Commack Beats Hills East In Suffolk County Title Rematch

September 21, 2016 | By Brian Coleman
Photo Credit: Brian Coleman

 

 

The Commack Cougars jumped back into first place in Suffolk’s top division on Tuesday, defeating Half Hollow Hills East 5-2 in a rematch of last year’s Suffolk County championship match.

“Everybody was excited for this one,” said Commack head coach Jackie Clark. “We knew it was going to be a tough match, but they came out with a fire and a passion, kept working hard and didn’t give up. And that’s what this team has been about all season.”

Not only did Hills East defeat Commack for the county title a year ago, but also won a tight 4-3 match last Saturday to hand the Cougars its first loss of the season.

So Commack was ready on Tuesday, and it got started early thanks to Emily Tannenbaum at first singles. The eighth-grader moved past Ariana Malik 6-1, 6-1 to give the Cougars the early advantage.

But Hills East responded, thanks to its second and fourth singles courts. Alexis Huber tied things up with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Gabi Glickstein at second singles, and Melissa Citen pushed the Thunderbirds ahead with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Ana Vietez at fourth singles.

To complete the singles flights, Emma Matz of Commack closed out Julia Raziel 6-2, 7-5 at third singles to bring Commack even with Hills East at 2-2, leaving the match to be decided by the three doubles matches.

 

 

The key match would come from second doubles, as Commack’s Julia Kinalis and Emma Mangels fought back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Soon after, Christine Kong and Victoria Pengiero won 6-0, 6-3 at third doubles to clinch the Commack victory.  

“We’re going to take it one match at a time,” Clark said of building off of this win. “The season is far from over, so we’ll use this experience to build on and keep practicing and getting better. We’ll tweak some things we need to work on and just keep moving forward.”

Commack’s next scheduled match is Wednesday against Smithtown East.

In Nassau County on Tuesday, defending county champions Manhasset improved to 6-0 with a tight 4-3 victory over Great Neck North. The key match came at third singles, as Kyleigh Harmon outlasted Alyssa Ghassabian 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

The Massapequa Chiefs remained undefeated on the year, notching a 6-1 win over Hicksville. Daniela Snyder led the way with a 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 victory over Puja Sergupta at second singles to help push Massapequa to 5-0 on the season.

Here are the rest of the scores from across Long Island on Tuesday:

Nassau:

Friends Academy 7, Locust Valley 0
Garden City 7, Bethpage 0
New Hyde Park 4, Glen Cove 3
Hewlett 4, Plainview JFK 3
Lynbrook 7, East Meadow 0
Mepham 5, Long Beach 2
Plainedge 4, Farmingdale 3

Suffolk:

Harborfields 5, Half Hollow Hills West 2
Smithtown West 5, Kings Park 2
Sayville 4, Bay Shore 3
Lindenhurst 6, Copiague 1
Bayport-Blue Point 6, Stony Brook 1
Middle Country 5, Comsewogue 2
Sachem 6, Bellport 1
Southampton 4, Westhampton 3
East Hampton 6, Mattituck 1
Shoreham-Wading River 6, Riverhead 1


Brian Coleman
Senior Editor, Long Island Tennis Magazine
Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for Long Island Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com.
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