Manhasset's Max Golubenko pushes through to win Nassau boys tennis title
Max Golubenko of Manhasset is the Nassau boys tennis individual champion at Eisenhower Park on Sunday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Max Golubenko was exhausted. After a semifinal match that lasted 4 hours, 48 minutes, the top-seeded Manhasset senior returned to the courts at Eisenhower Park an hour later, running on fumes.
Golubenko defeated second-seeded Ethan Solop of Roslyn, 6-4, 6-3, to win the singles title at the Nassau boys tennis individual championships on Sunday.
“Mentally, I feel good. Physically, I was cramping in my leg, my calf and toward the end of the match in my forearms a little bit,” Golubenko said. “I just knew I had to keep the points short.”
Golubenko battled with No. 4 Devan Melandro of Syosset in that epic semifinal match. Golubenko lost the first set, 7-6 (3), but came back to win the final two sets, 6-4, 6-2. In the hourlong break before the final, Golubenko said he used a massage gun, ate macaroni and cheese, walked around and tried to relieve any nerves.
Nassau Individual Championships – at Eisenhower Park
Singles
Final
Golubenko (MAN) def. Solop (ROS), 6-4, 6-3.
Third place match
Bohner (FA) def. Melandro (SYO), inj.
Semifinals
Golubenko (MAN) def. Melandro (SYO), 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-2.
Solop (ROS) def. Bohner (FA), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Doubles
Final
Wiese/Bravo (GC) def. Chin/Honda (JER), 6-1, 6-0.
Third place match
Shah/Mehta (SYO) def. Concepcion/Pylla (JER), 6-0, 6-2
Semifinals
Wiese/Bravo (GC) def. Shah/Mehta (SYO), 7-5, 7-5.
Chin/Honda (JER) def. Concepcion Pylla (JER), 7-5, 7-6 (7)
“Everyone told me, ‘If you don’t want to play, if you don’t feel good, you can retire,’ ” Golubenko said. “I was like, yeah, I know, but I want to try.”
Solop defeated William Bohner of Friends Academy, 6-0, 6-1, in the semifinals. Bohner placed third by injury default. All four semifinalists will represent Nassau in the state tournament beginning on June 6 at the USTA National Tennis Center in Queens.
Wiese, Bravo win doubles
Ben Wiese, left, and Christian Bravo of Garden City are the Nassau boys tennis doubles champions at Eisenhower Park on Sunday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Garden City doubles partners Ben Wiese and CJ Bravo have watched their sisters dominate the Nassau girls tennis tournament the last few years. This weekend, it was their time to shine.
The second-seeded duo defeated fifth-seeded Nicholas Chin and Hiroto Honda of Jericho, 6-1, 6-0, to win the county doubles title.
Nina Wiese won the Nassau and state singles titles in 2023 and Angelina Bravo won the Nassau singles title last fall.
“Having them come and see what their sisters are capable of doing, I think they knew they were almost destined to do it and that they could,” Garden City coach Jen Soper said.
Playing against one lefty is challenging enough, but playing a talented lefty tandem like Wiese and Bravo presents a ton of difficulties.
“I don’t envy anybody who plays against them,” Soper said. “It is not easy playing against two lefties. That’s definitely an advantage for them.”
“It feels great, we put in a lot of work to get here,” Wiese said.
Syosset’s Nikhil Shah and Aayan Mehta defeated Jericho’s Wyzer Concepcion and Anish Pylla, 6-0, 6-2, to place third and claim the last state tournament berth.
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
