For the Bishop Hendricken tennis team, its destiny will be determined by what happens on the singles courts.

That was certainly the case on Tuesday afternoon.

The Hawks had an opportunity to leapfrog Smithfield in the standings and take sole possession of second place, but despite sweeping all three doubles matches, Hendricken couldn’t muster a victory in any of the four singles matches en route to a 4-3 defeat.

The Hawks are confident in their ability to win all three doubles matches each time out, but whether or not a state title will be in Hendricken’s future will hinge on getting a win in singles.

“We’re a deep team,” Hendricken head coach Stephen Crawford said. “If we could play four doubles, or five doubles or six doubles, we would beat everybody because we’re that deep. We’re good and we’re good in doubles, but it’s a matter of getting a singles point off the court. It’s all about finding that one singles point.”

Hendricken got off to a good start, as the No. 1 doubles match was the first to conclude, as the Hawks’ pairing of seniors Alex Boyer and Christian Kirby made quick work of Smithfield’s Michael Dickie and Luca Ragosta, defeating them in straight sets 6-4, 6-1.

“They’re good,” Crawford said of his No. 1 doubles team. “They’re quick, smart and they know how to play doubles. Smithfield is the No. 2 seed in the state tournament, and they beat them pretty good today.”

After that match concluded, though, Smithfield would rattle off four consecutive wins, with all four of its singles players notching wins in straight sets.

In No. 1 singles, Smithfield senior Sam Miller used his big serve to overpower Hendricken sophomore Chad Doorley 6-3, 6-2.

Sophomore Aditya Kini and junior Mike Bittner, Hendricken’s No. 2 and No. 3 players, battled in the second set, but couldn’t push their respective matches to the limit. Kini fell to Adam Courtemanche 6-2, 6-4, while Bittner dropped a 6-1, 6-4 match to Smithfield lefty Chris Paiva.

Hendricken freshman Kenneth Lee didn’t encounter better luck in the No. 4 singles match either. He managed to win just three games against Sentinels’ sophomore Luke Alexander, falling 6-2, 6-1.

From there, Hendricken’s No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams took care of business in their matches.

Senior Geoffrey Boyer and junior Frank Gramlich eased past Smithfield’s team of Sam Hart and Tim Vennema in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.

The Hawks’ No. 3 pairing of Bill Macera and Ben Kim experienced some resistance in their match, but still emerged victorious. It was the lone match of the afternoon to go three sets, with Smithfield’s Edoardo Rocco and Will Chasse taking the first set 6-4, before Macera and Kim battled back for a 6-4 win in the second set and a 10-2 landslide victory in a third set tiebreaker.

However, Smithfield’s sweep of the singles matches secured its win before the final two doubles matches even started.

With the win, the Sentinels improved to 8-2, sitting in second behind South Kingstown (10-0). Hendricken, on the other hand, fell to 6-3, 1 1/2 games behind Smithfield.

Hendricken was set to host Barrington, also 6-3, on Wednesday, but results were unavailable at press time. The Hawks will also travel to La Salle (1-8) today for a 3:30 p.m. start.