Just how good are these Lynbrook teens?

Lynbrook High School graduates Mimi Berkowitz, Sara Curley, and Jake Lunati have won the highest achievement available to athletes in the spring season — the All-American award. A Lynbrook lacrosse player hasn’t won the coveted award since Molly Carter in 2017. This year, Lynbrook has an astounding three honorees.

The All-American award is given only to the most outstanding athletes — but for these three players, outstanding is an understatement.

A goalie, Lunati had 234 saves this season bringing his career saves total to 311. He maintained an impressive 63 percent save average over the course of his career. Lunati earned the distinction of Academic All-American for his excellence in the classroom as well.

Also an Academic All-American, Berkowitz is a 3-time All-County honoree who scored 46 goals this season and had 14 assists, bringing her career totals up to 127 goals and 49 assists.

Sara Curley is also a 3-time All-County player, scoring 47 goals and 38 assists her senior season. Over the past four years, she’s scored 131 goals and 83 assists — a whopping 214 career points.

All three players credit their support systems for their success. Berkowitz and Curley both said they couldn’t have reached their level of success without their lacrosse coach, Vinny Tetro, who is retiring this year. Lunati said that he wouldn’t have gotten where he is today if not for the support from his parents, coaches, teachers, and friends.

Berkowitz, Curley and Lunati have each had exceptional lacrosse careers. While each has learned their own lessons from the sport, they all agree on one thing — lacrosse has given them the tools to succeed on the field, in the classroom, and far beyond.

SUBHEAD: Mimi Berkowitz

Berkowitz has played soccer, flag football, and ran cross country, but said lacrosse has always been special.

“I’ve always had a stick in my hand,” she said. “It’s just been my thing for my entire life.”

Berkowitz, who plays Attack and has been on the varsity lacrosse team since the ninth grade, won All-County awards for the past three years — but never expected the All-American award.

“I’ve been to these award ceremonies many times, and I’ve watched all these girls go up, and you look up to them — like wow, those are the big shots,” she said. “I really wasn't expecting to be up there with them this year, but I was so excited when they said my name. It was a really amazing surprise.”

Berkowitz was named an Academic All-American — meaning she not only excelled on the field, but in the classroom as well.

“I was always pretty tough on myself when it comes to school,” Berkowitz said. “It was always a priority for me, because lacrosse has always been my thing and something I resort to outside of the classroom, but I know that’ll only get me so far in life.”

Her success academically and athletically come from a staunch determination to get things done. But that determination has to come from somewhere — and for Berkowitz, that somewhere is a place of passion.

“When you care about something, it makes it easier to have that drive to succeed in something,” she said. “Being able to express my love for these two contrasting activities, I feel like it’s bettered me as a person, and it’s given me more perspective.”

“The differences in one bring out the better in the other,” she added.

Berkowitz said that it’s become normal for her to have a lot on her plate. But to even the most experienced academic multitasker, end-of-year testing can become overwhelming. Berkowitz said that lacrosse provided her with a respite from the stress of school.

“When you’re at practice, you focus on practice — you don’t really need to worry about any of the things going on in the classroom,” she said. “It leads to greater balance, and I think it actually makes things easier, having the two.”

At college, Berkowitz will be keeping lacrosse in her life as a club sport. That fact made her recognition as an Academic All-American all the more special.

“It was cool to receive this award, like this is kind of the last hurrah for me,” she said. “I’m going to play club in college, but I think this was just a good way to close out a huge chapter of my life.”

Berkowitz will be attending Northeast University in the fall, and will be beginning her studies with a semester abroad in Scotland.

SUBHEAD: Sara Curley

Curley has always been sporty — she’s participated in swim teams, basketball, and has been playing lacrosse since the third grade. But things shifted for her in the eighth grade when she played Attack in lacrosse for the first time.

“I just found new love for the game and scoring and getting around defenders,” Curley said. “That offensive aspect of the sport, I just fell in love with and wanted to get better at it.”

Curley made the varsity team as a freshman. Though the team only got one practice before Covid hit, she spent lockdown with a stick in her hand 27/7. Curley said that while most athletes’ sophomore year summers are typically filled with college recruitment anxieties, when Curley finally returned to the field she was able to focus on the most important thing: she was able to play her sport again.

“I felt like I was just a whole different player, I had so much confidence,” she said. “And I just got to have fun.”

Now when Curley is in high-pressure situations on the field, she remembers that feeling of being able to play again for the first time. With a renewed sense of joy in lacrosse and a support system behind her, Curley set her eyes on the highest goal there was: All-American.

She’s wanted the All-American award since she saw Molly Carter achieve it in 2017. Curley said she faked it til she made it — she told her trainers, her friends, her coach that she wanted to be an All-American, and then did the work to make it a reality.

“I just kept saying it, and in the back of my head I was like, ‘I’m going to work as hard as I can to get to that point.’”

The fact that Curley has succeeded all these years of hard work left her with a feeling beyond words. Curley, who was adopted from China, recalls being in middle school and looking at the USA National Lacrosse team. There was only one Asian player. She said that it’s especially meaningful to be able to provide a different face of success for lacrosse.

“If you look at lacrosse, it’s a lot of white, blonde-haired girls getting these huge accolades — and all respect to them, too,” Curley said. “A big thing that I take with me, and the girls that I train, is you don’t have to be white and have blonde hair.”

“Making a new face for the game, and me being as little or big a part of that as I can — that just puts into perspective why I’m doing this, and why I love it so much,” she added.

Curley will be playing lacrosse at Monmouth University in the fall.

SUBHEAD: Jake Lunati

Lunati has been officially playing lacrosse since he joined the Lynbrook Titans in elementary school, but his journey with the sport started long before that.

“I’ve been playing in my backyard with my dad for as long as I can remember,” he said.

When not doing lacrosse in the spring, Lunati is playing football in the fall. He is captain of both varsity teams, all the while balancing all-AP classes — so it’s no wonder he attained Academic All-American, which is reserved for phenomenal athletes with an equally stellar performance in the classroom.

Lunati hadn’t even known he was in the running for the award. He had already won the All-County award at the county-wide celebratory dinner  — so it was a complete surprise when his name was called again for the highest honor of the night.

“I was definitely surprised,” Lunati said. “It felt great that all the hard work, both in the classroom and on the field, paid off.”

But to Lunati, one of the best parts was his parents’ reactions — he heard his parents cheer when his name was called, and his mom was ready with the camera at a moment’s notice.

“We were super excited for it, because they’ve helped me through this whole process and without them it wouldn’t be possible,” Lunati said.

Though it’s definitely tough to balance school, sports, and extracurriculars, Lunati said his success came down to time management.

More importantly to him, though, was “a good support staff — great teachers, coaches, my parents were huge, and all my friends.”

“Any time I needed help with something in the classroom or on the field, reaching out to someone helped me through those tough times,” he added.

Lunati said he, Berkowitz, and Curley all met and became friendly through lacrosse. He had only the highest praise for his fellow honorees.

“Both Mimi and Sara are tremendous athletes and also great students,” Lunati said. “They’re both such great people. Even aside from lacrosse, they’re some of the nicest people I know.”

Lunati will be studying civil engineering and playing lacrosse at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this fall.