Syosset Defeats Hills East to Win LI Large School Title, Advance to NY State Championships

The Syosset girls’ tennis team came into this season as motivated as it has ever been. A team with high expectations year-in-and-year-out, the Braves were disappointed to come up one win short of the Nassau County Championship last season.

“I think they were extremely determined especially coming off of last year’s loss in the county finals,” said Syosset head coach Shai Fisher. “Every practice, every match, no one wanted to take time off. Even in the off season, the girls were practicing five times a week. The young players buy in, and the whole team was determined all year.”

That determination led the Braves to recapture the Nassau County title a few days ago, and on Thursday it took it one step further as Syosset won the Long Island Large School Championship with a 7-0 victory over Hills East on the outdoor courts of Hofstra University.

Zia Mukherjee got her team started on Thursday as she posted a 6-0, 6-1 victory at first singles which set the tone for the rest of the girls.

“I think I was able to stay aggressive throughout the match, especially with my serves and I just tried to remain focused,” said Mukherjee. “The entire team was locked in from the start, and I just wanted to carry that mindset through into my own match, and that really helped me achieve the win.”

Fisher added:

“Zia has had a great season and you can really see her improvement from last year. She has always hit with pace but now has added variety to different parts of her game, and that’s why she has had some big wins for us against high-quality opponents throughout this season.”

At first doubles, Sanam Mehta & Manami Wakazono won 6-4, 6-1, relying on their experience together as a doubles tandem to deliver a key victory for their team.

“Manami and I are able to work well together as a doubles team because we have great chemistry and we get along well. We have been playing together for two years now so we have learned each other’s strengths and how to work together,” said Mehta. “The biggest thing for us is staying positive and cheering each other on. We both try to just laugh it off whenever we make a mistake and just focus on the next point.”

Wakazono added:

“I think the most important thing in doubles is supporting each other, so we always cheer each other and stay together. Today’s match was difficult, but because we were calm and did what always we do, we knew we could win.”

Two days after clinching the Nassau County championship for their team, the second doubles duo of Julia Isham & Diya Varma won 6-1, 6-1, and the clinching victory on this day would come on the third doubles court as Taylor Weinstock & Selena Wang won 6-2, 6-2.

“It means so much to me to be able to clinch the Long Island title for my team because sadly it’s my last year on the team, and I’m ecstatic that my team has gotten this far,” said Weinstock. “This season has been the best. We have worked so hard as a team and it’s very special that we have won the Long Island Championship.”

Elaina Liu was a 6-2, 6-1 winner at third singles, and the fourth doubles team of Manasi Pradhan & Ava Weinstock won 6-0, 4-6, [10-2] at fourth doubles. Stephanie Marcheret won 6-3, 7-6(2) at second singles to complete the Syosset sweep.

Syosset now moves into Friday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Team Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The Braves will play Bethlehem in the semifinals.

“We are definitely very motivated this year, especially with a lot of new players,” added Mehta. “We all worked so hard during the off-season and during this season, and we came back stronger than ever. We’re super excited for the chance to play at States this year.”