Longwood’s Victoria Matos repeats as Suffolk individual tennis champ

It didn’t come easy for Victoria Matos, but she knew if she just kept playing her style, the results would change. 

The Longwood senior dropped the first set in the Suffolk girls tennis championships at the World Gym in Setauket Monday afternoon, but rallied to defeat Ward Melville’s Kira Kronenberg and win her second straight individual county title, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. 

“It’s all mental,” Matos said. “Tennis is such a mental game and you just have to stay positive the whole time and I just had to tell myself, you can do it, you can do it. Just keep going.” 

Top-seeded Matos won the first four games in the opening set before dropping the next six to No. 2 Kronenberg. 

“She was playing great,” Matos said. “She was just digging for every ball and I was impressed every time. I just had to just keep going with her, and staying consistent really helped me.”

Matos admitted she felt some additional pressure during the season and in the postseason tournament to repeat as champion. Especially with it being her senior year and the final being relocated (due to rain) to the facility in which she trains. 

“I was under some pressure, but I think I handled it well,” Matos said. “I’m just happy I was able to pull through.” 

Matos, Kronenberg and Anya Konopka all qualified for the state championships, beginning Thursday at Sportime in Schenectady. Konopka, a sophomore at Smithtown East, defeated Middle Country’s Maria Perez, 6-2, 6-2, in Monday’s third-place contest. 

Longwood coach Justin Firenze said how proud he was of Matos for not letting losing the first set rattle her. 

“She’s a proven tournament player,” Firenze said. “If she drops a set, it doesn’t affect her and she’s ready to grind out and go as long as she has to to win a match.” 

Firenze saw throughout the year how much it meant to Matos to win the title a second-straight season. And it wasn’t always easy for the top seed. 

“The more you win, the more the pressure builds, the more everyone else is trying to knock you out,” Firenze said. “She had to bring her ‘A’ game the entire time, but you could tell she wanted it. She was a little nervous at first but she settled down and she did what she does.” 

Matos hopes the success she showed in the final two sets Monday will translate in the state tournament. 

“It feels great, I love it,” Matos said. “But I’m ready to go to states now.”

Longwood’s Matos advances to state final

Rubin, Roger. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 29 Oct 2022

[email protected] SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Victoria Matos held her ground as she faced perhaps the hardest serve in the field at the state girls tennis championships Friday afternoon.

The Longwood senior repeatedly raced across the baseline to unload her formidable forehand, hurdled a couple of match points, and soldiered through a long third-set tiebreaker. 

Ultimately, she managed to survive and advance.

The Suffolk singles champion and No. 2 seed eked out a 5-7, 6-0, 7-6 (8) semifinal victory over Section I champion and No. 3-ranked Mia Palladino of Brewster Central at Sportime Tennis Club.

Matos will face No. 5 Victoria McEnroe of Bronxville in the final on Saturday at 9 a.m. McEnroe, daughter of 1989 French Open doubles champ Patrick McEnroe and niece of Hall of Famer John McEnroe, defeated Cold Spring Harbor’s Nicolette Loeffler, 6-3, 6-1, in a Friday morning quarterfinal, before earning a 6-4, 7-6 (1) semifinal victory in the afternoon.

Matos trailed 5-6 in the third set to Palladino and managed to ward off a pair of match points to get to the tiebreaker. 

“Against her serve, you’re real ly just hitting and hoping to get it back in,” Matos said. “I’m really happy I could dig in and win.”

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Longwood’s Matos advances to state final

Rubin, Roger. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 29 Oct 2022

Longwood’s Matos falls to McEnroe in final

Rubin, Roger. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 30 Oct 2022: 

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – There is no shame in losing a championship tennis match to a McEnroe.

Victoria Matos returned to the court less than 18 hours after prevailing through a long third-set tiebreaker in her Friday semifinal victory in the state girls individual championships. 

Opposite the second-seeded Longwood senior was No. 5 Victoria McEnroe of Bronxville, the daughter of 1989 French open doubles champ Patrick McEnroe and niece of Hall of Famer John McEnroe. 

And there just wasn’t enough left in Matos’ tank for that formidable challenge.

McEnroe was sharp as she captured the state singles title with a 6-4, 7-5 victory on Saturday. McEnroe won the final two points by outlasting Matos in a pair of long rallies.

“I could have played with more energy,” Matos said. “She was getting her shots in and I needed to move my feet faster . . . The was just so physically and mentally draining.”

“I was obvious with my first serve not getting in much,” she added. “I even tried adjusting by tossing it more in front but that didn’t work.”

Matos fell back 1-2 in a game that had three deuces and had her serve broken the next two times to fall back 1-5. She staged a rally to get within 4-5 but couldn’t score a point with her serve in the 10th game.

“It was a moment when I needed to get the ball in,” Matos said.

Matos hung tough and fought back to make it 5-5 in the second set, but had her serve broken in the 11th game before McEnroe outlasted her.

“Second place is a good finish after finishing seventh last year,” she said. “I have to be happy about that.”

In other state girls tennis championship results, Cold Spring Harbor’s Nicolette Loeffler defeated Garden City’s Nina Wiese, 6-4, 6-4, in consolation play to take fifth and sixth place, respectively. Isabella Sha of Friends Academy beat Julia Laspro of Clarence, 6-4, 6-4, for seventh place.

Madison Lee and Kyra Diaz of Great Neck South defeated Anika Tolat and Ava Veneziano of Roslyn, 6-4, 7-6 (2), in the consolation final to finish third and fourth, respectively, in the state. 

Julia Stabile and Matilda Buchen of Westhampton won the seventh-place match over an entry from Brighton, 7-5, 6-2.