Hills East Beats Commack in Battle of Suffolk Unbeatens

April 15, 2015 | By Brian Coleman
Photo credit: Brian Coleman

Two undefeated League I squads took to the courts on Tuesday afternoon as Commack traveled to Hills East in a matchup of two of the top teams in Suffolk County.

Both teams entered Tuesday’s contest with a record of 4-0 on the season, but it was Hills East who remained undefeated, defeating Commack 5-2 behind a strong performance from first singles player Travis Leaf.

Leaf knocked off Commack’s Andy Zhou 6-3, 6-1 to pace the Thunderbirds. Hills East also got victories at second and third singles from brothers Arnav and Abihnav Srivastava on its way to the victory.

The first doubles tandem of Ross Reiffman & Justin Dubler also picked up a win for Hills East, beating Nick Fox & Gabe Green 6-1, 6-1.

“It was important that the kids face some quality competition after winning our earlier matches so decisively,” said Hills East Head Coach Tom Depelteau. “Commack can always be counted on to demand our best.”

The contest could have swung in either direction with a couple of the matches going the distance.

At fourth singles, Commack’s Steven Slepian came back from a set down to defeat Sandy Greenberg 3-6, 7-6(7-5), 7-6(7-5) and the Hills East duo of Adam Wilck & Brian Rhee beat Jason Gerber & Connor Wright 7-6(8-6), 3-6, 6-3 at second doubles.

“It was definitely a close match throughout with a lot of three setters and tiebreakers that could have went either way,” said Commack Head Coach Shane Helfner. “We are looking forward to playing them the second time around at Commack.”

Singles
Travis Leaf (Hills East) def. Andy Zhou (Commack) 6-3, 6-1
Arnav Srivastava (Hills East) def. Peter Yu (Commack) 7-6(7-5), 6-1
Abihnav Srivastava (Hills East) def. Sol Yoon (Commack) 6-0, 6-2
Steve Slepian (Commack) def. Sandy Greenberg (Hills East) 3-6, 7-6(7-5), 7-6(7-5)

Doubles
Ross Reiffman/Justin Dubler (Hills East) def. Nick Fox/Gabe Green (Commack) 6-1, 6-1
Adam Wilck/Brian Rhee (Hills East) def. Jason Gerber/Connor Wright (Commack) 7-6(8-6), 3-6, 6-3
Brandon Kramer/Connor Burke (Commack) def. Sahil Varma/Eric Handelman 7-5, 7-6(7-5)

Below are the results from other Suffolk County matches on Tuesday:

League 1
Northport 4, Whitman 3
Hills East 5, Commack 2

League 2
Harborfields 4, Smithtown West 3
Glenn 6, Hauppauge 1
Smithtown East 5, Kings Park 2

League 3
Connetquot 6, Southampton 1
Bay Shore 5, North Babylon 2

League 5
Ward Melville 7, Patchogue-Medford 0
Miller Place 7, Mt. Sinai 0
Bayport Blue Point 4, Sachem East 3

League 6
Comsewogue 6, Middle Country 1
Stony Brook 4, Sachem North 3

League 7
Mattituck 4, Ross School 3

League 8
East Hampton 6, Eastport-South Manor 1

Scenes From Commack vs. Hills East (credit all photos to Brian Coleman)


Brian Coleman
Senior Editor, Long Island Tennis Magazine
Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for Long Island Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com.
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