Shoreham-Wading River's Emily Herr eyes swimming state title in senior year

Shoreham-Wading River senior Emily Herr has been swimming at the varsity level since she was a seventh grader. Since then, she’s broken records, has been to the state championship five times and has been named county champion. But she’s hoping to accomplish one more feat before she graduates and heads to Villanova: becoming a state champion.

“My goal this year is definitely to win and become a state champion,” Herr said. “I’ve been working with my coaches a lot, tweaking my strokes and becoming stronger in and out of the water.”

Herr has already qualified for the state championships in five events — the 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard butterfly, 200-individual medley, 100-freestyle and 200-freestyle events.

“As soon as she steps on the block, she has one thing on her mind, and that’s to win,” Mark Anderson, Herr’s club swim coach said. “She’s created an aura and a name around being the fierce competitor she is.”

Last year at the state girls swimming championships in Rochester, Herr placed second in the Federation in the 100-yard butterfly (55.42) and third in the 200-IM (2:02.85). She hopes to be at the top of the podium this time around.

Anderson said that they try not to let the pressure of her final year competing become an obstacle to reaching their goals.

“She’s gotten to this level by swimming loose and free and just enjoying it, so, we’re trying to keep the pressure off of it,” Anderson said. “At the end of the day, swimming is a sport that can come down to a hundredth of a second, so we’ve been making sure that the little things are done right in practice because those are the things that can make a huge difference at the state championship.”

With the Suffolk championships right around the corner, Herr looks forward to competing in two different events from last year: the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke.

“I’m doing totally different events than last year,” Herr said. “I just wanted to switch it up for my senior year.”

At Ward Melville on Wednesday afternoon, Herr won the 200-IM, clocking in at 2:06.22 in an independent meet. She was also celebrating her senior night.

“I feel like it went by so fast,” Herr said. “I see the seventh graders competing now and I remember being in their shoes.”

Almost a decade of coaching Herr later, Anderson feels lucky to have been a part of her swimming journey.

“I treasure the relationship more than the time they swim for me,” Anderson said. “I always knew Emily would have a long career ahead of her, and I’m excited to see her get her name in the record books there.” — Jolie Katzen

Long Beach boys badminton make final home game memorable

Senior Night is always a date circled on the calendar, but it meant a little bit more to Long Beach boys badminton and its nine seniors this year.

The Marines hosted a 12-0 Roslyn team on Thursday, one that beat them, 6-1, on Sept. 20 for Long Beach’s only loss. Coach Michelle La Barbera wanted to see her squad close that five-point gap, but the team had a larger goal in mind.

“That wasn’t enough for them,” La Barbera said. “They wanted it, and they took it.”

Long Beach ended Roslyn’s bid for an undefeated season with a 4-3 win on Oct. 10. With every other match concluded, all eyes were on Long Beach's fourth doubles duo Cameron Leflein and Theo Turbek. After dropping the first game 21-19, the pair rallied, 21-12, 21-11, to win the match against Aidan Yu and Isaac Wang.

“This is their last time playing with home-court advantage," La Barbera said. "They left everything out.”

Long Beach’s Jake Haff also battled back in second singles, defeating Roslyn’s Nick Chao, 16-21, 22-20, 21-17. La Barbera expressed pride in her team’s “mental stamina,” and while No. 10 Long Beach’s season came to an end Friday night in the first round of the playoffs against No. 7 Manhasset, it’s the spirit of this group that La Barbera finds special.

“If you lose the first game, you have to get yourself out of that, you can’t give up,” La Barbera said. “It’s a testament to the kids, their maturity and their dedication that they can do that.” — Michael Sicoli

Longwood girls soccer captures elusive league title

The Longwood girls soccer team accomplished something on Saturday the program hasn’t done in 29 years: win a league title.

The Lions closed their regular season with a 4-0 win over Central Islip. The victory for Longwood (9-4-1, 7-1 in Suffolk League I) clinched the program at least a share of its first league title since 1995, according to head coach Eric Stark, who is also a Longwood alumnus and in his first year with the program.

“They have a chance to leave a legacy for the underclassmen,” Stark said. “I think Longwood soccer in general for so many years has been missing that winning culture and I think we can make some noise this year and make a (standard) for the future.”

Stark credits the combination of both senior leadership and talent with younger players taking on prominent roles for the team’s success. Longwood went 5-9 last season but Stark could quickly tell this year’s team had potential.

“The girls have bought in since Day 1 and they believe every time they step on the field,” Stark said. “No matter the opponent, they believe in themselves.”

Senior Delaney Israel leads the team with nine goals and seven assists. Senior Haylee Tufano has six goals and three assists and freshman Mia Drossel has five goals and four assists. Stark also credits defensive players like Grace Mitchell, Brooke Pfieffer and Sara Mangels for the team’s turnaround. 

After Longwood missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, Stark is excited to see what the team can do in the postseason.

“Our goal since Day 1 was to win the league championship,” Stark said, “but once playoffs come around, our focus is to make as much noise as possible and I think any team that plays us is not going to take us lightly this year.” — Owen O'Brien