WEST LEBANON — The successful high school tennis programs at Lebanon and Hanover have earned several awards, as selected by coaches, for the most recent spring season, including the NHIAA Division II boys player for the year in Lebanon senior Nolan Arado.

Tammy Arado, Nolan’s mother, was named the Division II coach of the year for leading the Raider boys to an undefeated 17-0 season and a second state championship in a row.

The Hanover boys team, the Division I state champions, won their division’s Team Sportsmanship award, and junior Sam Ames was first team all-state. His teammate, senior Zach Peterson, was named to the second team all-state.

“They are both really hard workers,” said second-year Hanover coach Kelly Finn, whose team was 15-1 last spring.

For Lebanon, Arado and fellow senior Will Katz were first team all-state. The duo won the state’s Division II doubles tournament as the top seed among 32 doubles teams, and Arado won the singles tournament.

Hanover’s Sophia Costa was first team all-state in girls Division I play. The Lebanon girls, who played in Division III, saw first team all-state honors for Adaa Karanwal and second team all-state for Hailey Shibuola.

The Lebanon girls finished at 15-2 and reached the D-III finals, where they lost to Littleton. It was the first time the Raiders reached the finals and was even more remarkable considering they began the 2023 campaign with only one true tennis player.

Arado said it was an impressive showing by both high schools, and all the coaches share in celebrating the athletes’ achievements.

“It is a pretty awesome feeling, and we are all just so proud of our kids,” Tammy Arado said.

For Hanover, the awards capped a season that saw the Bears defeat Bedford, 5-4, in the finals. The Bulldogs beat Hanover in last year’s finals.

Finn said the teams were tied 3-3 after the singles matches and each won a doubles match, leaving the last match to decide the champions.

“Rarely does it come down to the last match,” Finn said.

Ames and junior Ian Holmes won that contest, 8-5.

“It is very exciting,” Finn said about the awards. “I am very proud of them.”

The sportsmanship award was not a huge surprise, Finn added: “They are really good sports and we work on that.”

Hanover’s girls went 11-4 and reached the D-I quarterfinal round.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.