May,24,2023
Once…twice…three times…a county singles champion.
Edward Liao won the Suffolk County Singles Championship for a third consecutive year as the Commack junior defeated Hills West’s Bryan Volk 6-1, 6-1 in the final on Tuesday afternoon at Smithtown East High School.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE SUFFOLK COUNTY INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
“It feels good,” Liao said of winning yet another county title. “It’s what I expected to do coming into this season, and I’m proud to be able to do it again.”
Liao used his power game to stifle Volk all afternoon long. Volk never gave in, and continued to fight throughout the match, including saving several match points in the last game of the contest, before Liao finally put the match away.
“Bryan is a fighter, he goes for every point and was able to get a lot of my shots back,” said Liao. “He’s a great player and a hard worker so he really made it tough for me today.”
Hills West's Bryan Volk
Up next for Liao is a chance to become a state champion as he prepares for next weekend’s New York State Public School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Individual Championships. A year ago, he reached the quarterfinals, but has bigger goals this time around.
“Anything can happen. I’m just going to try my best and see what happens,” he said. “I’m going to try to win one for Commack.”
Commack head coach Jimmy Delevante has watched Liao grow over the last several years, and continues to be impressed with the way his top player approaches his craft.
“He’s the top kid in the county, and all the attention is always on him even during our team matches, and all of that comes with added pressure. But he handles it exactly how a mature tennis player should,” said Delevante. “He’s gracious, sportsmanlike, mature, and handles all it like someone 10 years older than him would. He’s a pleasure to watch and coach.”
As far as the expectations for the state tournament?
“He’s done everything perfectly up until this point. He gave himself a great opportunity, and has a high UTR so he should get a top seed,” added Delevante. “If he serves well, and puts forth the effort he did this season and in this tournament, he’ll be one of the kids standing there at the end with a great chance to win it.”
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE SUFFOLK COUNTY INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Joining Liao in the state tournament will be Volk, as well as third-place finisher Max Astilean of East Hampton.
The NYSPHSAA Championships are set for Thursday, June 2 through Saturday, June 4 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
