Newsday's Top 30 Long Island girls tennis players for fall 2023
Julia Stabile, left, hands the ball to doubles partner Matilda Buchen, right, of Westhampton. Credit: Tim Roske
A look at the top singles and doubles players in high school girls tennis for the fall of 2023, listed in alphabetical order.
ABIGAIL BREEN, Sayville, Sr.: With a huge serve and high-velocity ground strokes, Breen is expected to be a contender in the Suffolk County singles tournament.
MATILDA BUCHEN, Jr., and JULIA STABILE, Westhampton, Sr.: The Hurricanes tandem won the 2022 Suffolk individual doubles title and finished seventh in the state. In team play last season, they were a combined 35-1 at singles.
OLIVIA CARUSO, Ross School, Eighth Grade: Caruso’s stellar play at third singles a year ago helped the Ravens go 16-2 and ascend to the Suffolk small schools title match. She should see action at first and second singles.
LYNELLE CHERNAVSKY, Ward Melville, So.: Chernavsky, who has impressive power, was a singles semifinalist at the Suffolk individual championships last season.
Clockwise from top left: Skylar Cohen of Friends Academy, Kati Cotek of Cold Spring Harbor and Nyla Gershfeld of Hewlett.
SKYLAR COHEN, Friends Academy, Sr.: Cohen went 10-4 at second singles to help the Quakers reach the Nassau small school championship match last season, and she advanced to the quarterfinals of the county individual championship. She is a Yale lacrosse commit.
KATI COTEK, Cold Spring Harbor, Sr.: Cotek was 12-4 at second singles in helping the Seahawks win their first Nassau and Long Island small schools championships last season. She could opt for doubles in county play with either junior Kami Cotek (her sister) or sophomore Brooke Winthrop.
ADRIANNA FILIPPELLI, Floyd, Sr.: The Colonials are once again in the county championship conversation in no small part to the play of Filippelli, who coach Dave Pia said is “more mentally relaxed” in the role at first singles this season.
NYLA GERSHFELD, Hewlett, Sr.: Gershfeld went 14-4 in singles last season and took fourth place in the Nassau individual singles championship. She was Newsday’s Co-Player of the Year in 2019 as half of the state doubles champion.
SOFIA KEDRIN, Garden City, Eighth Grade: In her first year of high school tennis, Kedrin will battle seniors Nina Wiese and Kayla Castellano for the top spots in the Trojans' lineup. She was the state’s top-ranked player as a 12-year-old and is top five at 14-and-under.
From left, Smithtown East's Anya Konopka, Great Neck South's Madison Lee and Middle Country's Maria Perez.
ANYA KONOPKA, Smithtown East, Jr.: Konopka followed a third-place finish in the county individual singles championships by reaching the final 16 in the state tournament last season. She went 12-0 to help the Bulls reach the Suffolk large school final and finished the season 22-2.
MADISON LEE, Great Neck South, So.: Lee was part of the No. 3 doubles team in the state a year ago, and posted a 12-3 record at first singles for the Blazers.
MARIA PEREZ, Middle Country, Sr.: Perez is eyeing a state tournament berth after reaching the Suffolk individual singles semifinals for a third consecutive season in 2022.
KYLIE PERSON and MEREDITH ALBERTELLI, Seniors, Sayville: The Golden Flashes’ top doubles team exemplifies a whole being bigger than the sum of its parts. Albertelli has power and Person is relentlessly accurate, but their chemistry makes them a force.
ALEX RAIKOS, Mepham, Jr.: Raikos was the shining light on a Pirates team that suffered 13 losses, going 12-0 in singles before reaching the quarterfinals in the Nassau individual singles championships.
Clockwise, from top left: Emilia Romano of Bayport-Blue Point, Kady Tannenbaum of Commack, and Aya Deckman and Josie Rudloff of Harborfields.
EMILIA ROMANO, Jr., and EVANGELINE ROMANO, Fr., Bayport-Blue Point:
Teamed with an older sibling in 2022, Emilia Romano took second in the Suffolk individual doubles tournament. She will play first singles in team play and likely pair with her younger sister for county and state play. Evangeline Romano is a top doubles player for the Phantoms.
JOSIE RUDLOFF, Sr., and AYA DECKMAN, Fr., Harborfields: The returns of Rudloff and Deckman are big reasons why the defending Suffolk large school champion Tornadoes are a threat to repeat. The duo reached the semifinals of the 2022 county individual doubles tournament.
ISABELLA SPILOTROS, Smithtown West, Sr.: Spilotros has been in the top tier of singles players for several years now and appears primed for a breakthrough season after reaching a quarterfinal in the 2022 Suffolk individual championships.
KADY TANNENBAUM, Commack, Sr.: The 2021 state singles champion is returning to high school tennis after taking a year off to train and play national-level tournaments. “She is physically stronger, improved her skills and has more confidence,” coach Jackie Clark said.
ANIKA TOLAT, Roslyn, Jr.: Tolat is half the doubles team that finished third at the Nassau individual tournament and fourth in the state tournament. Her 11-5 record in singles helped the Bulldogs reach the large school semifinals last season.
Evangelina Vases, left, and Andrea Vases of Manhasset. Credit: James Escher
EVANGELINA VASES, So., and ANDREA VASES, Sr., Manhasset: Evangelina Vases was half of the second-place team at the Nassau individual championships and then reached the Round of 16 in the state tournament last season. She played with a different doubles partner last season and could play with sister Andrea – who plays first singles in team play – this postseason.
ANGEL WALIA, Herricks, Jr.: After returning midseason from injury, Walia went 9-2 in singles and reached the quarterfinals in the Nassau individual championships last season.
NINA WIESE, Garden City, Sr.: After taking third place in singles at the Nassau individual championships, Wiese placed sixth in the state tournament. She was 19-3 overall for the 2022 season.
PAIGE WYGODZKI, St. Anthony’s, Fr.: Just weeks into her first year in high school, the poised and confident lefthander will be the Friars’ No. 1 singles player. A five-star recruit according to tenninsrecruiting.net, she could contend for the Catholic individual singles title.
Anjali Raza, left, and Christina Zhao of Half Hollow Hills East. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
CHRISTINA ZHAO, So., and ANJALI RAZA, Fr., Half Hollow Hills East: Zhao and Raza will play first and second singles, respectively, as Hills East again will be expected to contend for the Suffolk large school title. They will meld their talents for the county individual doubles tournament.
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.
