Three Times As Nice: Westhampton’s Rose Hayes Is A County Champion, Again

Rose Hayes walked off the Shoreham-Wading River tennis court Saturday as she has many times in the past — a champion — and feeling thankful, but for some different reasons this time.

For the first time in numerous finals matches she has played throughout her career, the Westhampton Beach junior wasn’t facing a teammate or friend. The No. 1-seeded singles star took down Longwood’s Victoria Matos, 6-3, 6-1, to claim her third-straight Suffolk County title, and what made the win even better, was that while she knows her opponents are typically going to be gunning for her, Hayes didn’t feel she was competing at the level she knows she can.

“To be honest, it’s a bit of a relief, especially when you’re not playing your best,” the junior said of winning the individual championship. “And I don’t know [Victoria Matos] personally, but she is a very good player, so it was a nice change.”

While Hayes blazed through the bracket, sweeping all but Maria Perez, 6-0, 6-0 — dropping just one game to her Middle Country opponent in the semifinals — Matos was able to attack with some assertiveness, especially in the first set, and force her nationally-ranked opponent to be on the defensive. The pair exchanged two break points in the first set until Hayes jumped out front, 5-2.

Hayes placed fifth in the state tournament in 2019, but won’t have an opportunity to improve upon that since all state tournaments were canceled due to the pandemic.

“I think my opponent played great, and was more aggressive than my previous opponents,” Hayes said. “I just tried to stay calm and focus on taking it one point at a time. I think just sticking in the point and keeping myself moving helped me out.”

The Westhampton No. 1 singles standout is almost always racing to the center of the court between volleys, resetting herself for the next move. Head coach John Czartosieski said Hayes running in the offseason has helped her tremendously.

“Today, she was on defense more than she was on offense, and that was an asset that she needed to rely on,” he said, adding her overall strength has also made a difference. “Rose’s endurance and her physical size has improved over the years, and that’s helped her game. She didn’t play her best, but she still managed to win.”

Hayes said seeing her teammates competing in the doubles final alongside her also provided some extra motivation.

“I’m glad I was able to pull it off, and I was also able to see my fellow females play in the doubles final right next to me,” the junior said. “Always a plus to see some Westhampton.”

For the first time competing as a duo sisters, Katelyn and Julia Stabile also powered through their bracket. They dropped all but two games in any given matchup as the girls made their way to the doubles final, where it was a family affair. The former Westhampton singles players fell to Commack’s Emily and Kady Tannenbaum, 6-0, 6-0, in the Suffolk County championship round.

“We really didn’t know what to expect, because we’d never come this far,” said Julia, a freshman. “But we had our focus, determination and drive. And we blended well together.”

The former No. 4 singles player said she kept some words of advice from her father in the back of her mind: “The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle.” All these different feelings rushed over her after the No. 2-seeded doubles team’s 6-1, 6-1 semifinal win over Sayville’s No. 3-seeded Jenna Guerra and Sasha Gagnon.

“It felt really exciting, because my sister and I put in a lot of hard work,” Julia said. “At that moment, we felt really proud of ourselves. We are very proud of all of our accomplishments.”

Katelyn, a junior, said the communication between she and her sister on the court has only gotten better each match. To come away with the wins, they also tried to remain consistent and score winners on their serves.

Going against the Tannenbaum sisters, though, they had to switch things up to remain competitive with their nationally-ranked opponents. Both sisters had also previously reached a county final as singles players, with Kady, a freshman, doing it in 2019, and Emily, a senior, advancing in 2018.

“We both backed up and stayed on the baseline — we were both getting attacked at the net,” Katelyn said.

It proved a good move, as a lot of the games bounced between deuces and advantages.

They were quick to thank their coach for how far they’ve come.

“We probably wouldn’t have made it this far without the support from our team and coach Ski,” Julia said. “As a first-time duo, we had a great run, and we can’t wait for next season.”

The No. 4-seeded East Hampton doubles team of Pierson senior Juliana Barahona and junior Sandrine Becht were elated to top the No. 3 seed out of Sayville, 6-2, 6-1, for third place in the consolation finals on Saturday. The duo did so after also falling to the Tannenbaum sisters, 6-0, 6-0, in the semifinals.

“I feel so, so happy. This is the best way to finish my high school tennis season,” Barahona said. “This was our last match together, so we just wanted to stay focused, play a clean game and, most importantly, have fun.”

Becht said she and her teammate played their best game of the tournament against the No. 1 seed, which really prepared them for their last match.

“When you go against players that are better than you, that makes you elevate your game,” the junior said. “We entered the semifinal match having the confidence that we would win. I think our baseline game was strong along with our serve, and we were able to execute.”

The Tannenbaum sisters “are really good, but we tried our best. If there was a state tournament, we would be so happy to qualify,” Barahona added. “Regardless, this team and this experience has meant a lot to me. My teammates are like my family — we have known each other for a long time and been through a lot together, and we always support each other, and I’m definitely going to miss all of them.”