Somers tennis falls in tiebreaker against Mahopac

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Friday April 4, the tennis team traveled to Mahopac, and the last match just snuck in under the disappearance of the sun. 3-3 at that point, both teams had to wait for the outcome in the diminishing light.

Unfortunately, a 10-6 tiebreaker gave the match to Mahopac.

Still, Colin McGee saw the upside of pairing with Mark Mundis for the first time. 

“We had some good chemistry,” said the junior.

In tandem with Mark Mundis, the duo complemented each other’s play. McGee felt good about his backhand, while Mundis was satisfied with his forehand.

As for Connor Sheldon, the sophomore was on his own, and in a match full of long rallies, he had his coach’s words in his head. 

“You should always try to make him hit another ball, so just get the ball back over,” he said.

His opponent may have had the same strategy, but the Tusker prevailed. A 6-2, 7-6 victory, Sheldon pointed to consistency and closing out. 

“It was just focusing on my swing, getting the ball deep, and when I could come into the net, capitalize on those opportunities,” said Sheldon

Landon Bleasdale found himself in a similar type match and knew why from his end. 

“My forehand was pretty good,” said the senior.

His first serve too, but Jacob Cabuhat came out on top in the slugfest. 

“He was a pretty consistent player,” said the team captain.

A split so far on the singles side, Griffin Hechler made it two out of three for Somers. He was helped out by a few too many double faults by his opponent and made a good strategy of the height advantage.  

“He was not very tall. So I hit it back, kept it deep and bounced it high,” said the senior.

Waiting for him to falter, Hechler’s consistency was bolstered by his first serve, but he was quick to point out what needs improvement. “My second serve,” he said.

Either way, Hechler doesn’t let it get him down - especially after playing high stakes soccer all year.  

“I like playing, there’s no stress and no fans,” Hechler clarified.

Caleb Carpenter had a similar take. “You got to have fun,” said the junior. “Tennis is a mental game. You can’t be stressed and in your head.”

So no matter the situation, he and his partner Sam Polner are always tapping rackets and exhibiting sportsmanship. A 6-3, 4-6, 11-9 win certainly didn’t hurt the camaraderie either. 

A back and forth that was precipitated by their strategy. “We did a lot of poaching at the net to try to confuse them and hit it past,” said Polner.

Not so fortunate, Sam Giliberti and Zach Polentz fell 6-3, 6-1, but despite the loss, Giliberti saw his team as two pieces of a puzzle.

“I guess opposites attract,” said the freshman. “His strength is volleying and overheads, and mine is on the baseline with my forehand and backhand.”

Finally, Jacob Anderson and Max Weinfeld lost a close one too.  A 6-2, 3-6, 10-4 final, it was a team effort, “We had good communication and consistency,” said Weinfeld, and no doubt, the whole team can build on that type of play going forward.