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Mostly Cloudy Long Beach nets 10 victories
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Lila Martz is 9-1-1 at first singles.
Andrew Vardakis/Herald
With each of its seven seniors playing a key role and a pair of sophomores with 17 singles wins combined, Long Beach is in position to earn a share of the regular-season top spot in Conference III-A girls’ tennis.
The Lady Marines, 10-1, sit in a first-place tie with Great Neck North with three matches left.
“The girls practice and play hard and are extremely supportive of one another,” coach Sue Hirschbein said. “They’ve been able to come through in big spots. We’ve pulled out a few wins with tiebreakers.”
In singles, Long Beach’s starters have merely four defeats between them and are destined to surpass 30 victories, and each of its doubles pairings sports a winning record.
Sophomore Lila Martz is 9-1-1 in the No. 1 singles spot and recently split matches in the county tournament. “She’s quite exceptional,” Hirschbein said. “Her ground strokes and understanding of the game are great and she’s a really tough competitor.”
At second singles, senior Gina Sablic has impressed with a 9-2 record. “She never gives up,” Hirschbein said. “She’s been able to get a good read on opponents and gut out some wins.” Sablic’s resiliency showed against East Meadow’s Nicole Payker on Oct. 1 when she rallied for a three-set victory after dropping the opening set 6-1.
Samantha Shreck, a sophomore playing third singles, picked up a clutch 6-2, 6-4 win over Samantha Levine of Great Neck North on Sept. 30 to help the Lady Marines avenge a season-opening loss to the Blazers. “She has a consistent backcourt game and serve,” Hirschbein said of Schreck, who is 8-1.
Both the first and second doubles tandems have pulled out close matches. Seniors Sara Eisenberg and Lara Olotka are holding their own against talented opponents. They have six wins, including a three-set triumph over Jessica Pearsall and Margerie Tabori of Glen Cove. At second doubles, the chemistry between senior Jamie Prendergast and junior Lauren Chong has brought 8 wins, one of those a 7-5, 7-6 decision over Alexis Alterman and Jackie Rachaf of East Meadow.
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