Commack's program-best season falls short of state boys tennis title
Edward Liao from Commack competes in the boys tennis state championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Friday June 10, 2022. Credit: Louis Lanzano
The Commack boys tennis team fashioned a spectacular season.
The Cougars, advancing further than any team in program history, pushed, battled and rallied for a state title shot but ultimately came up short in the team tennis Division I final with a 5-2 loss to Mamaroneck on Friday at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens.
Commack had won 21 matches in a row before losing in the inauguarl state championship. The team earned the Long Island Division I championship for the first time and defeated Bethlehem in the state semifinals earlier on Friday.
During that semifinal win, freshman Eric Benderly found himself in a familiar situation from the Long Island final. It was up to him to pull out a win to bring his team to victory. Even with the added pressure, Benderly delivered. He won the first set against Bethlehem’s Aiden Hass, 6-2, but dropped the second set, 4-6. He opened the super tiebreaker (10-point match) with a round of powerful serves that pressured Hass’ backhand, sending Benderly to a 6-1 win and the team to the finals.
“When you have an easy first set and then there’s some trouble in the second, it’s always hard,” Benderly said. “I knew that I needed to stay focused and it worked.”
In the final, No. 1 singles player Edward Liao battled his opponent Max Kalinin for the third time in two weeks and prevailed, 6-4, 6-4. The second doubles tandem of Joe Romito and Saharsh Peddireddy won, 6-1, 6-4, but those were the only wins for the Cougars. <NM1>They fell in the other five matches to the top seed.
“We have to return serves better and be more aggressive from the net.,” Commack coach Jimmy Delevante said. “Aside from that, this was the best season for our program so far and we’re extremely proud of that.”
For New Yorks’ first state championship, the boys tennis sport coordinator Selina DeCicco could not have been more delighted: “It took nearly 40 years to give teams this opportunity to compete with a diverse group of individuals at all levels and recognize how much their teamwork truly matters.”
