Great Neck South eighth grader Gabrielle Villegas to play for girls tennis singles championship
Gabrielle Villegas of Great Neck South in a state semifinal singles match on Tuesday October 28, 2025 at the USTA in Flushing Meadows. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
Gabrielle Villegas has been here before — but this time last year, she wasn’t on the court alone.
Now playing solo on the state-championship stage, the Great Neck South eighth-grader fought through an epic semifinal battle, and dropped the first two points of the third set. A gutsy point at the net sparked her momentum and she carried that through a tense tiebreaker to win.
Villegas outlasted Sakura Hino of Purchase’s Keio Academy, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4), earning a spot in the state singles championship match — scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing — against Shenendehowa’s Jolie Chichak.
“It was very tight, [Hino] was unbelievable,” Villegas said. “It felt like we were just smashing the ball back and forth; it was definitely intense. When we had that rally at the net and I won that point, that was kind of the moment I got locked in again.”
Great Neck South coach Andrew Tuomey described it as an “epic battle.”
“She kept fighting back and believing in her shots, even when she was down,” Tuomey said. “The biggest thing for her has been her mental toughness; she’s fearless, and she’s able to stay composed and just focus on getting the next point.”
Villegas beat Division’s Lilliana Chou in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 4-6. She was ahead 4-3 in the third set before Chou retired due to injury.
Villegas reached the state doubles final last year, but came up short. This time, she’s aiming to finish the job on her own.
“I want to get my revenge on this tournament,” said Villegas, the No. 2 seed. “Of course I want to win, and I hope it’s another battle.”
Tuomey believes she’s ready.
“This is a generational player for me. You don’t get many kids like this walk through the door,” he said. “I think she’s going to play free and loose and just have fun, and hopefully, she’ll bring home the title.”
Chichak is seeded fourth.
Top-seeded Stephanie Marcheret of Syosset defeated Mount Sinai’s Sofia Perez, 6-0, 6-1, in the quarterfinals, but fell to Chichak, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, in the semifinal round. She will play Hino on Wednesday in the third-place match.
Second-seeded Ross teammates Lola Dangin and Lillie Weiss advanced past Guilderland’s Angela Li and Meghan Uzzilia, 6-2, 7-5, before falling to sixth-seeded Clare Dooley and Addison Jones of Saratoga in the doubles semifinals, 3-6, 4-6. They’ll play for third place against fourth-seeded Mira and Sonia Nadzan of Baldwinsville.
Syosset duo Hannah Wang and Skyler Lin fell to top-seeded Michelle and Daniella Rosenblit of Horace Greeley in the quarterfinals, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 1-6.
Third-seeded Evie Loewy and Brianna Lewis of Port Washington fell in the same round to Dooley and Jones, 6-3, 2-6, 1-6 and will face Sadie and Scarlett McFadzen of Horace Greeley in the fifth-place match.
Mount Sinai’s Perez will also compete for fifth place in the singles bracket against Sofia Banifatemi of Clarence. Perez bounced back to defeat Isabel Amurao of Scotia-Glenville, 0-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the fifth-place bracket.
