Oceanside nets another title

Similar to last spring, Oceanside’s strength at doubles and overall depth carried it to a second straight undefeated regular season on the tennis courts.

The Sailors (12-2 overall) won their third consecutive Conference II-B title, going 10-0, and edged Bellmore-JFK in the playoffs before losing to Wheatley in the overall Conference II championship match.

“It was a very successful season and I think our depth had a lot to do with it,” Oceanside coach Barry Kubit said. “Our doubles came up big, and our singles players held their own against tough competition.”

Though Wheatley took the title on May 18 by a 6-1 margin, four of the matches went the full three sets, Kubit noted. The previous day, juniors Jace Koretz and Ben Zaslav outlasted Bellmore-JFK’s Jake Simon and Cooper Richman, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, at second doubles to provide the difference in the Sailors’ 4-3 victory.

“We came into the season with mostly new doubles teams,” Kubit said. “But they all jelled pretty quick.”

Seniors Brandon Hoovis and Ross Taylor comprised the No. 1 tandem and went 9-0 in conference matches. Hoovis, a lefty, is aggressive at the net, while Taylor, a righty, is a consistent hitter from the baseline. “They work well together and pick each other up after a mistake,” Kubit said. “Ross hits great lobs from the baseline to set up Brandon for a point, and both can serve up an ace now and then. They really had a great year.”

Koretz and Zaslav benefited from offseason lessons, Kubit said, and had 11 and 12 wins, respectively, overall. “Jace is a strong baseline player and Ben can terrorize at the net,” he added.

At third doubles, senior David Bader paired with freshman Jake Cohen, and they went undefeated in eight matches. Cohen played singles in the county tournament and split two matches. At fourth doubles, juniors Jesse Cyrulnik and Tyler Uslaner were a perfect 7-0.

At the top of Oceanside’s lineup was sophomore Flo LeGoupil-Maier, who earned two wins at first singles. He rose up the charts after competing at third singles a year ago, Kubit said. “Flo improved this year while facing stiff competition,” he said. “He has beautiful all-around strokes and hits the ball a ton.”

Senior Ben Strumeyer, who hits with a lot of topspin to keep opponents on their toes, improved his consistency and picked up five wins at second singles. A tremendous two-handed backhand helped freshman Aren Forman win five matches at third singles.

Three of the Sailors’ 10 conference wins were decided by the slimmest of margins. “Those caused me to lose more hair,” Kubit joked. Hoovis and Taylor won a thriller against Lynbrook on April 30, beating Charley Lanter and Evan Biegel, 7-6, 7-6, in the deciding match.