them to  D-I this season. Teams in other sports that have made a similar jump can find ways to contend but rarely push their way to the forefront of title talk the way East Greenwich has two matches into the season.

EG opened the season against two title contenders, but had little trouble dispatching Hendricken, 6-1, in its season opener on Tuesday. A nice win, but La Salle was another test the Avengers had to pass.

Wednesday’s featured match was the battle at No. 1 between La Salle’s Andrew Smith — a two-time All-Stater and singles semifinalist — and EG freshman Tate Coker-Dodman.

But while two of Rhode Island’s best exchanged huge shot after huge shot, the Avengers were quietly showing off their biggest strength.

The Rams won the first point with Joe Cavanagh’s 6-1, 6-1 win over Henry Seeley at No. 2 singles, but quickly turned things around.

No. 3 Aristo Liu evened the match with his 7-5, 6-3 win over Max Wallace, which was soon followed by the No. 1 doubles team of Duncan Kling and Ravi Vishnu beating Callum Bixby and Gavin Britt, 6-4, 6-3.

David Levy — the hero of last year’s D-II title match — came through with the third point, closing out Yash Choudhary in a marathon of a 6-1, 6-2 match to give EG a 3-1 lead.

Victory seemed inevitable, especially with the No. 2 doubles team of Aanand Arora and Aaron Garrian up a set on Ryan Gallogly and Noah Gauthier, and Coker-Dodman evening his match with Smith to force a third set.

La Salle had other ideas, as Gauthier and Gallogly came back to pull out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win and Smith evened the score with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over the freshman in what could be a state singles semifinal (or finals) preview later this season.

Gaind and Hayes made sure the drama stopped there. The duo played solid from start to finish, pulled out a 6-2, 6-2, win, and gave East Greenwich what’s believed to be its first victory over La Salle in over 40 years.

The Rams drop to 0-2 on the season, following its season-opening loss to defending state champ Barrington on Monday. La Salle will look for its first win of the season Friday when it travels to play Hendricken.

After two matches in two days – as well as a bump near the top of the list of state title favorites – East Greenwich will have a week to practice before playing again. The Avengers next match is scheduled for April 9 when they host Lincoln.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: East Greenwich gets statement win over perennial powerhouse La Salle