67.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Lady Cyclones eye conference title
Posted
South Side Junior Deana Davoudiasl, left, has a career singles mark of 31-4,
Christina Daly/Herald
After a successful regular season that saw it win nine of 12 matches with perhaps the youngest roster in Conference II-B, South Side is looking to make noise in the Nassau girls’ tennis playoffs.
The Lady Cyclones, who had their top three singles players combine for a record of 26-5, would welcome a third meeting with Oceanside after dropping a pair of closely contested matchups with the first-place Lady Sailors.
“I’m pleased and I think we’re ready to take the next step and do some damage in the playoffs,” South Side coach Chris Colesanti said. “We have a legitimate chance to win the conference, but we’ll need to play our best.”
Being at the top of her game would be nothing new for junior Deana Davoudiasl, who is 10-1 at first singles. In three years of varsity tennis at first or second singles, she has a regular-season record of 31-4 and a pair of All-County awards. “Deana worked specifically to improve her backhand and she’s polished in all areas now,” Colesanti said. “She’s always been mentally tough and physically strong. She’s a tremendous player and student.”
At second singles, junior Rachel Shenker is a finesse player who keeps opponents off balance with an array of shots. She has a career record of 15-6, including 7-2 this fall to earn All-Division accolades. “Nobody knows what kind of shot is coming from her,” Colesanti said. “She has a deadly drop and a nice backhand slice. She’s steady and crafty.”
A doubles player in 2008, sophomore Alyssa Adler won the third singles spot during tryouts and is thriving with a mark of 9-2 despite facing bigger and older opponents for the most part. Adler’s 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Lynbrook’s Amanda Guimano provided the difference for the Lady Cyclones on Oct. 9. “Her biggest assets are consistency and desire to win,” Colesanti said of Adler, who picked up All-Division honors. “She has the heart of a lion and grinds out match after match.”
The team’s youth is also served at first doubles, where sophomores Erin Gabriel and Stefanie Zeigler won seven of 10 matches. “They’re talented with complimentary styles,” Colesanti said. “Erin has a huge serve and is strong at the net and Stefanie has a great return of serve and backhand.”
The chemistry between juniors Jenna Mantell and Jenna Talesnick at second doubles is unmatched. They’ve produced a record of 7-3 in their third straight season as a tandem. Juniors Nicole Scaduto and Lizzy Handsman put South Side over the top against Wheatley by the narrowest of margins on Sept. 25 with one of their eight wins at third doubles. At fourth doubles, two sets of players have contributed: seniors Gabby Wamboldt and Jackie Defina and juniors Andie Hurwitz and Lindsey Levine.
Report an inappropriate comment
Comments