Total team effort helped Syosset capture state championship
Syosett tennis players pose with their medals after winning at the NYS tennis Championship at The National Tennis Center, Queens ,NY. June 9, 2023 Credit: NEIL MILLER
While it may seem a bit unusual to see the word "team" adjacent to the word "tennis," all one needed to witness was the scene June 9 on indoor Court 6 at the USTA National Tennis Center.
Devan Melandro’s fourth singles victory over Scarsdale’s Sameer Kini had ended less than a minute earlier and there was the Syosset boys tennis team — 20 strong in all — mobbing him to celebrate clinching the state large school championship.
“Tennis is an individual game, but this is a team,” co-captain Ansh Chadha said. “All season, this is the ending we wanted.”
Syosset boys tennis players celebrate during the state team championships on Friday, June 9, 2023 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Credit: NEIL MILLER
Syosset (19-1) did not conquer the state on the play of a few bright stars, but rather a slightly fainter glow of a constellation of them. Coach Shai Fisher carefully selected the 10 starters for the NYSPHSAA finals victory over the Section I champs, but used every player in his arsenal at one point or another in wins this season.
Fisher said that he could see the disappointment and determination on the faces of the team at a 2022 postseason dinner following a loss in the county title match.
“We were getting almost everyone back and they were dedicated to improving themselves so that we would win when that time came,” he said. “But more than that, they grew close . . . that shows up when they spend time together and decide to hit and push one another . . . and when they help their teammates overcome [adversity] during a match by yelling encouragement.”
The improvements in the returning players showed up all over. Evan Lee moved from third singles in 2022 to second singles and went 13-4 at the spot. Nicky Shah went from playing doubles in '22 to third singles and finished 19-1.
“Everyone came back better than they were last season,” co-captain Dylan Apfel said after teaming with Spencer Keschner to win in a third-set tiebreaker at third doubles in the title match. “We all wanted to be part of a special season.”
If there was a moment that might have given Syosset the psychological edge, it came in their 6-1 Nassau County title win over Port Washington. They’d just defeated a Roslyn team laid low by the tragic midseason deaths of players Drew Hassenbein and Ethan Falkowitz in a car accident in an emotional semifinal. After the win that saw the rivals metaphorically embracing each other, the Bulldogs came out to root them on to the title.
“Every moment during a tough season for all of high school tennis, our team saw more and more that this was possible,” Fisher said. “They saw they had the skill and the depth and they ultimately played to their potential.”
SYOSSET'S ROAD TO STATE TITLE
Nassau County Quarterfinals: Def. Herricks, 6-1
Nassau County Semifinals: Def. Roslyn, 6-1
Nassau County Championship: Def. Port Washington, 6-1
Long Island Championship: Def. Commack, 4-3
State Semifinal: Def. Williamsville East (Section VI), 7-0
State Championship: Def. Scarsdale (Section I), 5-2
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.
