Eagles net tennis title

Valley Stream Central boys’ tennis coach Brian Gallagher has no regrets of making a friendly wager with his players.

Prior to the season, he told the Eagles they could transform his head to resemble a tennis ball if they captured the Conference IV-A championship, and now it’s time to pay up.

“I’m quite alright with it,” Gallagher said after Central completed a perfect 14-0 season and won its first conference title in 22 years. “I don’t have much hair, so I wanted to offer something besides shaving my head,” he added.

Had the Eagles fallen short of their ultimate goal, Gallagher said, everyone on the roster would have donated $5 to the coach’s favorite charity. “I had a good feeling we could win it after we got through the first half of the schedule,” he said. “We had a couple of really close matches, but everyone stepped up.”

Central, which won nine matches in each of Gallagher’s two previous seasons at the helm, swept all seven courts from Bethpage to claim the title May 24. No. 2 singles player Stanley Liang, a junior, lived up to his nickname of “donuts” by winning 6-0, 6-0, to highlight the victory.

“Stanley played 12 sets where he didn’t lose a game,” Gallagher said of Liang, who had a record of 11-2 after starring at third singles last spring. “He doesn’t hit hard, but his placement is great and he gets to everything that comes back to him.”

Four-year starter William Tronsor, a senior, led the Eagles at first singles and compiled a 10-4 record. “He consistently hits his shots and waits for opponents to make mistakes,” Gallagher said. “He’s also got a great second serve and is aggressive to the net.”

At third singles, senior Daniel Chien had a knack for pulling out three-set victories. A strong forehand led him to nine wins, including a tough straight-set battle against Plainedge’s Brian Kaufman in the opening round of the playoffs May 13.

While Central’s singles players were successful, its doubles combinations were lights-out. All four pairings went undefeated, including sophomores Rohan Motwani and Jegan Abraham in the top spot.

“It’s not an easy thing to go undefeated even in one position, nonetheless all four,” Gallagher said. “It’s pretty remarkable.”

Motwani, who features an accurate forehand and backhand, started at second singles last spring and could be back at the position in 2012, while Abraham brought his game to another level after filling a reserve role a year ago. They finished 13-0.

Junior Andy Chen and sophomore Kennedy Liang completed a second straight undefeated campaign as a tandem and have a 24-0 career mark. “They have great chemistry,” Gallagher said.

Junior Brian Sinko and sophomore Jason Shen returned at third doubles and proved a handful, going 10-0, while freshmen newcomers Kaushik Duakia and Thomas Zedzian were 13-0 at fourth doubles.

“We had a great group of kids,” Gallagher said. “They helped each other every day and had fun.”

The fun continues later this week when Gallagher’s head goes green.