Schreiber Tennis Drops Season Finale to Syosset

The Schreiber boys varsity tennis team wrapped up its season on Tuesday with a 6-1 loss to Syosset. The Vikings finished their season with a record of two wins and eight losses in their first season as a member of  Conference I-A, Nassau County's top conference.

Senior Jason Hubsher played well in his top singles match against Syosset's Kevin Katz. The match was decided along the baseline, as Katz and Hubsher exchanged powerful ground strokes that criss-crossed the court. Katz's power, as well as his ability to hit the corners, kept Hubsher off balance and lunging at balls careening away from him.

Although Katz took the first set, 6-2, Hubsher battled furiously in the second set to tie it at six games a piece. In the tie-breaker, though, Katz mixed up his attack with volleys and drop shots to complement his power from the baseline. Katz won the tie-breaker, 7-2, and with it the match.

"He was very focused," Hubsher said of Katz after the match. "I didn't play my best, but I had some good shots."

That 6-6 tie in Hubsher's second set was as close as the Vikings would get in singles play. Syosset won every set in the other two matches with a combined score of 24-9. In the second singles match, Sander Brenner lost to Stephen Peng — 6-2, 6-3. And in third sinlges, Ben Rosen lost to Jake Mishen — 6-4, 6-0.

The first doubles match, with Schreiber's Matt Kellenberg and Dan Lee taking on Addison Bernicker and Henry Tell, started extremely well for the Vikings, who took the first set, 6-0. They then dropped the second set to Syosset, 6-4, and were defeated in the final set, 6-1.

"We won the first set and got overconfident," Kellenberg said. "It was tough losing like that, but we're going to take a negative thing and turn it into a positive thing."

The second doubles match featured two subs for Schreiber — Ian Tucker and Dan Siegel, who lost in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-0. Following them were Michael Seiden and Jared Alper, who got off to a promising start against Syosset's Matt Teller and Harris Weber, beating them 6-3 in the first set. But the next two sets both went to Syosset, 6-4 and 6-4.

The last match of the day finally brought the Vikings a victory, and it was a come-from-behind effort. Shaan Shivdasani and Krishin Shivdasani battled Kyle Nadelman and Alex Mandel in a struggle for dominance at the net. Syosset took the upper hand early, winning the first set, 6-2. But the Shivdasanis fought back, taking the second set, 6-2, and the third in a super tie-breaker in place of the third set, 10-6. Aggressive play at the net helped push the Vikings doubles team to victory, as they were consistently able to beat Syosset in volleying exchanges.

Coach Melissa Koulouris reflected on the season. "This was our first year in this conference," she said. "We lost a lot of seniors coming into this season, so it was a tough year, and we're a young team. But we were competitive; we lost some games with scores like 4-3."

Over on the courts, another match had just ended with yet another Schreiber loss.  She shook her head. "Not today though," she said.

Match Results:

First singles: Kevin Katz (Syosset) def. Jason Hubsher (Schreiber) – 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)

Second singles: Stephen Peng (Syosset) def. Sander Brenner (Schreiber) – 6-2, 6-3

Third singles: Jake Mishen (Syosset) def. Ben Rosen (Schreiber) – 6-4, 6-0

First doubles: Addison Bernicker/Henry Tell (Syosset) def. Matt Kellenberg/Dan Lee (Schreiber) – 0-6, 6-4, 6-1

Second doubles: Jordan Zucker/Ian Baranowski (Syosset) def. Ian Tucker/Dan Siegel (Schreiber) – 6-2, 6-0

Third doubles: Matt Teller/Harris Weber (Syosset) def. Michael Seiden/Jared Alper (Schreiber) – 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Fourth doubles: Shaan Shivdasani/Krishin Shivdasani (Schreiber) def. Kyle Nadelman/Alex Mandel (Syosset) – 2-6, 6-2, 10-6