Hewlett's Rachel Arbitman wins her third Nassau girls tennis singles title
Hewlett's Rachel Arbitman with the backhand return against Friends Academy's Isabella Sha during the individual final at the Nassau girls tennis individual singles and doubles finals at Eisenhower Park on April 17. Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan/Joseph D. Sullivan
Nothing was going to stop Hewlett’s Rachel Arbitman from achieving her final goal as a high school tennis player.
Not a season that was being played in the spring instead of the fall with a compact schedule, reduced practice time and other protocols in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through it all one thing remained consistent - Arbitman holding a county championship plaque at Eisenhower Park.
Arbitman defeated Friends Academy’s Isabella Sha, 6-1, 5-7, 6-0, Saturday to capture her third Nassau girls tennis singles title. It was her fourth overall county title after winning a doubles championship last season.
"Tennis is such an individual sport but to be able to come out and represent my school and win four county titles is awesome," Arbitman said.
Arbitman is the first player to win four Nassau titles since at least 1977, the first year records were kept.
"What Rachel has meant to the Hewlett program is extraordinary," Hewlett coach Abby Samlin said. "How one person can excel and turn around an entire program is amazing."
Sha was a formidable opponent for Arbitman, who did not drop a game before reaching the final.
Arbitman was able to rally back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set but Sha never gave in before ultimately winning it.
"She played really well and moved me around," Arbitman said. "I was down 40-15 in the first game of the third set and I told myself that I needed to come back. That really set the tone."
After securing the early break Arbitman never looked back on the way to history.
"She’s the leader, she’s an assistant coach, she makes coaching the best thing ever," Samlin said. "I retired two years ago but I couldn’t stop coaching tennis because of Rachel."
Arbitman now moves on to play at Harvard in the fall.
"She’s not only set the standard athletically but she does academically as well," Samlin said. "She’s a coach's dream. For high school tennis to get a player of this caliber is unheard of. No top level players play four years."
In the doubles final Port Washington’s Dasha Perfiliev and Ellie Ross defeated Alexa Brecher and Rachel Lin of Syosset, 6-2, 6-4.
"We have really good teamwork and can set each other up, Ellie especially from the baseline allowing me to be up at the net to put away shots," Perfiliev said.
Ross and Perfiliev still have one more match left as they’ll look to lead Port Washington to the team championship Monday against Syosset.
"These girls are two very big competitors and they’re always hungry to be the best they can be," Port Washington coach Shane Helfner said. "They always show that and it carries them to wins."
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.
