Port Washington Tennis Heads To LI Championship After Rainouts

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — The young and loaded Port Washington girls tennis team, fresh off a Nassau County championship win Friday, will face a tough Westhampton team in the Long Island championship.

On Friday, the girls put a beat down on Great Neck North, winning 7-0. While the score might indicate a blowout, coach Shane Helfner told Patch on Wednesday the win was hard-fought.

"They made us really have to earn it," he said. "It was definitely a fight"

With the team headed to the Long Island championship, Helfner said he expected his opponent to be the Long Island defending champion Westhampton. He was right.

Drama was palpable at the Suffolk County final Monday, as top-seeded Westhampton (18-0) narrowly defeated No. 3 Islip 4-3.

The match had been tied at three wins a piece as fans and teammates watched the end of a three-hour singles battle between eighth-grader Julia Stabile and Maya Levy. The winner would carry her team to the Long Island championship. After losing her first set, Stabile rallied back to win back-to-back sets.

The Hurricanes (17-0) and Vikings (17-0) were to play Tuesday at The Hamlet Golf & Country Club in a battle of the unbeatens. Rain forced the teams to wait another day. With more rain in the forecast Wednesday afternoon, the match was once again pushed back.

The coach joked he hasn't slept in ages, and that won't change until the championship is over. He'll wait at least another day, and with more rain possible Thursday, possibly even longer.

"This job is my life," he said. "I'm thinking about it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I'm always trying to prepare the best I can, trying to get these girls ready and make sure they're successful. Once we get through this last match I think I'll be able to sleep."

This is one of the deepest teams Port Washington has ever had, Helfner said, which gives them a competitive advantage over many of their opponents. Half the lineup is filled with young tournament players and their top three singles all made it to the state tournament in Albany.

Westhampton has been dominant in Suffolk County over the last couple of years. Helfner, who used to coach in Commack, is familiar with the coach and program and has much respect for them. He feels confident his team can go toe-to-toe with them though, noting both are very deep teams top to bottom.

"I feel we match up well with them," Helfner said.

As for the girls, nerves haven't seem to set in yet. The worst part: the agonizing wait.

"It's mentally exhausting," he said. "They're ready to go."