Owen Gormley prepares to strike the ball during a match early this season. PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO

The Hopkinton High School boys tennis team was so dominant during its 13-0 run through the Tri-Valley League this spring that coach Mike Miller could barely remember his players losing a single set. The lone loss for an individual was avenged the second time through the league schedule, and the Hillers finished a perfect year in the TVL.

“I think we were right around where I thought we would be,” Miller said of the regular season. “We had an idea of what the league had, and we thought we would be successful in the league. And we were.”

The Hillers entered the Division 1 tournament with a 14-3 overall record. All three setbacks came against teams ranked in the top 10 in the state’s highest division, which Hopkinton moved into at the start of the season. Some of those losses came down to tiebreakers, showing Miller’s players that they are capable of competing with anyone.

“We went up against some good teams we had not seen,” he said. “And the losses just gave us stuff to work on to get better.”

Joe Krattenmaker led the way for Hopkinton as the team’s top singles player.

“He has been really solid,” Miller said. “Even in the matches we didn’t win, he seems to come through. I think he has been our strongest point all spring.”

Owen Gormley played second singles and, like his teammates, ran roughshod over the competition during the TVL slate.

Miller shook up his lineup a bit midseason when he heard the distinctive smack of well struck shots and turned around to see they were being hit by Henry Lock.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see Henry getting more confident,” the coach said. “He was hitting serves with more accuracy and pace, so we decided to move him up to third singles.”

Hopkinton’s doubles teams also were solid this year. The first doubles tandem featured Matt LeCrone and Chavdar Kamenerov.

“They are really fun and engaging to watch,” Miller said. “They play their best tennis when they play with enthusiasm and a real joy for the sport. When they do that, they are a real tough team to beat.”

At second doubles, the Hillers featured Aarav Bholla and Nico Nel. Miller said he was impressed by their ability to battle in tight matches that sometimes included tiebreakers.

“It was great to see everybody competing at high levels and having that ‘never say die’ attitude,” he said.

Miller said the team achieved its goal of being confident and ready for the postseason by the time the D1 tournament rolled around. The Hillers gained from both the wins as well as the losses amid a tough schedule.

“I always tell our athletic director to schedule the best teams out there, because we can compete with any of them,” Miller said. “It doesn’t mean we will win all the time. But when we don’t win, we will learn from the losses and close the gaps where we can.”