Great Neck South’s Lee, Villegas Take Nassau County Doubles Title
The Great Neck South duo of Madison Lee & Gabrielle Villegas captured the Nassau County Doubles title on Sunday, defeating Chloe Gross & Alexandra Krol of Roslyn 6-3, 6-2 in the championship match at Eisenhower Park.
Lee, a junior, and Villegas, a seventh-grader, quickly developed a rapport on court together after competing atop the Rebels’ singles lineup throughout the season.
“Coming in, I knew I had a great partner, and we were able to practice a lot together before this tournament which helped a lot,” said Lee. “It was fun playing with Gabbi, we get a long really well on court.”
Despite being a seventh-grader, Villegas showed no signs of nerves as she competed in her first ever county tournament, and teaming up with a veteran with Lee, who reached the singles final two years ago was a great experience for her.
“It was a lot of fun. I loved playing with Madison,” said Villegas. “Coming into the year I didn’t envision being a county champion, but it’s great. Madison sets me up a lot, she hits a nice heavy ball which gives me the opportunity to poach.”
Lee from the baseline and Villegas coming to net was the key to success for the Great Neck South pairing. They were forced to come back from a set down in their semifinal against Port Washington’s Evie Loewy & Catherine Karman, but got off to a fast start in their championship match against the Roslyn pairing.
“It’s all confidence,” said Great Neck South head coach Andrew Tuomey. “Once they were able to be aggressive and saw it was working, they stuck with it. They got better and better as the tournament went on, and it culminated with their play in the finals.”
Lee added:
“I have a lot of confidence in her net game, she’s consistent with her volleys and puts points away nicely. I have total confidence that she poaches at the right time, even if she misses, I have confidence that she’ll make the right play.”
Next up for Lee & Villegas is the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Individual Championships, which run from Monday, October 28 – Wednesday, October 30 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Gross & Krol also qualified for the States with her runner-up finish, while Loewy & Karman defeated Syosset’s Elaine Liu & Hannah Wang 6-2, 6-3 to secure the final spot for the State tournament.
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