Westhampton Beach's Stabile, Buchen Crowned Suffolk County Champions

Julia Stabile and Matilda Buchen stared with jaws dropped in utter disbelief before racing across the court to each other — beaming — grinning from ear to ear with fists clenched in celebration. That’s because this pair of Westhampton Beach warriors were crowned Suffolk County champions with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Bayport-Blue Point’s Romano sisters, Ella and Emilia, Saturday at Smithtown East High School.

The duo also earned a spot in the state tournament, which begins Thursday, October 27, at Sportime in Schenectady.

“It feels amazing. Winning with your best friend — you couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Stabile, a junior who also took home the county doubles title last year with her older sister, Katelyn. “We worked super hard together.”

It was no small feat — especially pulling away in the finals after being down, 2-0, in the second set.

“We were already up a set, so we didn’t apply too much pressure on ourselves,” said Buchen, a sophomore. “But we mounted a pretty strong comeback.”

“We needed to keep our confidence high and take it point by point, because you never know what could happen,” Stabile added. “And Matilda played outstanding today — her backhand, her forehand, her serve — everything was impeccable. She’s amazing. She’s my best friend. I love her.”

The girls moved to the baseline to more easily attack Emilia’s powerful serve and return the Phantoms sisters’ hard-hitting groundstrokes.

“They have a lot of power, but moving to the baseline helped us make less errors,” Buchen said. “I know Emilia competed in the singles draw last year, and she’s a great player, but I didn’t know that she had a sister — they’re both amazing. We were nervous, but we dug in and hung in there.”

Head coach Matt Reed spoke to his athletes down two games to none and told his Division IV champions to get back to playing their game. He said because they’re so close off the court, they came together to turn it around quickly.

“I told them to get back to what they were doing in that first set — don’t change what’s working,” he said. “They played consistent cross-court, their communication is always great and they both have great serves. They got the ball back off some tough serves, and once they’re in the point, it’s tough to beat them.”

Once the Hurricanes were able to volley, they played it safe and continued the rally until they pulled out a winner or their opponents made an error. The coach said coming back to win six straight points showed his girls’ mental strength.

“They played their best tennis to earn the toughest points in the game,” Reed said. “Those [Bayport-Blue Point] girls make a lot of winners, so it was about weathering the storm and their power, and they remained consistent and kept the ball in play, and when they had those opportunities to capitalize, they did.”

Stabile and Buchen did that, too, against Comsewogue’s Vienna Guzman and Gianna McNulty and Bayport-Blue Point’s Grace Blanchard and Ava Duras, which the No. 1 seed blanked, 6-0, 6-0, in the first and second rounds. They bested sisters Bella and Victoria Frangione out of Harborfields, 6-4, 6-0, to secure their place in the finals and guarantee a spot in the state tournament.

“They earned their wins,” Reed said. “They’ve worked so hard to get here. They wanted it so bad. To see them be rewarded for all their hard work is a good feeling.”

Stabile credited Reed, and Ivan Mardones and Alex Soyars of Sportime in East Quogue for getting her doubles team in top shape.

“He was such a big part of our win,” she said of her head coach. “He was with us every step of the way — always believing in us no matter what.”

Buchen and her partner have both been on the team since they were in eighth grade, and made multiple appearances in the division and county tournaments.

“We still didn’t expect to go this far, but I’m so excited,” said Buchen, who said she’s excited for her first time competing in the state tournament.

Her best friend competed at that level for the first time last year.

“I just want us to go there and have fun,” Stabile said, “and make some really great memories.”