Commack girls basketball's Sofia Vasselman eligible for playoff game after winning court case
Commack's Sofia Vasselman (1) looks to move the ball during a Suffolk girls basketball game against Sachem East on Monday Jan 13, 2025. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Commack High School senior guard Sofia Vasselman, who was ejected from a game earlier this month that resulted in a one-game suspension, was cleared to play in the Suffolk Class AAA girls basketball playoffs that begin on Thursday.
Vasselman petitioned for a temporary restraining order and it was granted by Suffolk State Supreme Court Justice C. Stephen Hackeling on Monday at the Riverhead courthouse, allowing Vasselman to be eligible for the playoffs.
Pete Blieberg, assistant to the executive director for Section XI, which governs all of Suffolk’s interscholastic sports, said Vasselman was ejected from a game against Bay Shore on Feb. 7. She was called for two intentional fouls, the second one coming in the fourth quarter, which is cause for an automatic ejection from the game. According to New York State Public High School Athletic Association rules, the ejection comes with an automatic one-game suspension, which would have been Commack's first playoff game.
Vasselman's petition said that the decision of referee Pete Vetrone to eject her from the game was "conducted in a retaliatory manner in violation of the rules and regulations."
Tom Combs, the executive director for Section XI, and longtime Section XI attorney Kevin Seaman spent Tuesday morning on a call with Renee James, the state attorney representing the NYSPHSAA and Dr. Robert Zayas, the executive director for NYSPHSAA, to consider an appeal of Hackeling's decision.
“I’m very disappointed and I think he did the wrong thing,” Combs said. “We respect the judicial decision. We’ll continue to fight in court to uphold our rules moving forward. It won’t prevent Vasselman from playing in Thursday’s playoff game. There’s no appeal here.”
Hackeling's order said Vasselman is eligible for Thursday's game against Huntington and any other playoff games this season.
Vasselman, a two-time Suffolk league MVP, is Commack’s leading scorer, averaging 20 points , and is the team captain. She broke the 1,000-point barrier in her five-year career earlier this season.
Commack, which won the Suffolk League II title, is set to host Huntington in the quarterfinal round of Suffolk’s Class AAA playoffs at 5 p.m. on Thursday. Commack drew the fourth seed with a 16-4 record. Fifth-seeded Huntington is 15-5.
“We have to figure out the next step to continue to uphold the integrity of the NYSPHSAA rules,” Combs said. “We have enforced this rule every year. That is illustrated by the 155 ejections between the fall of 2024 and the winter of 2025 where players, coaches and fans who were ejected were suspended for the next contest. And if it were the final contest of the season then the offender was suspended for the first contest of the following season.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
