Boys Tennis
Many of the stronger teams from last year have graduated the majority of their starting lineups, but there are plenty of quality players left, including two All-State singles players.
Huntington returns its entire singles lineup and should be favored for the county title. Seniors Jeremy Fehrs, Phil Wayne, Greg Lowe and Dan Ellman hope to carry the Blue Devils back to the championship match, which they dropped, 4-3, to Half Hollow Hills East. In doubles, Huntington will look to two underclassmen, sophomore Mike Fehrs, Jeremy’s brother, and freshman Jon Won.
Jon Wasserman and Evan Fidelman, a pair of returning sophomores, look to lead Hills East back to the title. Seniors Matt Shea and Eric Ziff take over the top slot in doubles. Half Hollow Hills West lost its two top singles players – Andrew Arons, to graduation, and Adam Lynn for personal reasons. Sophomore Brandon O’Gara takes over the top spot and freshman Danish Ali moves into the No.2 position. All-State doubles player Eric Siegel returns with a new partner, his brother, Bryan, who is a sophomore.
Longwood returns county singles champion Andrew Hart and junior John Baldwin in singles, and seniors Joe Rotacco and Kevin Maier in doubles. Southampton returns senior Jeremy Essay, All-State in doubles last year, to top its singles lineup, along with senior Scott Kelley. Seniors Craig Adams and Tim Malore are the Mariners’ first doubles team. April 8
BOYS TENNIS
| Huntington 4 Half Hollow Hills West 1 |
| Hauppauge 4 Northport 2 |
| Brentwood 5 Glenn 2 |
| East Islip 5.5 Islip 1.5 |
| Bay Shore 5 Babylon 2 |
| West Islip 5 Connetquot 2 |
| Sachem 6 Bellport 1 |
| Longwood 7 Stony Brook 0. April 10 |
Longwood 4 Westhampton 3 Kevin Maier and Claudio Schneider beat Dillan Pottish and Ryan Skolnick, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6), in third doubles for Longwood. April 11
Port Jefferson 4 Longwood 3. April 12
Longwood 7 Hampton Bays 0. April 13
Longwood 5 Sachem 2. April 18
Longwood 4 Commack 3. April 24
Half Hollow Hills East 5 Longwood 2. April 25
Longwood 6 Stony Brook 1. April 27
Longwood 6 Port Jefferson 1. April 30
Longwood 7 Bellport 0. May 2
Longwood 5 Sachem 2. May 4
Longwood 6 Ward Melville 1. May 8 – Longwood 6, Ward Melville 1: Dan Kepert and Mike Farinacci beat Yani Frenkel and John Rienzo-Stack, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), in third doubles as Longwood shared the League V title with Port Jefferson.
Longwood 4, Southampton 3: John Baldwin beat Scott Kelly, 6-3, 6- 7 (6-8), 6-3, in the deciding second singles match for Longwood. May 9
O’Gara Advances to Semis. Half Hollow Hills West’s Brandon O’Gara, the top-seeded singles player, defeated Greg Lowe (Huntington), 6-2, 6-1, in the Division I quarterfinals at Smithtown. In doubles, the top-seeded team of Eric Ziff and Matt Shea (HHHE) defeated Ross Wichard and Drew Hickerson (Harborfields), 6-1, 6-4.
Titus Advances. Islip’s Peter Titus, the top-seeded singles player, defeated unseeded Scott Keicher (Lindenhurst), 6-0, 6-3, in a quarterfinal of the Division II Tournament at Connetquot. Top- seeded Chris Caruana and Pat Hutnick of East Islip beat unseeded Sujit Kamath and Joe Illardi of Islip, 6-3, 6-0, in a quaterfinal.
