Massapequa Comes Back To Beat South Side

April 16, 2018 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Syosset
Photo Credit: Sarah Schwartz

 

Friday afternoon played host to a thrilling Nassau II-B showdown as the Massapequa Chiefs fought back to beat the previously undefeated Cyclones of South Side 4-3 at Hempstead Lake State Park.

In what was the first nice weather day of the spring season, Massapequa and South Side battled for nearly three hours. Through the first four flights, South Side held a 3-1 advantage with just three courts remaining, and thus all eyes turned to those courts.

Matthew Waterhouse won his match at second singles to bring the overall match even at three-all, and left it to be decided by the third singles match between South Side’s Phil Frank and Massapequa’s Joseph Menichini.

In the end, Menichini was just a little better, as he edged Frank 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(5), winning the match in a third-set tiebreaker with the team victory on the line.

“The one thing we have learned and I tell them this all the time—it’s not over till it’s over. You just have to keep playing each point because you never know what’s going to happen,” Massapequa head coach Mike Pavlides said referring to his team’s comeback. “Both players deserve a lot of credit because they both weathered ups and downs, and fought really hard. With both teams watching and cheering them on, they were both playing under a lot of pressure. But it was just one more point, and that was the difference.”

Massapequa has now won three straight matches after a season-opening defeat to Bellmore JFK, and the Chiefs are hoping to continue their success and turn it into a playoff appearance.

“Definitely to make the playoffs,” said Niles Ghaffar, who won his match at first singles, when asked about the team’s goal for this season. “I think we have the right guys to do it.”

The Syosset Braves captured its 56th straight win with a 7-0 victory over previously undefeated Roslyn.

Justin Oresky won the first set 6-3 and build a 3-0 lead in the second set in his third singles match against Roslyn’s Dion Park before Park was forced to retire with an injury.

“I thought I played well today,” said Oresky. “Dion is a good player; hits the ball very hard so it’s difficult at first but once I got comfortable I was able to find a rhythm.”

The clinching match came on the fourth doubles court as Ashkan Moghaddassi and Jake Haas won 6-4, 6-4 over Daniel Winston and Evan Jaslow.

Daniel Pellerito continued his outstanding play at first singles with a 6-1, 6-2 over Roslyn’s Zachary Khazzam. 

“Tactically, I wanted to recognize which way the wind was blowing and use it to my advantage,” said Pellerito. “I had the weapons to do well in this match so it came down to execution.”

Also in Conference I action, Cold Spring Harbor defeated Jericho 4-3 as it won the match’s final two flights. Alex Aronow and Luca Johnson came back from 0-4 down in the third set to pull out the 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Hunter Lazare and Warren Wang at first doubles, evening the overall match at three-all.

Shane Cashin clinched the Cold Spring Harbor victory with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 win over Oliver Liu at third singles.

Plainview JFK also recorded a 4-3 win in Conference I as they edged Great Neck North behind its second doubles tandem and second singles player Anthony Casale.

Ido Moriah and Brandon Bernstein won the final five games of the second set to beat Jeremy Ahdoot and Kyle Kamali 6-3, 7-5 at second doubles. Casale then held off Damien Chafe 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 in a thrilling second singles match to help secure the Plainview victory.

Port Washington used its four doubles pairs to defeat Manhasset 5-2 on Friday. Port Washington won all four doubles flights, including Jake Wiener and Sam Schaub’s 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Jordan Ma and Michael D’Ambrosio at third doubles to improve Port Washington to 3-1 on the season.

In Conference IV, West Hempstead edged Freeport 4-3 behind Mark Liebl and Matt Siegelson, who notched a 6-1, 6-4  victory over Randy Santana and Kenneth Grim at first doubles.

Below are the rest of the scores from Long Island on Friday afternoon:

If you are a parent, player or coach and want to see your team featured in our daily High School Recap, please send scores and notes to info@usptennis.com OR share our submission form with your head coach: High School Scores Submission Form

Nassau County

►Garden City 4, Herricks 3
►Wheatley 7, North Shore 0
►Great Neck South 5, Locust Valley 2
►Bellmore JFK 7, Oceanside 0
►Lynbrook 5, Calhoun 2
►Farmingdale 5, Valley Stream Central 2
►Carle Place 5, New Hyde Park 2
►East Meadow 6, Carle Place 1
►Glen Cove 4, Oyster Bay 3
►Hicksville 4, Bethpage 3
►Wantagh 5, Malverne/East Rockaway 2
►MacArthur 5, Plainedge 2
►Mepham 7, Valley Stream South 0
►Uniondale 6, Hempstead 1

 

Suffolk County

►Commack 6, Stony Brook 1
►Harborfields 7, Glenn 0
►Commack 7, Smithtown West 0
►Smithtown East 7, Hauppauge 0
►Hauppauge 4, Kings Park 3
►Northport 6, Huntington 1
►Smithtown East 6, Rocky Point 1
►East Islip 5, Islip 2
►Bay Shore 4, West Islip 3
►Babylon 4, Central Islip 3
►Ross 6, Shoreham-Wading River 1
►Westhampton 4, East Hampton 3
►Southampton 5, Center Moriches 2
►Mattituck 7, Riverhead 0

 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Pointset
Bethpage

March/April 2024 Digital Edition