Perfection for the Huntington Middle School tennis team

HUNTINGTON, NY The J. Taylor Finley Middle School boys tennis team went 10-0 in the spring. According to the Huntington School District, they capped their perfect season with wins over Oldfield and Bay Shore.

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

Finley set the stage for his final contest against Bay Shore by defeating Oldfield in the penultimate meeting of the season on May 18. The highly anticipated matchup featured two teams with the best records on the schedule.

“Last year when we played them, they beat us bad; 6-1,” Romano said. “The eighth graders that were on the team last year didn’t forget what happened. When I knew how well they played this year and when the other coaches told me that they’ve heard how good we’ve been, I told our guys don’t worry about them; let for them to take care of us.”

Finley eventually won 4-3 after a hard fought set of singles and doubles. The Blue Devils collected singles wins from Michael Tucker (4-0, 4-3), Jake Chiclacos (1-4, 4-2, tied 7-2) and Jack Steinberg (4-1, 4-2). in doubles Ronan Driscoll and Quinn Rinaldi (4-0, 4-2).

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

Finley took the field in its final meeting of the spring last Tuesday and dominated Bay Shore 6-1. The team got individual wins from Michael Tucker (4-0, 4-2), Jack Steinberg (4-2, 4-3) and Henry Schmid (4-3, 4-0). Double wins 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 guys played today’s games like we have all year,” Romano said. “I’m extremely proud of how well we played, not just today, but all season long. These eighth graders have an 18-2 record over the last two years. It’s a memory they’ll have forever and it’s an accomplishment for all the hard work they’ve done the last two seasons during.”