The Lindbergh boys tennis team certainly knows how to peak at the right time.

After finishing third at the district match last week, the Eagles tied with Washington High School for the 2A tennis championship, the school’s first ever state tennis title.

“We were hoping to do well,” said Lindbergh coach Steve Bergquist. “It was a very, very nice surprise to win state.”

Joe Kwiatkowski took second in the singles tournament, falling to Interlake’s Luat Le in three sets in the finals. Kwiatkowski beat Le 6-3, 6-2 for the district title the previous week.

“All of his matches he got off to a little bit of a slow start,” Bergquist said. “Then he would come back and usually take care of business… he really fought hard in that third set (in the finals), but just barely lost it.”

Kwiatkowski beat Sehome’s Avery West 6-2, 6-3 in the first round and Sequim’s Mallory Maloney 6-2, 6-0 in the second. Washougal’s Nico Lema-Severich, who eventually won third place, was the first player to take Kwiatkowski to a third set in the semifinals. Kwiatkowski beat Lema-Severich 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

Kwiatkowski, just a freshman, will be back ready next season looking for more.

“I’m sure he’s a little disappointed, but he did very well,” Bergquist said. “He’ll be looking to win the singles title next season.”

Lindbergh’s doubles team of Adrian Villanueva and Sam Bayna also earned second. The two fell to Washington’s Daniel Yu and Josh Rasmus in the finals.

Bergquist said the team had been struggling with serves through districts, but it completely turned around after the first match at state. He said the two played perfect tennis in a 6-1, 6-1 win against Sequim in the second round.

After that win, Bergquist, Villanueva and Bayna watched Interlake and Sehome face off since they would face the winner next round.

“By the look of that Interlake and Sehome match, it looked like we wouldn’t stand a chance,” Bergquist said. “They were just playing so well.”

So the Lindbergh players prepared to be happy even with a loss in the next round. But they wouldn’t have to be.

“The next morning we came out on fire and just rolled,” Bergquist said. Villanueva, a junior, and Bayna, a freshman, beat Interlake 6-3, 6-3 to get to the finals against Washington.

The state title is the first for Lindbergh in any sport since the baseball team won in 1995.