Syosset Claims Fourth Straight Nassau County Championship

May 18, 2018 | By Brian Coleman
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Credit photos to Jessie Levy

 

Just over two weeks ago, Syosset saw its 62-match winning streak come to an end at the hands of Roslyn.

But Syosset exacted a bit of revenge in the biggest match of the season, up to this point, capturing its fourth consecutive Nassau County Championship on Thursday afternoon by defeating Roslyn 7-0 at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow.

“That winning streak was just a number,” said senior Preet Rajpal, who plays first doubles. “This match was the one that mattered; the number we cared about was a fourth county championship.”

Rajpal paired with freshman Brian Gao to win 6-1, 6-1 over Roslyn’s Jacob Buchbinder and Arin Siriamonthep at first doubles for Syosset’s second victory on the day, after Daniel Pellerito got things started with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Zach Khazzam at first singles.

The Rajpal-Gao partnership took some time throughout the season to develop the chemistry it needed. Gao, a singles player, needed to adjust his game to the doubles court, and that was on display during the straight-set win on Thursday.

“The county tournament was a great experience for him. He realized doubles was not meant to be played in a singles way,” said Rajpal. “We went into today with a game plan. We were going to put balls into the court and put balls away at the net. We weren’t going to shoot ourselves in the foot…we wanted to keep control of the match.”

Soon after Rajpal and Gao won, Eli Grossman delivered a 6-1, 6-2 win over Jordan Freeman at third singles to bolster the Syosset lead.

Andre Kirkorian and Zach Chan then sealed the deal by beating Dion Park and Jacob Stein 7-6(5), 6-4 at second doubles, clinching Syosset’s fourth consecutive county title.

“We tried to take it point by point, game by game. Especially in that first-set tiebreak,” said Chan. “There is definitely a sense of redemption. I think this win is a huge statement for the season we had.”

Justin Oresky would go on to defeat Mikey Weitz 6-3, 4-6, 12-10 at second singles, while Peter Bukary and Jeremy Levine won at third doubles and Jake Haas and Ashkan Moghaddassi won at fourth doubles to complete the 7-0 Syosset victory.

“Losing earlier this season to Roslyn was probably the best thing that could have happened to us,” said Syosset head coach Shai Fisher. “It refocused everyone on the team, and it showed in how all the boys came out determined and ready to play.

This championship is very special, and it all starts with the seven seniors on the team. Some of the boys have been in the program for several years so you develop a strong relationship with them, which makes it that much more meaningful. The two captains, Preet Rajpal and Eli Grossman, have been on the team since eighth grade, so being able to grow with them just adds another layer on how special this one is.”

Syosset now awaits the winner of the Suffolk County Championship as it prepares for the Long Island Championship, which has been pushed back from its original date of May 23 because of rain outs.


Scenes from the Nassau County Championship 


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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