Friends Academy powers way to Long Island small schools boys tennis championship
Friends Academy's Alistair Wright (left) and Vedant Rawat celebrate a point during their doubles match against Ross at the Long Island boys small school team tennis championship at Hofstra on Thursday, May 25, 2023. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
The Friends Academy boys tennis team was no lump of coal last season. Still there is no denying that after a year of being subject to powerful forces, it has emerged this season as a shining gem.
The Quakers sparkled their brightest in the sunlight at Hofstra on Thursday afternoon, overwhelming Ross 5-0 to win the Long Island small schools championship.
Friends (16-1) didn’t drop a set all afternoon and its three singles entries — No. 1 Russell Notaris, No. 2 Will Bohner and No. 3 Bryan Bin — only lost a combined six games in their three wins.
At first doubles Alistair Wright and Vedant Rawat sidestepped a first-set tiebreaker against the Ravens’ Leonardo Carmo and Nicolas Sanchez after a third deuce in the 12th game when Wright poached for back-to-back winners in what became a 7-5, 6-2 victory. Zach Cohen and Danny Duke won at second doubles without dropping a game.
“We were down [3-4] and I looked across and saw every one of us was winning,” Wright said. “I thought that if they can do this, so can we. On this team we do everything together.”
Friends Academy is Long Island champion for the first time and now advances to a June 9 state semifinal at the National Tennis Center.
“Since Week Two, I’ve been telling them ‘this is a championship team,’” Friends coach Owen Kassimir said. “They’re showing it now.”
When asked about the Quakers’ chances in Queens, Duke replied “In no way are we going to be the underdog.”
“Opponents fear us because we’re capable of winning at every [lineup] position,” he added. “We’re all super excited to be playing there as a part of our sport and I believe that stage will amplify what’s great about our team. . . . The greater the pressure, the better we play.”
The first of the pressures acting to shape this Friends team was the disappointment of losing last season’s Nassau title match to Wheatley. Then came their demotion from Conference I to Conference II in a county where divisions are based on perceived ability.
“That put the fire in our belly to make a statement about where we belong,” Duke said.
The changes kept coming. Returning players improved. Gifted newcomers like Bin, a freshman who made his first singles start against Ross (12-3), joined up. And Notaris, a junior, wanted to return to the team after eschewing team play for tournament play last season.
“I missed playing in the team environment, especially with this group,” Notaris said. “Tennis can be a lonely sport and this is a far better experience.”
Wright, a co-captain, helped buff this jewel with several acts of sacrifice. He has twice asked Kassimir to demote him in the starting lineup — to third singles and now to doubles — because he felt others were playing better.
“We’re a team, not individuals, and you have to do whatever gives the team the best chance to win,” Wright said. “I told people ‘you might not be happy with your spot but it’s team-first.’ I showed that with what I did.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
