Syosset-Roslyn boys tennis match lives up to expectations
Matchups between the boys tennis teams at Syosset and Roslyn in recent years produce an almost Mets-Yankees sort of anticipation these days. Syosset has been in seven straight Nassau title matches and the Bulldogs have been in five, finally breaking through to capture the 2022 large school title.
Their first regular season meeting met those expectations.
The contest had three matches go to a third set before Syosset scored a 4-3 Nassau I win on Tuesday when senior Will Chantemsin and seventh grader Ethan Lee finally bested the Bulldogs’ eighth graders Ethan Falkowitz and Oliver Samter at fourth doubles, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, in the day’s last match.
At the conclusion of four matches, Syosset led 3-1. Then Ethan Solop finished a three-set win at second singles and Drew Hassenbein a three-set win at first singles to even the score at 3-3.
“It didn’t click into my head that [the outcome] was riding on us until everyone started gathering around our match and cheering,” Chantemsin said. “Usually having all those eyes bothers me, but the support was great. I told Ethan, ‘Let’s put on a show.’”
It was an especially nice moment in the spotlight for Chantemsin, who got the start when Lee’s usual partner, Ryan Jiang, took ill.
“It was my first match of the year but we worked well together . . . [combining] his consistency and my aggressiveness,” Chantemsin said. “When they tried to pin Ethan on the baseline with deep shots, I got to poach a couple to counter attack.”
It still may be too early to cement Syosset (4-0) as the favorite for the Nassau team title. Roslyn (3-1) and Port Washington (3-1) will each play Syosset one more time.
Sher returns for Jericho
The return of Ajer Sher to the Jericho team after three years away could add an element of unpredictability when the Nassau individual championships are held. His three-set win over Albert Hu of Great Neck South, the 2022 county runner-up, was noteworthy.
Hewlett’s Stephan Gershfeld, the Newsday 2022 Long Island Player of the Year, set a high bar last season by winning his second county and first state singles championship. And he is 4-0 and has lost only eight games thus far.
Sher didn’t play team tennis during the pandemic and was home-schooled the past two years, according to Jayhawks coach Wayne Schuster. He is 4-1 thus far with a loss to Roslyn’s Hassenbein; a measuring stick match didn’t come together when Gershfeld was out with an injury as Jericho faced Hewlett but he did score a significant win over Syosset’s Ansh Chadha.
Hassenbein, an eighth grader, last season opted to play doubles with Gavin Koo and they won the county individual championships. A decision on whether he plays singles or doubles should come in the next three weeks.
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.
