Scarsdale Boys Tennis Team Places Second in NYS

It’s been a banner year for Scarsdale High School tennis. The girls’ varsity won the state championship in the fall, and in the spring, the boys team also proceeded to the states. Both teams are led by Coach Jennifer Roane who has seen the sport reclassified from an individual one to a team sport, with the entire team proceeding to the sectionals, regionals and states, rather than contests for individual qualifiers.

On May 25, the team travelled to Binghamton where they defeated the squad from Ithaca, New York, capturing the region and clearing their way to the state tournament, which is held much closer to home.

On Friday June 9, it was the boys turn to go to Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing to compete in the state tournament. In an early morning round they met another upstate team, Shaker High School from Latham, NY which is near Albany.Sameer Kini won the Section 1 Sportsmanship Awawrd

Before the matches began, singles player and captain Sameer Kini was given the Section 1 sportsmanship award.

The semifinal round went fast with the team winning ten game pro sets in three of the four singles matches and all three doubles matches. It was an impressive 6-1 victory for Scarsdale.

Playing singles for Scarsdale were Same Saeed, Jack Reis, Sameer Kini and Jerry Jin, with doubles teams Michael Marks-Will Mishra, Ben Hyman-Hiroshi Hebner and J.P Figuerireo-Coby Gantcher.

The next round proved to be tough. Scarsdale met Syosset and put up a good fight but failed to take home the state title. For these matches the players needed to win two sets. Singles player Jack Reis and the doubles team of Michael Marks and Will Mishra won, but the others were not able to close the deal.

The team came away with 2 vs. 5 courts in the final.

Commenting on the season, Coach Roane said, “We had a wonderful season. Our record was 15-2. The team was thrilled to be in the finals, we knew Syosset would be a tough team to beat. The boys were focused in the final match. They played a solid game. Last year we were 2nd in the section and this year we are 2nd in the state! What an accomplishment.

Double team: Ben Hyman-Hiroshi Hebner

Senior Sameer Kini said, “Although tennis is usually thought of as an individual sport, being able to travel with the team and share this experience really brought us all together.”

And doubles player Ben Hyman added: I’m sad we could not win first place but overall I am satisfied with the success we have had and how close the team has become. I was honored to be able to play a role in this amazing season.”Jerry Jin, Jack Reis and Dylan Morcom