
Rowan Cookman played No. 1 singles all year for the Warriors and qualified for the Class S singles tournament. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)
SUFFIELD, May 22 – The Suffield High boys tennis team swept all four league championships in singles and had a finalist in doubles to capture the NCCC boys tennis tournament Tuesday.
The Wildcats upended league champion Ellington (17-0, 14-0 NCCC) by four points, 22-18. Granby was a distant third with nine points.
Suffield freshman Akash Pines defeated Ellington senior Lucas Van Deventer, 6-4, 7-5 to win the NCCC championship at No. 1 singles. Suffield sophomore Stephan Sattan needed a second set tiebreaker to beat Ellington’s Jake Frye in the final at No. 2 singles.
Suffield’s Dennis Charkiewicz won at No. 3 singles while Suffield’s Matt Vindigni needed three sets to win at No. 4 singles.

Canton’s Cole Glasgow had a good year for the Warriors, qualifying to play in the Class S singles tournament. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)
Canton (5-10, 4-10 NCCC) had a young team learning the ropes this year in the NCCC. Senior Rowan Cookman played at No. 1 singles in his first year as a singles player with the Warriors. He played well at the NCCC Tournament, losing to the No. 3 seed in a tiebreaker.
“He took a big jump to the top spot this year,” Canton High coach Dante Boffi said. “He is a tireless competitor as well as a heck of a team captain.”
A unanimous All-NCCC player, Cookman qualified to play in the Class S tournament along with junior Cole Glasgow and doubles players Cooper Mather and Evan Adams.
“(Glasgow) continues to be a model of consistency,” Boffi said. “He plays smart and keeps the opponents guessing.”
Glasgow finished fourth at No. 4 singles, falling in the third place match. Canton’s top doubles team of Mather, a freshman, and Adams, a sophomore, played well and finished fourth.
Canton participated in the Class S tournament with Adams and Mather picking up a three-set victory in doubles. Adams/Mather beat Timothy Mendes and Austin Roberts of Woodland Regional in the first round, 3-6, 6-4, 10-7. But Adams and Mather were eliminated in the second round by No. 3 seed Patrick Markovics and Mathew Newfield of Morgan, 6-0, 6-1.
In singles, Cole Glasgow dropped a first round match to No. 5 Andrew Ray of Nonnewaug, 6-0, 6-0 while teammate Rowan Cookman lost to Old Saybrook’s Jonah Rucci, 6-4, 7-5.

Mike Dupre played on Canton’s top doubles team this spring. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)
2018 NCCC boys tennis tournament
At Suffield
Team results (partial) – 1. Suffield 22, 2. Ellington 18, 3. Granby 9
Individual results
Singles
No. 1: Akash Pines (Suffield) def. Lucas Van Deventer (Ellington), 6-4, 7-5
No. 2: Stephan Sattan (Suffield) def. Jake Frye (Ellington), 6-2, 7-6 (7-0)
No. 3: Dennis Charkiewicz (Suffield) def. Alexander Gervin (Ellington), 6-3, 6-3
No. 4: Matt Vindigni (Suffield) def. Conniff (Windsor Locks), 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1: Andrew Heyman/Benjamin Heyman (Ellington) def. Evan Cramer/Bradford Even (Granby) 6-0, 6-4
No. 2: Owen Plourde/Jeremy Minalga (Granby) def. Zach Service/Gus Gee (Suffield) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
No. 3: Jacob Essig/Evan Gargiulo (Ellington) def. Chris Bulat/Moehammad Abidallah (Suffield) 6-4, 7-5
2018 NCCC boys tennis |
||
NCCC | Overall | |
x-Ellington | 14-0 | 17-0 |
y-Suffield | 12-2 | 13-2 |
Granby | 9-5 | 11-5 |
Classical/University | 8-6 | 8-6 |
Windsor Locks | 7-7 | 9-7 |
Canton | 4-10 | 5-10 |
Bolton | 1-12-1 | 1-12-1 |
Rockville | 0-13-1 | 0-16-1 |
x-won league championship y-won league tournament |
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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