Long Islanders Advance Deep at NY HS Tennis Tourney

The New York state high-school tennis championships wrapped up this weekend in Queens as a number of Long Island players found themselves advancing deep into the tournament. 

Half Hollow Hills East senior Zain Ali finished third in the New York state championships on Sunday, falling to eventual champion Matt Gamble of Webster Schroeder, 3-6, 6-7(7-2) in the semifinals.

“It had been a goal of mine to at least get back to the semifinals,” said Ali. “I’ve been doing a lot of conditioning and practicing to prepare for the long tournament.”

In the semis he fell behind early in the first set as he trailed 1-5 out of the gate. After battling back to bring it to 3-5, Ali lost a long, tightly-contested game that clinched the opening set for Gamble. The Hills East senior then led 4-2 in the second set, but let it slip away as Gamble came back to win in a tie-breaker to clinch the victory and a spot in the state finals.

Ali reached the semifinals of last year’s state tournament as well, becoming the first Suffolk County player to reach the semifinals in back-to-back years since 2005. He was making his fifth overall appearance in the state tournament having started as an eighth grader.  

Half Hollow Hills West’s Dylan and Duane Davis finished fifth in the doubles bracket as they fell 2-6, 3-6 to Danny Miron and Nicholai Westergaard of Fayetteville-Manilus.

“We have been training since September, going to the gym and working out,” said Dillon Davis. “We also have been eating right. Overall it was a battle.”

The twins captured the Suffolk County doubles title back in May, and are prepared to make a deeper run in the state tournament next season.

“Our first time here, going to the quarterfinals is great,” added Davis. “There were a lot of seniors graduating so next year is ours to take it.”

Syosset’s Dylan Granat and Henry Tell won their first two matches before losing to the top seeds in the quarterfinals. They played well throughout. Tell is off to Delaware in the Fall, while Granat will return to Syosset for his senior season.

In the consolation bracket of singles play, two Long Islanders faced off as Port Washington’s Ben Rosen took on Plainview JFK’s Yuval Solomon. Rosen beat Solomon for the third time this season, cruising to the 6-2, 6-3 win over his fellow Nassau County native.

Hills East double’s tandem Ross Reiffman and Travis Leaf won the double’s consolation bracket, defeating Phillip Raytburg and William Trang of Brooklyn Tech, 3-6, 7-5, 10-6.

Half Hollow Hills West’s Dylan & Duane Davis (pictured above) finished fifth in the doubles bracket as they fell 2-6, 3-6 to Danny Miron & Nicholai Westergaard of Fayetteville-Manilus