HANOVER — They’re back.

The Hanover High boys tennis team is headed to the NHIAA Division I championship match yet again, with a chance to complete a perfect season and repeat as state champions.

The Bears dispatched visiting Exeter High, 9-0, in a semifinal match at Storrs Pond Recreation Area on Monday.

The Bears’ semifinal sweep featured singles victories from seniors Sam Ames, Ian Holmes, Ryder Wilson and Alex Orsino, along with wins from sophomore Ben Pearson and freshman Quinn O’Regan.

The duos of Ames/Holmes, Pearson/O’Regan and Wilson/sophomore Ben Ames picked up the wins in doubles for their squad.

“I was very pleased with how they played today,” said Hanover head coach Kelly Finn. “They came out and, for the most part, looked like they were taking care of business and playing hard.”

The victory propels the Bears to their fourth straight final and third in a row under Finn, who took over as head coach in spring 2023.

A familiar foe will be meeting the Bears in the final in the form of the Bedford Bulldogs, who beat Derryfield on Monday. This will be the fourth consecutive year and the fifth time since 2019 that these two squads will play for the title.

So far the two teams have split the championships. The Bears secured titles in 2022 and 2024, while Bedford won in 2019 and 2023.

Hanover had its closest win of the regular season against Bedford, 6-3, in a contest that was tied going into the doubles matches.

Finn said that having a rivalry like the one with Bedford adds to the fun and competitive spirit of the matchup.

“I kept telling them all season, ‘I think you guys can do it, I think that you guys have a really good shot of doing it,’ but anything can happen,” she said. “So we were 3-3 after singles, and then we swept doubles, but we’ve also lost doubles matches across the year that they didn’t.”

Following the win on Monday, Sam Ames said it felt great to be heading back to the championship game.

“It’s exactly what we wanted. [We] got momentum going in. … Everyone played well, stayed composed, hit the shots they wanted to hit, played our game, and we hope to do that again in the final,” he said.

Ames, who is also a team captain, stressed the importance of not taking their opportunity for granted, noting that their matchup with Bedford should be hard-fought.

“This is where you want to be. Just have a good time with it, have fun. It’s supposed to be fun, and just have fun in the final, be happy you’re there,” he said.

Finn wants her players to go into their final match of the season “not expecting anything, with a goal to do your best and try and compete as good as we can.”

The Bears’ title defense against the Bulldogs is scheduled for Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester.

“I think that they’re ready, and it is very exciting to be going to the state final again,” said Finn.

Michael Coughlin Jr. can be reached at mcoughlin@vnews.com.