Commack toughs out Suffolk large school boys tennis championship
Commack doubles team Joe Romito (left) and James Yu synchronize their playing for at the Suffolk boys tennis large school finals on Thursday, May 25, 2023. Credit: Dawn McCormick
James Yu is comfortable under pressure.
The Commack junior positioned himself close to the net with first doubles partner Joe Romito serving. It was the last match as No. 1 Commack and No. 2 Ward Melville were tied 3-3.
The duo needed one more point to win the third set and clinch the Suffolk County large school championship.
“I think for Joe and I, pressure is not something that's new to us,” Yu said. “I think especially for us, we really just took a mental reset. That second set for us, we had it, but just barely lost it. We knew that just barely losing, we could close out the third set.”
Yu and Romito did just that, leading Commack (17-0) to a 4-3 win over Ward Melville (19-1) at Smithtown East High School in the Suffolk County large school championship. It’s the third straight county title for the Cougars and the fourth in the past five seasons.
“For us, these three years have been magical,” Yu said with Edward Liao to his side. “We grew up watching Commack tennis, and now that we’re getting to win for our school and win for us, it means the world to us.”
Yu and Romito won first doubles 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2 to lead a sweep of the three doubles matches. Saharsh Peddireddy and Jeffrey Behar won second doubles 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 and Eric Benderly and Adam Fawaz won third doubles 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-2.
Head coach Jimmy Delevante said the plan was to stack the doubles matches, which left the singles players vulnerable.
“We discussed if we were going to try this crazy lineup or not,” Delevante said. “Every kid on our team had a vote on it. … Everyone rallied behind the idea of having the original seven kids from last year’s team in the most pressured spots.”
Along with the six doubles players, Liao was the seventh returning member. He won first singles 6-4, 6-2.
Afterward, Liao turned to cheering as Commack needed to win all three doubles matches.
“I was very nervous,” Liao said. “Usually, I’m always on the court, but I like cheering a lot and thought it was fun. It was very nerve wracking to watch them. [Yu], you scared me a lot today.”
Commack will play Syosset (16-1) in the Long Island championship at Hofstra University at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner will advance to the state semifinals at the National Tennis Center in Queens.
