Here's 5 things to look for during boys tennis championship weekend

The first championship of the spring season will be handed out this weekend, weather permitting.

The 2024 Rhode Island Interscholastic League Boys Tennis Singles and Doubles Tennis Championship is set to start at Slater Park on Friday with first-round and sweet-16 matchups in singles and round-of-16 matchups in doubles. Quarterfinals and semifinals for both tourneys are to be held Saturday, setting the stage for Sunday’s championship.

What’s going to happen? Finding out is the fun part.

Here are five things to look for as the tournament starts:

The favorites

Chalk traditionally dominates the boys tournament. While there have been notable exceptions, especially in years when there are elite players who compete for Division II or Division III teams, it’s hard not to look at the state’s top four players and expect them to reach Saturday’s semifinal.

Lincoln’s Camden DiChiara was in the singles final last spring, losing to Hendricken’s Jack Ciunci in a three-set thriller. DiChiara is back among the state’s elite players but he’s the longshot of the top four seeds. Seeded third, DiChiara has lost to each of the top three seeds — he was defeated by La Salle’s Andrew Smith this week in their first matchup of the season. If there’s a player who’s not worried about seeds or previous matches, it’s DiChiara and expect him to play confidently all weekend.

The favorite going into the tourney is Ponaganset’s Josh Steere, a three-time All-Stater who has flourished in his first season in Division I. While the St. Ponaganset co-op hasn’t fared quite as well, Steere is undefeated as an individual as he tries to become the first Chieftain to win the singles crown since Mark Santucci in 2002.

To do so, Steere might have to deal with La Salle’s Andrew Smith, a 6-foot-6-inch sophomore who is the most physically imposing player in the state. Smith’s only losses this season were dealt by Barrington’s Luke Sapolsky and Steere, and Smith could end up with a "Revenge Tour" situation on his hands.

For the first time in his career, Sapolsky won’t have to worry about defeating his brother or playing his cousin in the state tournament. The junior’s win over DiChiara gave him the No. 2 overall seed and, after two semifinal appearances his first two seasons, he’ll look to take that next step, and maybe more.

First-round matches to watch

The singles tournament isn’t quite May Madness, but there are three interesting first-round matchups between some high-caliber players that could cause some ripples in the tournament.

One of those matches would be between East Greenwich sophomore Henry Sheeley and Lincoln junior Om Seth. Sheeley is a big-hitting lefty with terrific groundstrokes and an overpowering serve, weapons that make him an immediate threat. Seth was a Second Team All-State selection as a freshman and, after not playing last year, is a darkhorse in this tournament. The winner of this match is likely to see Sapolsky in the second round.

If there’s going to be a monumental upset, it could come in the battle of Ethans. Ponaganset’s Ethan Clegg, a three-time All-State selection, is seeded seventh overall, but his matchup against Classical’s Ethan Montane isn’t the draw he was looking for to start the tourney. Montane is a grinder and caught the short end of the stick with his seed and won’t go down without a fight. Clegg is a terrific talent, but might be the most mentally strong player in the tourney and expect him to be ready for a fight.

The other match to look for is between Cranston West’s Connor Ainley and Barrington’s Charlie Martin. Ainley, a sophomore, was a Second Team All-State selection last year and has dominated in Division II this spring. Martin isn’t a No. 1 for the Eagles, but he has played well all season through the singles order. The players should be evenly matched and this one could be headed for three sets.

Fun matches in the quarterfinals

The two best athletes in the tourney could see each other in the quarterfinals with DiChiara and Travis Chartier, who plays for the St. Raphael half of the St. Ponaganset co-op. DiChiara was a First Team All-State selection in basketball after helping Lincoln win the Division II title this winter. In the fall, Chartier earned Second Team All-State honors after leading the Saints to the Division III boys soccer crown.

On the opposite side of the bracket, there’s a chance teammates will fight for a semifinal spot with Smith potentially meeting Dyllon Litmanovich, who’s been the Rams’ No. 2 this spring. Litmanovich has been a jackknife for the Rams, doing whatever needed to help the team, but hasn’t gotten a favorable seed in the singles tourney until this year. They met last spring in the second round, with Smith winning in straight sets, but don’t be shocked to see them battling again on Saturday.

Switching sides again, seeing Sapolsky and Clegg play in a quarterfinal would be fun because of the similarities in their games and on-court demeanor. These two players go about their business by keeping their emotions in check and rarely making mistakes. It would be a refreshing match to watch on a weekend that’s surely going to be filled by far too many screams of “Let’s go!”

Double trouble

In last fall’s girls tournament, history was made when Narragansett’s Lara Gooding and Ambujam Lohmann became the first non-Division I doubles team to reach the final. Could we see that in the boys tourney?

History says it's not likely. The tournament has seen lower seeds advance, but they’ve generally been other Division I No. 1 teams with the occasional No. 2 team mixed in.

Last year, Barrington’s Gabe Anderson and Bryce Kupperman won the crown and this year, the duo is trying to be the first back-to-back champs in the tourney since South Kingstown’s Mike Collins and Pat Shaugnessy won in 2001 and 2002. If Anderson and Kupperman were to get it done, it would be the first time a school has gone back-to-back since South Kingstown’s impressive doubles streak from 2009-2015.

Getting to the final might be the toughest part for the duo. They may end up seeing teammates Justin Kuo and Garrett Meehan in the second round and the semifinals may be against a La Salle team of Luke Cavanagh and Yash Choudhary, who weren’t partners when the teams played in early April.

If there’s madness, it may happen in the bottom half of the bracket. There’s a chance Barrington’s No. 2 team of Henry Birbiglia and Zac Spear will play their way to the final. South Kingstown’s Jeffrey Hill and Jayce Plonsky are also among the favorites and, if there’s a darkhorse, it’s the La Salle team of Ryan Coffey and Andrew D’Artista.

Prediction Time

In doubles, it’s risky to pick against Anderson and Kupperman, who have two years of chemistry and know what it takes to win the tournament. Because it’s hard to pick against a good story, we’ll take them over their teammates Birbiglia and Spear in an all-Eagles final.

For singles, it’s tough to pick against Steere. He probably won’t run into trouble until the semifinals, which is where he is likely to face Smith, but with his recent success over the La Salle junior, Steere seems like a safe pick to get to the final.

The other side isn’t as easy. DiChiara and Sapolsky are both remarkable players and while Sapolsky got the better of DiChiara earlier this season, DiChiara has proved himself in big spots. He did it last year winning three three-set matches on his way to the final; he did it during the basketball season and he’ll be the pick, in a three-setter, over Sapolsky.

If DiChiaria gets to the final, he’s the pick. Otherwise, it’s Steere.

And if neither were to make it, then May Madness actually happened and that would be fun, too.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Five things to look for during RIIL boys tennis championship weekend