Matt FitzMaurice is new to the high school tennis scene, but that didn't stop him from dominating most of the field at last weekend's District 11 Class AAA singles tournament. The freshman breezed through the first four rounds, winning every set, on his way to the district final.

"It's been awesome," FitzMaurice described his first year of competitive high school tennis. "It's really just the first time I've played for my school, not so much just myself. It was an incredible experience, and hopefully I can get here again the next couple of years."

In the final, it was a matchup of two of the top three seeds, as No. 3 FitzMaurice was up against No. 1 seed and fellow underclassman Andrew Sinai of Freedom.

After keeping it close in the first set, Sinai put it away late in the first set and early second to win the AAA singles District title 6-3, 6-2 last Monday afternoon at the West End Racquetball Club.

"I just tried to keep an open mind," noted FitzMaurice. "That's really the best thing you can do in a situation where you're playing such a great opponent like Andrew. I just kept an open mind and tried to get each point one at a time."

After taking the first game, Sinai led 3-1, but FitzMaurice battled back to tie it at 3-3 heading into the seventh game. That seemed to light a fire into Sinai as the sophomore took the next three to win the first set, and won the first two games of the second.

"His serve is tough to read," added Sinai. "He's got a really good serve, and that's where I was suffering. He was hitting a lot of good serves and winning a lot of games because of it. Once I was able to get a read on it, I could dictate how I needed to return it."

It was a battle in the first set, as expected from two of the top three seeds. Three games went to deuce, and both players had each other on the brink in nearly every game.

"I was just trying to stay on top at the baseline and stand my ground and try to draw points out," added FitzMaurice. "It was a great experience."

Once Sinai was able to read FitzMaurice's serve, he seemed to tire out the Green Hornets number one by placing his return shots on each end of the court.

In the second set, FitzMaurice tied it at two games, but once again Sinai surged to win the next four and take home gold.

This probably won't be the last time these two meet in an important match, as they are both underclassman.

"Matt is a classy player and a great kid," said head coach Dimitri Diamandopoulos. "He really works hard on his game and is focused on tennis. He wants to win and just play all the time. He was a great addition to our team, and right now he's probably playing his best tennis. Now we're just looking to move forward."

FitzMaurice will team up with Rowan Hobson for the District 11 AAA doubles tournament this weekend.