Hills East Beats Hills West; Wins Fifth Consecutive Suffolk County Championship
May 27, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Half Hollow Hills East tennis won its 100th straight match against Suffolk County opponents on Friday, defeating Half Hollow Hills West 4.5-2.5 to capture its fifth straight Suffolk County team title.
The Thunderbirds were led by its outstanding singles play. Zain Ali and Kyle Alper, who played each other in the county individual championship last week, each set the tone with their victories. The two teammates disposed of their respective opponents, with Alper winning 6-1, 6-1 over Evan Nierman at second singles while Ali won 6-0, 4-4 at first singles after Aziz Rashidzada was forced to retire with an ankle injury.
The third and fourth singles players did their part as well. Travis Leaf won his match at third singles 6-2, 6-3, and Ross Reiffman cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory at fourth to round out the singles matches.
“With Zain and Kyle at the top of the lineup and then Travis and Ross playing singles today we were pretty confident,” Hills East coach Tom Depelteau told Newsday. “We knew we would compete in doubles but singles was going to be our key.”
Hills West hung tough as it picked up wins in first and second doubles, but was unable to overcome the dominant singles play of Hills East. It was only the third loss of the season for the Bulls, with all three coming at the hands of the Thunderbirds.