Hart Aims to Defend Title. Longwood‘s Andrew Hart, the top seed and defending Suffolk champ, defeated Thane Schweyer (Ward Melville), 6-0, 6-0, in a quarterfinal of the Division III Tournament at Longwood. Top-seeded Eric Pratt and Brad Fishberger of Port Jefferson beat unseeded Ryan McEnany and Ryan McLaughlin (Miller Place), 6-0, 6-4. May 12
Division III – At Longwood
Singles Semifinals – No. 1 Hart (Longwood) d. No. 4 Washington (Middle Country), 6-1, 6-3. No. 2 Gallin (Ward Melville) d. Baldwin (L), 6-1, 6-7 (7-5), 6-0. Doubles Finals – Bennett and Zodda (Sachem) d. No. 2 Baldwin and Posner (L), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4). Doubles Semifinals – Bennett and Zodda (S) d. No. 1 Pratt and Fishberger (PJ), 7-6 (8-6), 6-2. Baldwin and Posner (L) d. No. 3 Rhodes and Sciortino (S), 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3). May 15
Division III Tournament: No. 1 Andrew Hart (Longwood) beat No. 2 Matt Gallin (Ward Melville), 6-3, 6-2, to win the singles title at Longwood. No. 4 Greg Washington (Middle Country) beat John Baldwin (Longwood), 6-3, 6-2, in the consolation. May 16
TENNIS
Individual Tournament
At Shoreham
Singles – No. 1 Andrew Hart (Longwood) d. No. 8 Matt Weinberg (Smithtown), 6-1, 4-6, 6-0. No. 2 Peter Titus (Bay Shore) d. No. 7 Phil Wayne (Huntington), 6-2, 6-3. No. 3 Alfredo Fernandez-Concha (Westhampton) d. No. 6 Jon Wasserman (HHHE), 7-6 (7-4), 6-0. No. 4 Brandon O’Gara (HHHW) d. James Fogarty (Westhampton), 6-1, 6-2. May 21
SUFFOLK BOYS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS / Longwood’s Hart (20-0) Wins County Title Again: [SUFFOLK Edition]
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 22 May 2002:
Andrew Hart’s hamstrings were tight like the strings of his racket, and he was clearly spent after an emotional match in the afternoon sun. But the pressure to win was suddenly gone, replaced by laughter, smiles and a lot of glad-handing.
A season’s worth of expectations weighed down the Longwood junior, stalking him through every shot and point. Then the cloud lifted. Hart conquered his nerves and outlasted Bay Shore senior Peter Titus, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, for the Suffolk boys tennis singles title yesterday at Shoreham-Wading River. Hart continued his perfect season (20-0) and earned a second straight county championship.
“There was a lot more pressure this time around,” Hart said. “Even in the finals of the division tournament, I could feel it. Last year I had nothing to lose. This time everyone knew me. They were aiming for me.”
Hart rolled through a perfect regular season a year ago to claim the top seed in the tournament. Then he beat Half Hollow Hills West senior Andrew Arons for the title in a three-set thriller. It all unfolded in similar fashion this time. Only this time, anything less than a county championship would have meant failure.
“People told me it would get easier once I got past the semis,” Hart said. “Nothing is guaranteed. I just had my three toughest matches of the year.”
Smithtown sophomore Matt Weinberg pushed Hart to three sets Monday in the quarterfinals. Then Hart needed a strong showing to dispatch No. 4 seed Brandon O’Gara of Hills West in the semis, 6-2, 6-4. Titus, who placed third last season and brought a 21-0 mark into the finals, put together a determined effort.
His knees bloodied and his body drained, Titus fought back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set. Hart’s lead was narrowed to 5-4, but his saving grace throughout the tournament was a big serve and versatility at the net. They helped pull Hart through.
“He’s fast and keeps the ball in play,” said Titus, who will play at Lafayette. “It’s tough to get one by him. But I’m happy with the way I played. It’s definitely a good way to go out your senior year.”
The top three finishers advance to the state meet, which begins May 30 at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow. So even more was at stake in the consolation final. O’Gara defeated third- seeded Alfredo Fernandez-Concha of Westhampton, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.