Newsday's Top 30 girls tennis players heading into 2024 season
Clockwise, from top left: Lola Dangin of Ross, Matilda Buchen of Westhampton, Angelina Bravo of Garden City, Emma Wilck and Samantha Heyman of Half Hollow Hills East, Erica Jud of North Shore.
Newsday's annual look at the top singles and doubles players in Long Island high school girls tennis for the fall of 2024, listed in alphabetical order. (All statistics are from last season unless otherwise noted.)
Angelina Bravo, Garden City, Soph.
In her first season with the Trojans, Bravo went 16-1 as a doubles player and was a big part of their run to the Nassau team title match. Sporting one of the Island’s best games at the net, the Newsday All-Long Island selection teamed with Kayla Castellano to win the doubles title at the Nassau individual championships and finish third in the state. She will play singles this season.
Aleksa Brazyte, Connetquot, Soph.
Brazyte’s game has a little bit of everything: strong net play, hard driving ground strokes and first-rate court coverage. She went 10-6 in singles and lost a heartbreaking three-set quarterfinal at the Suffolk individual championships.
Matilda Buchen, Sr., and Ava Borruso, Fr., Westhampton
Buchen was half of the doubles team that won the state and county championships and was tabbed one of Newsday’s Suffolk Players of the Year. In a quest to defend those titles, she is likely to pair with the offensive-minded Borruso. Both are strong singles players who make the Hurricanes a contender for the team title.
Lynelle Chernavsky, Ward Melville, Jr.
Mentally tough and with surprising power, Chernavsky was 11-5 at singles last season in rigorous Suffolk III. She reached the round of 16 in singles at the Suffolk Individual Championships.
Lola Dangin, Ross, Fr.
Dangin emerged as a force with her savvy singles play as an eighth-grader. She helped a young Ross team reach the county small schools title match, took third in singles at the Suffolk individual championships and earned a spot in the state tournament.
Samantha Heyman and Emma Wilck, Half Hollow Hills East, Jrs.
This experienced doubles team blends the tireless grit of Wilck and the aggressive athleticism of Heyman, who was a Newsday All-Long Island selection for flag football. The duo helped Hills East win the Suffolk large schools team title and they reached the quarterfinals in doubles at the individual championships.
Katelyn Ho, Great Neck North, Jr.
She is the headliner on an up-and-coming Great Neck North team looking for a breakthrough season. Her strong mental game helped her win eight regular-season matches and reach the round of 16 in singles at the Nassau individual championships.
Erica Jud, Sr, and Natalie Ion, Jr., North Shore
Vikings coach Brian Kline has dubbed this pair of the team’s top singles players “fire and ice” and sees them as capable of winning the Nassau doubles crown. Jud (16-1) plays a tenacious style and never gives points away. Ion (15-1) is the picture of composure and never caves when encountering adversity.
Anya Konopka, Smithtown East, Sr.
The two-time Newsday All-Long Island selection won the Suffolk singles title and advanced to the round of 16 in the state tournament. Her record in singles over the past two seasons is 40-3.
Tiffany Lin, Hewlett, Soph.
Lin brings an all-around game and superior focus to the No. 1 singles spot for the Bulldogs. She went 12-2 at singles in the regular season and was one half of a doubles team that reached the quarterfinals at the Nassau individual championships.
Madison Lee, Great Neck South, Jr.
Lee was a Newsday All-Long Island second-team selection after finishing fourth in singles at the Nassau individual championships. She is 27-6 over the past two seasons.
Clockwise, from top left: Anya Konopka of Smithtown East, Madison Lee of Great Neck South, Diya Varma of Syosset, Zia Mukherjee of Syosset, Stephanie Marcheret of Syosset.
Evie Loewy and Christina Kent, Port Washington, Sophs.
Loewy is a relentless baseliner who doesn’t beat herself, and Kent is a lefty with a big serve and crosscourt forehand. Their presence in the lineup should make the Vikings a dangerous team, and they again will pair for the Nassau individual championships, where they reached the round of 16.
Stephanie Marcheret, Syosset, Jr.
Marcheret was an important cog in Syosset winning the Nassau large schools championship with a 14-7 record in singles and doubles and was half of a doubles team that made the semifinals at the county individual championships. She could be ready to take a place among Nassau elite singles players.
Sophia Matos, Longwood, 8th Grade
Matos showed poise and maturity in her debut season and went 8-1 in singles during the regular season. In her first Suffolk individual championships, she reached the quarterfinals.
Zia Mukherjee, Sr., and Diya Varma, Fr., Syosset
Both were main components in Syosset winning the Nassau and Long Island large schools titles and reaching the state championship match, with Mukherjee winning nine singles matches and Varma going 15-2 as part of doubles teams. They will team in the county individual championships after each made the semifinals last year.
Sofia Perez, Mount Sinai, Fr.
Perez reached the round of 16 in singles at the Suffolk individual championships as a seventh-grader. She returns to the Mount Sinai lineup after missing most of last year with a back injury.
Anjali Raza, Soph., and Christina Zhao, Jr., Half Hollow Hills East
The top two singles players as Hills East won the Suffolk large schools title paired up for the county individual championships and reached the quarterfinals. Raza totaled 19 wins at singles and doubles and Zhao had 14. They were selected to Newsday’s All-Long Island second team.
Alex Raikos, Mepham, Sr.
Raikos’ stellar season underscored how consistency in play leads to success. She didn’t lose a regular-season match and reached the quarterfinals at the Nassau individual championships to finish 15-1. Both sets in her county tourney loss went to tiebreakers.
Emilia Romano, Bayport-Blue Point, Sr.
Romano teamed with her younger sister, Evie, a sophomore, to reach the Suffolk doubles title match, place seventh in the state tournament and earn Newsday All-Long Island honors. She helped the Phantoms reach the Suffolk small schools team final by going 11-1 at singles.
From left: Emilia Romano of Bayport-Blue Point, Angel Walia of Herricks, Christina Zhao of Half Hollow Hills East.
Anika Tolat, Roslyn, Sr.
Still great at dissecting opponents and with a vastly improved first serve, Tolat returns for her sixth year playing first singles after going 12-1. Her greatest postseason successes have come playing doubles — she reached the state tournament two years ago — and will decide whether to play doubles in the county tournament later this season.
Anabel Van Cott and Lydia Van Cott, Floyd, Sophs.
With the twin sisters at the top of the lineup, Floyd should challenge for the Suffolk large schools title. Anabel’s accuracy to the corners and Lydia’s topspin could make for a formidable pairing, though coach Dave Pia said the rigors of competition in Suffolk IV may not allow him to play either one in doubles enough to qualify them to be a pairing for the county tournament.
Gabrielle Villegas, Great Neck South, 7th Grade
Villegas could make a huge splash in her first high school season. In the 12-and-under age group, Villegas is ranked No. 1 on Long Island, No. 3 in the state and No. 27 nationally, according to tennisrecruiting.net.
Angel Walia, Herricks, Sr.
After going 19-5 at singles, taking third place at the county individual championships and fifth place at the state tournament, Walia earned Newsday All-Long Island honors. She is taller than last year and added more power to her game.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.