Longwood's Victoria Matos repeats as Suffolk individual tennis champ
Victoria Matos of Longwood reaches for the serve during the Suffolk girls individual tennis championships in East Setauket on Monday, October 24, 2022. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
It didn’t come easy for Victoria Matos, but she knew if she just kept playing her style, the results would change.
The Longwood senior dropped the first set in the Suffolk girls tennis championships at the World Gym in Setauket Monday afternoon, but rallied to defeat Ward Melville’s Kira Kronenberg and win her second straight individual county title, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
“It’s all mental,” Matos said. “Tennis is such a mental game and you just have to stay positive the whole time and I just had to tell myself, you can do it, you can do it. Just keep going.”
Top-seeded Matos won the first four games in the opening set before dropping the next six to No. 2 Kronenberg.
“She was playing great,” Matos said. “She was just digging for every ball and I was impressed every time. I just had to just keep going with her, and staying consistent really helped me.”
Matos admitted she felt some additional pressure during the season and in the postseason tournament to repeat as champion. Especially with it being her senior year and the final being relocated (due to rain) to the facility in which she trains.
“I was under some pressure, but I think I handled it well,” Matos said. “I’m just happy I was able to pull through.”
Matos, Kronenberg and Anya Konopka all qualified for the state championships, beginning Thursday at Sportime in Schenectady. Konopka, a sophomore at Smithtown East, defeated Middle Country’s Maria Perez, 6-2, 6-2, in Monday's third-place contest.
Longwood coach Justin Firenze said how proud he was of Matos for not letting losing the first set rattle her.
“She’s a proven tournament player,” Firenze said. “If she drops a set, it doesn’t affect her and she’s ready to grind out and go as long as she has to to win a match.”
Firenze saw throughout the year how much it meant to Matos to win the title a second-straight season. And it wasn’t always easy for the top seed.
“The more you win, the more the pressure builds, the more everyone else is trying to knock you out,” Firenze said. “She had to bring her ‘A’ game the entire time, but you could tell she wanted it. She was a little nervous at first but she settled down and she did what she does.”
Matos hopes the success she showed in the final two sets Monday will translate in the state tournament.
“It feels great, I love it,” Matos said. “But I’m ready to go to states now.”
