Ellie Ross, Evie Loewy clinch Nassau team tennis title for Port Washington
Port Washington is the Nassau large school girls team tennis champion, in Eisenhower Park on Tuesday, October 25, 2022. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Five tennis matches were over, and Syosset had claimed three of them against Port Washington. Now, every set of eyes was transfixed on the two matches still going, the ones on the adjoining second and third singles courts at Eisenhower Park.
Port Washington needed to take both to win the Nassau large schools girls team title. Senior Ellie Ross, at second singles, and eighth-grader Evie Loewy, at No. 3, knew the fate of the championship plaque was falling to them.
“I knew that everyone was going crazy over our matches, so I assumed it came down to us,” Ross said. “When my coach [Shane Helfner] told us that, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to pull this out.’ ”
Ross pulled out her match. Then Loewy did, too.
The second-seeded Vikings edged No. 1 Syosset, 4-3, Tuesday for first prize after losing to Syosset, 4-3, in the championship round the previous two seasons.
This was Port Washington’s fourth straight trip to a county final and first crown since 2019, before the postseason was divided into large and small school tournaments last fall.
“All you want as a coach is just for the girls to have this moment that now they’ll have forever,” Helfner said.
The 12-5 Vikings advance to the Long Island large schools championship against the Suffolk winner next Tuesday at Casamento Park in Bay Shore.
“It’s amazing,” Ross said of ruling Nassau. “It’s surreal.”
Ross, the three-time county doubles champ with Dasha Perfiliev, defeated Stephanie Marcheret, 6-3, 7-5. After the focus turned solely to Loewy, she finished her 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 win over Sara Gao, who gutted her way through left shoulder/biceps soreness.
“I had a big lead at that point,” Loewy said. “I knew I had a good chance.”
Perfiliev took first singles (6-4, 6-3). Her teammates, Katie Kors and Grace Ain, took first doubles (6-3, 7-5).
Syosset earned victories in second doubles (Sanam Mehta and Manami Wakazono, 6-0, 6-3), third doubles (Abby Glenn and Taylor Weinstock, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2) and fourth doubles (Elaine Liu and Julia Isham, 6-1, 6-0.)
“The girls have a very, very bright future,” Syosset coach Shai Fisher said after a 15-2 run with just three seniors. “All these girls gained some amazing experience this year. So we had an excellent season.”
