Singles Play Leads The Way As Syosset Beats Port Washington To Defend Nassau County Title
The theme of Syosset’s wins over the last few years has been the depth of its roster, with their doubles teams oftentimes proving to be the difference.
In the Nassau County Large School Championship, the Braves singles lineup came to play as it aimed to defend its county title in a showdown with Port Washington.
“We’ve all been working so hard, and we really wanted this for our team, not just for ourselves,” said senior co-captain Sanam Mehta. “We put in the work during practice, and are playing against each other constantly which makes everyone better. Doubles always does a great job of stepping up, and we wanted to do the same.”
The “we” refers to the three singles players; Stephanie Marcheret at first singles, Zia Mukherjee at second singles, and Mehta at third singles. All three delivered key victories to lead the Braves to the 6-1 team win and a second consecutive county title.
Marcheret won 6-0, 6-2 in the first spot to give Syosset the early lead.
“I was looking for more consistent rallies and it worked out,” said Marcheret, who missed the first portion of the season due to injuries. “I’m definitely back into match shape, and this was a really important match, so I had to step it up today.”
Mukherjee would win 6-2, 6-1 in the second position as she played one of the best matches of her season.
“I think throughout the season I have been up and down mentally and physically, but I knew the importance of this match today, just kind of absorb all the energy that’s out here, and that really helped,” said Mukherjee. “My overall groundstroke game today was good, especially with my backhand. I felt very confident.”
To close out the singles flights, Mehta posted a 7-6(1), 6-1 win at third singles.
Throughout the year, with Marcheret working her way back from injury, Mukherjee and Mehta played higher up in the lineup, which made them battle-tested for the final.
“For Steph, it took round the clock training just to get back to this point and return this season, it’s a testament to her character,” said Syosset head coach Shai Fisher. “And I’m super proud of Zia and Sanam. Those girls don’t worry about their personal accolades; they are all about the team. Sometimes you run into girls that shy away from the competition because they don’t want to affect their UTR, but not them. They want to get better, and they know to get better they have to move up in the lineup and play tougher competition. They have done that all year long, and it shows in the way they played today. When Steph came back, they moved down the lineup and were that much more confident. It’s definitely one of the best singles lineups we’ve had.”
The doubles teams also delivered for Syosset. Diya Varma & Selena Wang were 6-4, 6-2 winners at first doubles, while Kayla Lo & Shubhangi Pradhan won 6-2, 6-7(4), [10-6] at fourth doubles.
The clinching match came from the second doubles duo of Elaine Liu & Hannah Wang, who sealed the Syosset win with a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
“This year the whole team was energized and we really wanted to win,” said Liu. “Hannah and I stayed focused on each point. I feel like we match each other’s energy well, and it’s really fun playing doubles together.”
Port Washington would take the third doubles court as Siena McGuffin & Jamison Hershman won 6-1, 6-4 to give the Vikings their lone point.
Syosset now prepares for the Long Island Large School Championship which is scheduled for Saturday, November 2nd at Shoreham-Wading River High School.
“This is a new team with new goals, but they want to get back to States, and that was the goal from day one,” added Fisher. “We knew we had to get past an excellent Port Washington team. If you ask the girls, the job is not done though. They want to get to States and finally win that.”
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE 2024 NASSAU COUNTY LARGE SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP
