Friends Academy Wins Thriller Over Ross School to Repeat as Long Island Champions
In a contentious and emotional Long Island Division II Championship, Friends Academy and The Ross School left it all out on the courts of Smithtown East High School on Tuesday afternoon.
When it was all said and done, it was the Quakers of Friends Academy who walked away victorious to capture its second consecutive LI title, defending its title with a narrow 3-2 win.
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“The atmosphere today was crazy,” said Friends Academy head coach Owen Kassimir. “It was more like a basketball or football game. In the middle of it we had to bring all three doubles courts together to tell them to just play tennis and not focus on the crowd or anyone on the outside, because it’s a distraction, especially with three courts going on simultaneously. It was a thrilling match.”
The match would be decided by the three doubles courts, after The Ross School’s Eduardo Menezes put his team ahead early with a 6-0, 6-0 first singles victory, and Friends Academy’s Vednant Rowat leveling things with his 6-1, 6-0 triumph at second singles.
That’s when the match’s focus shifted to the three doubles courts which were playing adjacent to each other. Friends Academy jumped ahead as Zachary Cohen & Danny Duke won 7-5, 6-3 at second doubles to bring their team within one court of the title.
But Ross School’s Leo Carmo & Henry Tietz kept their team alive as the pairing came back from a set down to win 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 to win at first doubles and even the overall score at 2-2.
“I think it was mostly getting control of our emotions and focusing on ourselves,” Carmo said of how he and Tietz came back. “This match was intense, so it was about getting relaxed, not going for too much and getting back to playing tennis.”
That brought the Long Island Championship down to one court: third doubles. And in a fitting way to wrap up this thrilling match, after both teams split tiebreakers in the first and second sets, they headed into a deciding third set.
“We really tried to ride our momentum of our team, they were so supportive, and we tried to block out everything else that was going on,” said Henry Koelmel, who was paired with Hudson Lee for Friends Academy’s third doubles team.
With all eyes on their court, Koelmel & Lee rattled off the final three games from 3-3 to clinch the victory and seal their team’s championship.
“It was thanks to our teammates, they were cheering for us throughout the match and it helped,” said Lee.
Kassimir added:
“I am very proud of Hudson and Henry. Hudson is a seventh grader, he’s a tournament player so he understands the pressure of big matches, and Henry has been such a great team player for us all season. When I put them together I had a feeling they had a shot. It was a nail-biter, and I’m so excited for them.”
Friends Academy now prepares to head back to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Team Championships, which are set for Friday, June 7 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
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