Capping off one of the best seasons for Clarence boys tennis in the past two decades, senior Marshall Harrishburg and sophomore Alex Laspro became the first Clarence boys doubles team to qualify for the New York State tournament since 2012.

Marshall and Alex finished second at the ECIC doubles tournament May 19 and 20 at Sweet Home High School, which earned them the #2 seed at the Section VI tournament. A little over a week later, they secured their trip to New York City by finishing second at Sectionals.

The Sectional tournament took place May 27 and 29 at Orchard Park High School. Marshall and Alex won their first two rounds extremely easily, losing just one total game.

The semifinals were a different story.

In that match, Marshall and Alex faced a very strong team from Williamsville East. It was a back-and-forth match, with Clarence taking the first set 6-4 before East won the second set 7-5.

The third and deciding set was a microcosm of the entire match, with big opportunities, great shots, and palpable swings of momentum.

East jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Clarence tied it at 2-2. The rest of the set saw East or Clarence take a one-game lead (3-2, 4-3, 5-4, 6-5) before the other team tied it. At 6-6, the teams headed to a seven-point tiebreak to decide the entire match. And it was in the tiebreak that Marshall and Alex saved their best for last.

In clear and dominating fashion, the team stormed out to a quick 3-0 lead and never looked back. Marshall and Alex won the tiebreak 7-0, securing the match and a top-two finish at Sectionals. This also guaranteed them a spot at the NYS tournament (Section VI receives three singles and three doubles bids to States).

The boys tennis team had a season to remember, earning its second consecutive ECIC I regular season championship and battling hard in a team Sectional semifinal loss to Orchard Park. Along the way, there were big wins against Orchard Park, Olean, Williamsville North, East Aurora, and other top teams. Marshall and Alex making it to States represents the icing on the cake.

They join Matt Bojanowski (2010), Kevin Layer (2010-2012), Joey Gentile (2011-2012), and Jack Bova (2022) as the only boys tennis players to qualify for States during my 17-year tenure as coach. Making it to States is a challenge because Section VI has very good players and very strong doubles teams every season. Players from Lancaster, Olean, Orchard Park, Williamsville East, Amherst, East Aurora, Williamsville North, and other schools are always contenders, and there are only a few spots. I’m proud of Marshall and Alex for adding their names to a pretty short list.

Though Marshall and Alex lost the Sectional final to Orchard Park’s Taylor McGrath and Griffin Watson, they played very well and fought until the very last point. I’m excited to see what they can do at Flushing Meadows June 6-8.