Ross School’s Menezes Captures Suffolk County Singles Title

On Monday afternoon at Smithtown East High School, Ross School’s Eduardo Menezes captured the Suffolk County Singles Title.

Menezes defeated Bryan Volk of Half Hollow Hills West 6-4, 6-2 in the championship to claim the title.

“I am very happy with my performance this weekend. I was able to really apply the way that I play which resulted in a great outcome,” said Menezes. “It is my first and last season playing high school tennis so this result means a lot to me!”

In a battle between the event’s top two seeds, Menezes was able to be more consistent on Monday and kept his error count low.

With his serve working, Menezes was able to win the match in straight sets as his fellow Ross School teammates were there to cheer him on.

“It was great to have my teammates there supporting me. They always bring a great energy and the environment is always better with them,” Menezes added. “This season has been very fun so far, it’s my first time playing as a team and it has been a great experience and opportunity for me. It is also getting me ready for what’s to come next, which is college tennis.”

In the third-place match, Juan Perez of Mt. Sinai defeated Ward Melville’s Robbie Monticciolo, and he will join both Menezes and Volk at next weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Individual Championships.

In a thrilling doubles final, the Commack pairing of Eric Benderly & James Yu defeated Ward Melville’s Harshith Pennabadi & Shashank Pennabadi 6-3, 7-6(1) to win the title.

“Both Eric and I walked into that match thinking, ‘These guys are a whole UTR above us, they have won matches against 10 UTR, we will be lucky to win a set or even a couple games’, said Yu. “But none of that really hindered how we went on to the court and played. “

Benderly added:

Winning matches as an underdog is always a special feeling, but this match felt different. There was so much more on the line. It’s an amazing feeling. I was extremely nervous going into the tiebreak but once we got an early lead we got very comfortable.”

Benderly & Yu played some of their best tennis in the tiebreaker to avoid heading to a deciding third set and close out the county title in straight sets.

“We had just come off of a tough and close service game on 6-5, and we really wanted to close it out there,” said Yu. “Walking into the breaker, we were riding the adrenaline of potentially winning the whole match. Me and Eric put our heads together and told each other one point at a time.”

In the third-place match, Ross School’s Leo Carmo & Henry Tietz beat Bobby Stabile & Giancarlo Volpe of Westhampton Beach to secure their place at next weekend’s State Championships.