Published: 6/14/2022 1:44:47 PM
Modified: 6/14/2022 1:42:31 PM
Just four days after Lebanon High senior Mason Arado defeated his younger brother, sophomore Nolan Arado, to win the NHIAA individual singles tennis championship, the two were on the same side of the court and won a trophy together.
The Arado brothers, seeded seventh in the doubles bracket, toppled the No. 1 seed, Hanover seniors Evan Yang and Alex Rockmore, in the final round in straight sets (6-2, 7-5).
Hanover had completed an undefeated season to win the Division I team championship the previous week, while Lebanon lost the title match in Division II to Oyster River. Both the Bears’ and Raiders’ top doubles teams won their semifinal matches by forfeit, as the pairings from Nashua South and Bedford had prior commitments that prevented them from participating.
“The four players put on a show of fast-paced, hard-hitting tennis,” said Lebanon co-head coach Tammy Arado, the mother of Mason and Nolan. “As the coaches of these two teams, we have enjoyed a friendly rivalry throughout the process and share a mutual respect for each other’s programs.”
Prior to the championship, the Arado brothers defeated teams from Kearsarge and Alvirne, while Yang and Rockmore bested Dover and Derryfield. Lebanon junior Baden Schifferdecker and sophomore Nolan Katz lost, 8-6, in the first round, while Hanover senior Kevin Pillsbury and freshman Sam Ames won their first-round match, 8-4, against another Bedford team before falling in the second round to Alvirne.
Yang and Rockmore also each competed in the singles tournament, with No. 7 seed Yang winning two matches and reaching the quarterfinals before being upset by Nolan Arado. Rockmore beat Kearsarge’s Tony MacLeod in the first round, then lost to Bedford’s Lucas Mack.
Hanover also had two girls teams participate in the doubles tournament. Senior Eleanor van Aalst and freshman Rachel Rockmore defeated a pairing from Coe-Brown in the first round before losing to the eventual runners-up from Derryfield. Juniors Mackenzie Liu and Noura St. Hilaire lost their first-round match to White Mountains.
Van Aalst was the No. 4 seed in the girls singles bracket and won her first three matches with relative ease, then fell to No. 1 seed Shu Grosso of Merrimack, 6-2, 6-1, in the semifinals.