Westhampton Beach Girls Tennis Team's Season Ends With Close Suffolk County Final Loss to Rival Half Hollow Hills East

The Hurricanes’ hearts were in it, the Westhampton Beach girls tennis team just came out on the losing side of another close 4-3 loss to Half Hollow Hills East in the Suffolk County championship game Monday.

“I’m so proud of the team and how far we have come together,” said senior Kylie Way. “It’s definitely a hard pill to swallow after such a close match, but I think each and every person played to the best of their ability.”

Way’s position was the only change from the team’s normal lineup, competing at first doubles alongside recently-crowned state champion Julia Stabile.

“I have played with Julia a few times over the years, and she’s an amazing player — her ground strokes were insane,” said Way, who with her classmate dropped two tiebreakers to fall, 7-6, 7-6, to Sami Heyman and Emma Wilck. She thanked her partner for supporting her.

“It was definitely an adjustment getting used to the nerves, but Julia’s and my communication helped me through that,” Way said. “I am very happy with the way we played out there. It was a tough match, but I’m so glad to have our last match as seniors together.”

Head coach Matt Reed said his roster was what he thought gave his Hurricanes the best chance to win. It’s almost the same one he put forth when Westhampton topped Hills East, 5-2, on September 13.

“I just wasn’t expecting their lineup to be so radically changed, but nothing I can do about that,” Reed said. “I’m proud of my girls and they should hold their heads high. It was a great season.”

First off the court was junior Matilda Buchen, who topped Angie Malik, 6-1, 6-2, at first singles, and right behind her was eighth-grader Ava Borruso, who also bested her challenger, Kate Holland, 6-2, 6-1, at second singles. During that time, Stabile and Way had just dropped their first set and junior Shannon Killoran and freshman Zoe Grellet-Aumont came back after falling, 6-2, in the first set to win the second, 6-3, and force a tiebreaker. While the four doubles teams were still competing, senior Melina Pinonzek bounced back to win her match in three sets, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, over Julia Zeitlin.

“I knew I had to switch up my playing style,” Pinonzek said. “I was trying to force winner shots when I didn’t have a good opportunity, and my opponent was a great player and would return the ball until I ended up missing. Although I did think the shots were powerful, they were not entirely consistent, so I focused on smooth strokes and moved my opponent around on the court.”

“I told myself to reset my swing after each shot and stopped overthinking how hard I should be hitting it — form was key,” she continued. “This match has taught me a great lesson to stay in the game and fight even when you are down.”

While the Hurricanes were up, 3-0, it didn’t last long, with Killoran and Grellet-Aumont falling, 6-1, in the third set, Stabile and Way concluding next and fourth doubles players, and sophomores Ana Way and Diana Elliott coming off the court soon after with a 6-2, 6-3 loss.

“My second and third doubles did a great job considering they were playing against typical first and second singles players, and I’m proud of my team for battling and giving it everything they had,” Reed said.

With the match tied, 3-3, that left everything in the hands of Taylor Lagattolla and Ana-maria Bichinashvili, who lost their first set, 6-2, and were down, 6-5, in the third. But the seniors, who made it to the second round of the Suffolk County doubles tournament earlier in the month, were not about to give up. They took the next two games to win the set, 7-5, and bring it down to a tiebreak to decide the title-winners.

“It was definitely a nail-biter,” Way said. “I was very hopeful after they won the second, and we were all on the edge of our seats. I’m so proud of them for getting to that point under that amount of pressure.”

Lagattolla forced her opponent in and hit the return shot into the back-right corner before taking the set on the next point to cut Hills East’s lead to 2-1 in the third, and forced challengers Remy Buffa and Anjali Raza to make unforced errors to claw back to deuce before taking the game, knotting the set at 2-2, but it was the last game they’d win as their own errors on deuce in the next and final games bookending a quick sixth game handed it to Hills East. Bichinashvili had powerful shots cross-court and was extremely consistent, and Lagattolla had solid volleys and reactions at the net.

“We always tell each other when we’re down to take it one game at a time, rather than focusing on how many games we were down by,” Lagattolla said. “Coming back in the second really showed how well we play together, and that anything is possible. We boosted each other’s confidence by telling each other that we could do it, but we were also nervous because we knew it could go either way. We are a very strong team, and I knew from our first match of the season that we could make it far. We gave it our best effort.”

Pinonzek said regardless of the outcome, the Hurricanes, and especially the seniors, have accomplished a great deal.

“I know that every player wanted to win just as bad as I did, and even though this wasn’t the outcome we wanted, we all played very well and applied all of the new skills Coach Reed has been teaching us throughout the season. Although we were hoping to make it to Long Island Championship, reaching a point even farther than last year instilled pride throughout my whole team.”

Westhampton Beach fell to Harborfields in the county semifinals last season, and avenged that loss last week with a 4-3 win over the Tornadoes.

Way said everything the Hurricanes have been through, especially those seniors like she, Pinonzek, Stabile and Buchen, who have been representing the district for four-plus seasons, has brought them closer together.

“We have continued to lift each other up and support each other, and even though it’s not how we wanted to see this through, I’m honored to represent my school and so lucky to have been able to have this experience with these girls,” she said, adding that she was overjoyed to make it to the second round of the county doubles tournament with her sister. “This team has been my second family, and receiving the title of one of the co-captains has been an accomplishment that I’m so proud of.”

Reed said watching his seniors grow and passing along their knowledge to the younger Hurricanes has been a joy. Lagattolla said she can’t thank her coach enough.

“He cares about us so much and motivates us to be our best,” the senior said. “He is truly the best coach ever.”

Pinonzek said she struggles to find the words to describe what the entire journey has meant to her.

“There are so many components to being a part of this team, which is also filled with scholar-athletes,” Pinonzek said. “Coach Reed runs his program with honesty and sincerity — pushing us to be better people on the court, in the classroom and in the world. The friendships I have made on the team each year have been genuine, and the comradery and support are unmatched. Being on this team has taught me many important lessons, instilling in me valuable morals. For all of that, I am incredibly thankful.”