H.S. tennis beat: Juszczaks, Generals are aces

TENNIS

MacArthur

feeling like

a team of aces

Back in mid-September, MacArthur girls tennis faced a schedule populated with teams the Generals never met, girls they'd only vaguely heard of and only one thing they could be completely certain of: It would only get harder.

Flash forward a month and a half later, to last week's Nassau Conference III championship against Mepham - the match that turned weeks full of questions into one undeniable answer.

Only a year removed from their first conference title in 25 years, the Generals, who were bumped up to Conference III from Conference IV, defeated Mepham, 6-1, to clinch the title.

"When a team is conference champs and goes to the next conference, they usually get annihilated," co-captain Nicole Juszczak said. "It was awesome. It proved we were a force to be reckoned with."

There are few people questioning that now. After its long drought, MacArthur has gone 25-1 in two seasons (its one loss came this season against Glen Cove). In her first year as coach, Tara Preston's squad went 5-5.

A year later, led by Juszczak and her twin sister, Nina, Sabrina Libretti, Clarissa Shenocker, Cameron Moskol and Emmy Yam, who is a USTA-ranked first singles player, the team was undefeated.

"We're pretty amazed and happy and proud that we did this well in this other conference," Preston said. "They're level-headed, they're poised on the court."

Preston added that, of course, "it helps when you're on that type of winning streak."

Not that it's dulled the excitement one bit. "To repeat was incredible," Nina said. "We were ecstatic."