Thea Rabman, Port Washington tennis eye county title
Thea Rabman of Port Washington is just a freshman but doesn't shy away from the leadership role for the Vikings. Credit: James Escher
Thea Rabman can beat you in a lot of different ways.
The Port Washington freshman joined the tennis team as a seventh-grader and has helped lead the Vikings back to their winning ways.
“She is incredible,” Port Washington coach Shane Helfner said. “She understands how to construct a point and can change it up at any time. She can overpower or hit drop shots with the best of them, and she knows how to change the pace and be unpredictable.”
Rabman and eighth-grader Andrea Martinez De Los Rios give the team one of the top first and second singles tandems in the county. The Vikings have won 46 of their last 47 regular-season matches since dropping the season opener in 2017.
With its win over Syosset on Oct. 15, Port Washington closed out a 14-0 regular season and won its third straight Conference I crown. The Vikings recorded playoff victories over Jericho, 7-0, and Hewlett, 6-1.
“I’ve really been able to polish my game up a lot,” Rabman said. “My serve has also gotten a lot better and it always helps to get great coaching.”
For all the regular-season success they’ve had, the Vikings know their season will be judged by how they play in the postseason after falling short of a championship a year ago.
“I think the whole team is so motivated,” senior captain and first doubles player Charlotte Forman said. “We were undefeated coming into the playoffs last year, and I know we can win it this year with our mentality.”
The loss to Hewlett in last year's county semifinals has been somewhat of a rallying point for the Vikings. Avenging that loss was sweet.
“At the beginning of the season we had to explain what last year felt like because we had a bunch of new players on the team,” said Casey Fanous, the Vikings' co-captain and third doubles player. “We set the picture and told them how upsetting it was. It pushed us to work harder.”
The key to the Vikings' success is its depth in the lineup.
“I’m always looking to try and reach out to younger players in the district,” Helfner said. “I go to tournaments on the weekend just to explain to them the opportunity here. I really feel like if you put in the work to get the younger players interested the program is built that way.”
It helps when those young players can step into leadership roles, such as Rabman and Martinez De Los Rios have.
“The amount of maturity that they show is amazing,” Forman said. “Every girl looks up to them like seniors. They lead the team as much as anybody else.”
And with one goal in mind it will be key for the whole team to be on the same page.
“I think we all learned from last year,” Helfner said. “We know what can happen on any given day and we can’t let our guard down. We have to expect everyone’s best and take everyone seriously.”
Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.
