Syosset wins third straight Nassau Large Schools girls tennis team crown

Syosset has made it to the final match of the girls team tennis season three times in the past four years, finishing as a state runner-up every time, including last November — a great achievement, but not first prize.

“Insanely motivated this year,” senior co-captain Stephanie Marcheret said. “We’re doing a lot more training and fitness because we think that grit will help us win in the finals.”

Now Syosset needed to take the next step to keep that dream in play.

The task for a young group with just two seniors in the crowd was to take down a formidable Port Washington team Tuesday on the windswept Cold Spring Harbor courts in the Nassau Large Schools girls team tennis championship match.

When Skyler Lin won in second singles, Syosset had clinched and was on its way to a three-peat, ultimately beating the Vikings for the second straight year in the final, this time, 5-2.

“There’s definitely a lot more pressure on us because we already won the last two years,” said Julia Isham, another senior co-captain.

They want another shot at the state Division I title at the USTA National Tennis Center in Queens. Syosset (19-1) will next have to try to beat the eventual Suffolk winner for the Long Island title.

“Every match has been a different lineup due to injuries, illnesses, just a lot of different things that have gone on,” coach Shai Fisher said. “But it’s a testament to all the girls on the team that whenever they’re called on, they just jump in and play and compete.”

Marcheret, the Nassau singles champ, beat Port Washington’s Brianna Lewis, 6-2, 6-4, in first singles.

“She’s a leader of the team that even when she’s not 100%, she knows psychologically, I need to go out there and kind of be there for my teammates,” Fisher said of Marcheret.

Lin took her match, 6-2, 6-4. The victory gave Syosset an insurmountable 4-0 lead. Hannah Wang gave Syosset a singles sweep, winning third singles, 6-0, 6-1.

Tiffany Cai and Shubhangi Pradhan teamed for 6-1, 6-2 victory in second doubles for Syosset, and Kayla Lo and Isham claimed third doubles, 7-6, 6-4.

“I think the team played great,” Isham said. “The wind was definitely hard.”

Christiana Kent and Shoriya Bhat-Bhandarkar prevailed, 7-6, 6-4, in first doubles and Peri Cooper and Lila Hershman took fourth doubles, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, for Port Washington, which finished at 13-4.

“It was an amazing season,” coach Shane Helfner said. " . . . We cherish this rivalry of Port Washington-Syosset tennis. I like that the two of us seem to always be coming back here to a lot of county championships. It shows where our program is on the Island.”