Hollis Brookline's Arjun Inokullo bears down for a backhand return during his win at No. 1 singles in Tuesday's Division II semifinals vs.Bow at Nashua North. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – They have waited a year for the opportunity, and thanks to a 5-4 win Tuesday over No. 3 Bow in the Division II boys tennis semifinals, the Hollis Brookline High School Cavaliers are embracing it.

That would be a chance Thursday to avenge last year’s loss against the Goffstown Grizzlies in the state finals, a team that has beaten the Cavs twice this season as well, 5-4 and 6-3.

“Pretty excited, pretty excited,” HB’s No. 1 singles player Arjun Inokullo, whose win yesterday at the Nashua High School North courts was one of the keys to the triumph, said. “We’re going to win this time. Our team has gotten a lot better. I think we have a real shot this time.”

“It definitely instills a bit of confidence to have a win under your belt in a previous matchup in the regular season,” Cavs coach Celestino Eddie Sepulveda III said. “But everything changes in the post season, attitudes are different, players are performing at different level.

“It’s about matchups. Excited for the win, excited for this team and everything it’s accomplished this season, but our journey’s not over yet.”

That journey takes them over the bridge to the courts at Alvirne High School in Hudson. The 16-0 Grizzlies took care of their end, beating No. 4 Portsmouth 6-3 in the other semi.

This match wasn’t quite as close as the final score indicated. HB won four of six singles and clinched early in doubles as the tandem of Greyson McSeveney/Dylan Legrow blanked Sawyer Whiting/Jake French at No. 3,8-0.

Legrow was filling in for Eli Mazzola who fell ill after dropping his match at No. 6 singles. Mazzola is expected to play Thursday.

“Dylan Legrow stepped up and helped close the match,” Sepulveda said. “Phenomenal performance from him, a four-year player as well, one of our seven seniors.”

The Falcons fell 8-1 to the Cavs recently, and that was an indoor match at HB’s usual home at Longfellow Tennis Club in Nashua.

“We were a lot more competitive today,” Bow coach Jay Yvars said. “The boys played well, it was a good year.”

The Falcons picked up singles wins at No.3 when Carter Hall beat Sam Anthony 8-6 and No. 6 as Jack French topped Mazzola 8-5. But the Cavs won at No.2 as John Torpey bested Ethan Hall, McSeveney downed Whiting 8-2 at No. 5 and Sam Pistor topped Jacob Ganacarz 8-3.

But the key was Inakollu edging Falcon Milo Cocola 9-7 at No. 1, the last singles match on the courts. That put the Cavs (14-2) one win away from the clincher.

After things were decided, the Bow tandems of Hall/Hall and Cocola/Gancarz both won 9-7 to account for the 5-4 final.

The match wins weren’t the same in the two encounters with the Grizzlies as far as from HB’s lineup, so Sepulveda has some confidence he can get the wins needed. But he also knows it won’t be easy.

“We have all the pieces,” he said. “We’re intending to take as many (matches) as we can on Thursday…

“It’s there for the taking, we’ll see who shows up.”