Perfection for Finley Boys’ Tennis at 10-0

Perfection! The J. Taylor Finley Middle School boys’ tennis team wrapped up the spring season with twin victories over Oldfield and Bay Shore to record a perfect 10-0 record.

“I’d like to give our tennis parents a huge shout out for cheering these boys on every game and giving such great support to the team this entire season,” head coach John Romano said.

Finley set the stage for its final contest against Bay Shore with a win over Oldfield in the season’s penultimate meet last Thursday. The highly anticipated match-up featured the two teams with the best records on the schedule.

“Last year when we played them, they beat us badly; 6-1,” Romano said. “The eighth graders who were on the team last year didn’t forget what happened. Knowing how well we’re playing this year and with other coaches telling me they’re hearing about how good we’ve been, I told our guys don’t worry about them; let them worry about us.”

Following a hard fought series of singles and doubles matches, Finley finally prevailed, 4-3. The Blue Devils tallied wins in singles by Michael Tucker (4-0, 4-3), Jake Chiclacos (1-4, 4-2, tie breaker 7-2) and Jack Steinberg (4-1, 4-2) and in doubles by Ronan Driscoll and Quinn Rinaldi (4-0, 4-2).

“We executed great today,” Romano said. “These boys played with high energy and confidence all day against our best competition all year. We had some matches that were losses that could easily have gone either way. Intense matches like this one really bring out the best in this team. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Finley took the court for its final meet of the spring this past Tuesday and dominated Bay Shore, 6-1. The team had single wins by Michael Tucker (4-0, 4-2), Jack Steinberg (4-2, 4-3) and Henry Schmid (4-3, 4-0). Doubles victories were recorded by Patrick Tortora and Jackson Poli (4-1, 4-0) , Lucas Biancardo and Ronan Driscoll (4-0, 4-0) and Quinn Rinaldi and Brady LaCosta (4-1, 4-0).

“We knew the pressure of a perfect season was on us and these boys played today’s matches like we have been all year,” Romano said. “I’m extremely proud of how well we played not only today, but the entire season. These eighth graders over the last two years have an 18-2 record. That’s a memory they’ll have forever and that’s an achievement to show the hard work they have put in over the last two seasons.”