Chadha, Mehta Clinch LI Title for Syosset

Heading into this spring, the boys from Syosset had one goal in mind: win a state championship.

Syosset moved one step closer to achieving that goal as the Braves defeated Commack 4-3 in a thrilling Long Island Large Championship on Wednesday afternoon on the courts of Hofstra University.

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“Before the season, everyone on this team had the same goal and that was to win the state championship,” said senior co-captain Ansh Chadha. “I know none of us are satisfied yet.”

But before the team could advance to the New York State Public High School (NYSPHAA) Team Championships on Friday, June 9, it had to defeat a difficult opponent in Commack, the Suffolk County champions and the defending Long Island champions.

Syosset got the scoring started first as the third doubles pairing of Dylan Apfel & Spencer Keschner notched a 6-1, 6-0 win to give their team an early lead. But as was expected, these two teams proceeded to trade wins throughout the afternoon, and soon after, Commack evened the score as Eddie Liao won at first singles 6-1, 6-3.

James Yu then pushed Commack in front with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph at third singles, before Syosset tied it up again as the Devin Melandro & Nikhil Shah, the Nassau County doubles champions, notched a 7-5, 6-1 win at first doubles.  

With three flights remaining, the match still hung in the balance.

Evan Lee moved Syosset within one win of the Long Island Championship thanks to his 6-4, 6-4 victory in the second singles spot.

Syosset’s Evan Lee won a clutch match at second singles on Wednesday

“Evan is a clutch player; you’ll never know if he’s winning or losing a match when looking at him, he has that stoic look,” said Syosset head coach Shai Fisher. “He’s a thinker on the court, and has such grit, that you know what kind of match you are going to get out of him when you pencil him into the lineup.”

Jeff Behar then won 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 at fourth singles, bringing the Long Island Championship to be decided on the second doubles court.

In a hard-fought third set, Aayan Mehta & Shiv Chadha would clinch the title for their team, holding on for a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 win with the crowds and spectators from both teams overlooking their court

“You just have to block out all the noise from everyone in the crowd, and just focus on getting serves in,” said Mehta, who served for the title. “We had the lead so it took a little bit of the pressure off. But it’s an amazing feeling, and I’m really happy for our team.”

Chadha added:

“After we lost the second set, we regrouped and got back into it mentally. All we had to do was check back in and get back to doing what we were doing. I’ve been playing varsity tennis for three years and have been waiting for this moment.”

It is fitting that the win for Syosset came down to a doubles court, as the depth of the Braves have been at the core of its strength for many years now. That was no different this spring, and proved to be the deciding factor on Wednesday.

“I’ve had tremendous faith in our doubles teams all year. They play some of the best competition in our conference,” added Fisher. “Shiv has been coming up big all year. Aayan’s been playing first doubles most of the year, but played second today. Both have been in so many pressure moments and matches this year, so I was confident in them.”

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Syosset will now head to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center next Friday to compete in the semifinals of the NYSPHSAA Team Championships.

“It means everything to us,” said Apfel, a senior co-captain along with Ansh Chadha. “We had a taste of what it was like to win the Long Island Championship a couple of years ago, and how big it was for everyone on the team. We wanted it last year also, so it’s really great to be able to pull it off this year and go to states.”

Syosset’s senior co-captains Ansh Chadha & Dylan Apfel

While Syosset will celebrate this win, both Apfel and Chadha will get their team ready to compete next week.

“Couple days of rest and to enjoy this, but then it’s back to getting locked in,” said Chada. “We’ll hit the ground Monday and prepare for the big week ahead.”

Scenes from the Long Island Large School Championship