Despite being shorthanded for many meets this past spring, the Huntington junior varsity boys’ tennis team still managed to put together a very nice season, compiling a 7-1 mark in league play and going 7-6 overall.
Coached by Robert Gilmor III, the squad included freshmen Alexandra Frawley, Matthew Levinson, Matthew Minicozzi and William Weber; sophomores Jonathan Apelsinov, Aaron Chin, Aiden Lefebvre and Nathan Ribando and junior Brandon Varady.
“Each of the boys pushed themselves to help the team get where we ended up,” Gilmor said. “All season we played short, but in each league match they pushed each other to play the best they could.”
After falling 7-0 in a non-league match to Half Hollow Hills East to open the season, the Blue Devils won six of their next eight meets, including wins over league foes Walt Whitman (6-1 and 4-3), Smithtown East (5-2 and 4-3), Kings Park (6-0) and John H. Glenn (6-1).
Two of Huntington’s losses came via 4-3 scores and were entirely attributable to being shorthanded after the varsity required some of the JV team’s players.
“It was a very good team of talented boys,” Gilmor said. “They worked very hard. We will continue to work to make them more prepared for next season. They have a very good attitude and really want to improve their game. Our losses were close and we have to push to win that one deciding match.”
Levinson, Minicozzi and Apelsinov all won five singles matches. Frawley went 3-1 in singles and 4-4 in doubles. Weber was 2-2 in singles and 2-1 in doubles. Chin won six matches overall, including five in doubles. Ribando compiled a 7-5 doubles record. Lefebvre won five doubles matches and Varady won four times with a partner.
“Everyone will be returning and we are excited about the players coming up from Finley,” Gilmor said.