Suffolk County Individual Championships Wrap, HS Season Winds Down
The Suffolk County individual championships wrapped up yesterday as the high school tennis season winds down.
Zain Ali of Half Hollow Hills East won his second straight singles title, defending his crown from last year. Ali faced off with his friend and teammate, Kyle Apler, in the championship match yesterday afternoon at Half Hollow East High School.
Ali controlled the match from the onset, cruising to a 6-1 victory in the first, and jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second. The second-seeded Apler hung tough for a bit, winning four of the next six games to bring it to 5-4.
From there, the defending champion and top seed Ali closed it out and won the final game to secure the victory 6-1, 6-4. The two seniors helped lead Half Hollow East to an incredibly successful season, and both will be competing in the state singles tournament.
Over on the doubles side, twins Dylan and Duane Davis of Half Hollow Hills West captured the Suffolk County doubles championship with their victory over Nick Fox and Cory Seltman 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(8-6) on Tuesday afternoon.
The twins came out of the gate slow, as the pair from Commack raced out to a 6-1 victory in the first set. With their backs against the wall, the Davis’ fought back to win the second, 6-4, forcing a tiebreaker.
The third would go back and forth, needing a tiebreaker of its own to decide the doubles champions. The Davis twins eventually outlasted Fox and Seltman, securing the match victory and the county championship.
The Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSSA) tennis championships wrapped up on Tuesday as well, with Chaminade taking home victories in both singles and doubles.  Sophomore Colin Sacco of Chaminade beat Brian Hoffarth of St. Anthony’s 7-5, 6-3 at Hofstra to claim the singles title.
In an all-Chaminade doubles final, Robert Sangirardi and Vinny Sciortino defeated teammates David Gage and George Rittaliata 6-1, 6-1 to win the title.
