After a season that defied expectations, the boys tennis team fell to Wayland High School in the semifinal of the state tournament, ending their championship run.

The fifth seeded Vineyarders lost to the Wayland Warriors, the first seed, four matches to one. The loss comes after a hard-fought title run and a dominant regular season record of 15-2.

Coach Johnathan Bates had nothing but praise for a season where he said the team gave it all they had.

“It was a highly successful season,” Coach Bates said. “We exceeded expectations and we are very pleased with how well the boys played.”

After the match, Coach Bates tipped his cap to Wayland high school.

“We lost to the better team.”

At first singles junior Jacob Riis lost to Alex Camacho 2-6, 1-6; at second singles junior Clyde Smith lost to Jon Zhang 0-6, 2-6; at third singles freshman Zak Potter lost to Brendan Ip 3-6, 3-6.

First doubles earned the only victory of the afternoon, with junior Teagen Myers and freshman Caleb Dubin beating Noah Mallon and Kevin Lee 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. Second doubles freshmen Volkert Kleeman and Kyle Levy lost to Zach Todd and Ryan prince 4-6, 1-6.

The season ends on a note of optimism, however, as all seven of the players active in the tournament will be returning next year.

“The future is bright for us,” Coach Bates said.