Jon Perachio might not have won a CIAC Class L boys’ tennis championship, but he proved himself worthy nonetheless.

Perachio, the ace of the Newtown High School boys’ tennis team, defeated Erik Lanza of South Windsor, Scott Feinberg of Amity and Chris Loftis of Branford to reach the Class L quarterfinals before finally being stopped.

Not by another opponent.

But by injury.

Perachio was getting the better of Josh Rucker of Staples (the match was tied 1-1, but Perachio was leading 3-0 in the third set) when crippling leg and back cramps beset him. He tried to struggle through the match and even extended Rucker on several points by switching styles and playing from the backcourt, but he was forced to retire after losing five games in a row.

“It was an exceptionally courageous performance that gained him the admiration of the tournament director and other coaches who were watching,” said Newtown coach Marty Margulies. “It was also a sad end to one of the most extraordinary tennis careers in the school’s history. In many ways, it was his finest showing, not only for the quality of his play, but for his persistence in the face of pain.”

Perachio swept Lanza 6-0, 6-0 and then defeated Feinberg 6-3, 6-0 before meeting Loftis, the player who eliminated Perachio from last year’s tournament in three sets. This time, though, Perachio earned a 6-1, 7-5 win.

His match with Rucker was the second of the day.

Newtown also qualified Matt McFadden, Justin Bass, Sean O’Mahoney, Matt Lask, Jason Garbarino and Mark Stephenson to the tournament.

McFadden defeated James Matzdorff of Fitch in the opening round, but dropped a 6-0, 6-0 decision to Tom Santoro of East Lyme in the following round. No one else made it out of the first round (O’Mahoney was unable to attend and was forced to default).