Half Hollow Hills East boys tennis wins Suffolk large schools crown
Half Hollow Hills East's Lohit Madisetty competes in the Suffolk large schools boys tennis team championship at Smithtown East on Thursday. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
With three matches won out of seven, all eyes were on the third doubles court at Smithtown East High School on Thursday afternoon, where Half Hollow Hills East's doubles team, Max Greenfield and Aidan Bezack, entered the tie-breaker match with a chance to seal the victory for Hills East.
The RedHawks duo defeated Commack’s Bryan Kim and Jackson Krauthamer 7-3 in the tie-breaker after winning 6-4 in the first match, giving top-seeded Half Hollow Hills East the 4-1 win over No. 2 Commack in the Suffolk County Large Schools Championship — a title that Commack proudly held for the last four years.
“We got to that tiebreaker, and we knew that we’ve worked so hard all year to get to this point,” Bezack, a junior, said. “We needed to get it done.”
This is the first county title for the RedHawks since 2019.
“This has sort of been eating at us the last four years,” Coach Steven Ferrantello said. “We’ve been building and building for the last six years, and it feels really good to be back on top.”
First doubles duo Thomas Walsh and Sam Stein added the first win for Hills East, defeating Commack’s Christopher Contillo and Danny Strogach 6-1, 6-1.
“That team has been one of the most impressive teams that I’ve seen all year,” Ferrantello said. “They definitely set the tone for us, they got everybody going.”
Eighth-grader Marcus Gonzales defeated Jeffrey Behar, 6-2, 6-3, at second singles.
“He’s been a tremendous addition to our lineup,” Ferrantello said. “He hasn’t really played much singles this season, but we knew if we needed someone to come in clutch, we had all faith in him. Even as an eighth-grader.”
Landon D'Agate and Kaeri Mukora took fourth doubles, defeating Rohan Joseph and Anthony Kim, 6-1, 6-0. Alexander Loglisci and Evan Vieira defeated Sejin Kim and Masood Khwaja at second doubles for Commack (13-1-0).
Senior captain Lohit Madisetty has been on the team since the seventh grade. He’s coming off an individual county title in doubles last week, but he said that earning the team championship is a moment he’s been dreaming of since he first joined the team.
“Winning the county individuals was a great feeling, but this is even bigger,” Madisetty said. “I’ve been with these guys for so long, and every year, we’ve had heartbreaking losses in the semifinals. Now, we finally got it.”
It’s a quick celebration before they have to get back to business. The undefeated RedHawks (19-0) will face Syosset (18-1) in the Long Island championship at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Wheatley High School.
“We’re going to enjoy this one tonight, for sure,” Ferrantello said. “Then, we’re going to reset ourselves for tomorrow.”
