Marcus, Raza Clinch Suffolk County Large School Title for Hills East

For the second time in three years, the title of Suffolk County Large School Girls’ Championship belongs to Half Hollow Hills East.

The Thunderbirds brought home the championship after a thrilling 4-3 victory over Westhampton Beach on Monday at Eastern Athletic Club in Blue Point in a battle between the county’s top two seeds.

“It means a lot to add another title to the history of our school,” said Hills East head coach Steve Ferrantello. “It’s a real honor to be a part of that. I am just so proud of this team, and couldn’t be happier for these girls.”

The depth of the Hills East team proved to be the difference on Monday, as it took all four doubles flights to secure the team victory.

Westhampton Beach got wins from Matilda Buchen at first singles, Ava Borruso at second singles and Melina Pinonzek to sweep the three singles matches.

But Hills East’s doubles teams delivered. Jayden Seff & Kayla Grochow won 6-2, 6-3 at fourth doubles while Christina Zhao & Remy Buffa held on to win 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 at second doubles.

At first doubles, Samantha Heyman & Emma Wilck posted a 7-6(4), 7-6(7) victory which would bring the fate of the county title down to the third doubles court.

“I would definitely say that knowing it all came down to our match made it way more stressful and I was extremely nervous,” said Brielle Marcus, who plays third doubles for Hills East alongside Anjali Raza. “My team cheering me on every point kept our confidence and motivation high.”

That support would go a long way as Marcus and Raza held on to win 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to close out their match and clinch their team’s county title.

“We went into the third set thinking that it was a clean slate, a restart,” said Raza. “That definitely helped us refocus and take the pressure off. It means so much to me that all of our hard work paid off, and I’m so happy that I was able to share this experience with Brielle today.”

Marcus added:

“The moment was unreal. I’ve never had so many emotions going on at the same time, and to feel the love of all my teammates made it so special. I can’t even find the words to describe the feeling.”

This Hills East team only has three players on the roster from its previous county championship, making this win that much more special to the girls.

“These girls are ecstatic about this win. They wanted it so badly and now they can see the trophy displayed in the hallway with their names on it and say ‘we did that’,” added Ferrantello. “What makes this team so special is their work ethic with a drive to be better. We were in a position after an early season match that they knew we had to put in the work to get to where we wanted to be at the end of the season. They did just that, and the improvement they showed from the beginning of the season to now is amazing.”

Hills East now advances to the Long Island Large School Girls’ Championship where it will play the winner of the Nassau County Championship between Syosset and Garden City. The Long Island Championship is set for Wednesday, November 1.