By STEVE SINISKI
They adopted a play-and stay attitude and turned a team effort into the school's first tennis conference championship since 1973. With a 14-1 match record, Kennedy won the Conference II-B crown during the regular season, then battled back against Great Neck North in the championship round of the playoffs to become the best of the best in Conference II.
"This was a very cohesive group, and they were all very supportive of one another," second-year coach Brian DeGaetano said. "If someone was down 5-1, the other girls would go and watch. In most individual sports, it's you play and you're done. Not here. The girls made it play and you watch."
Carly Creps and Stacey Eganthal, Kennedy's No. 4 doubles team, dropped the first set in the decisive match with Great Neck North (1-6) on Oct. 21. But for such seasoned veterans (this was the pair's second year as partners, and they had put together 12 wins in 14 matches in 2003), it wasn't the end of the world. They battled back to take the final two sets (6-3, 6-2) and bring home the title.
"This is clearly the most competitive team I've had in any sport," said DeGaetano, whose career on the sidelines spans 13 years in various sports. "These girls hated to lose and never gave up. If we ever fell behind 5-2, they'd find a way to come back and win 7-5 or 7-6 in a tie breaker.
"Every day, someone came through for us, and that gives [the team] confidence and takes the pressure off [of the individuals]. In the last two years, if someone lost, there was always someone else there to pick up the slack."
Five seniors played large roles in the team's rapid ascent to the top, including Julie Friedman, Jennifer Goldstein, Alex Cender, Emily Dunier and Creps. "I knew at the beginning of the year we had a good team," DeGaetano said. "But you're only as good as your seniors. I just hoped the girls realized [the talent] was there.
"To beat Great Neck North and Herricks in the playoffs, two established programs, was great. And then we had seven girls play in the county tournament, too. That gave us a good feel for the type of level we'll need to play at."
Because of their league and conference crowns, the Cougars will move up to Conference I for the 2004 season, a jump that's come sooner than DeGaetano had expected. "I thought it would take four or five years to get where we are now," the coach said.
Every member of the team garnered All-Division honors, and sophomore Jenna Fogel, the team's No. 1 singles player, was named to the All-County team. Friedman and Goldstein, both singles players, earned All-Conference honors, the same honor awarded to the No. 1 doubles tandem of Dunier and Christine Caro.
"I always knew the girls had [the talent]," DeGaetano said. "I knew that if we motivated them and brought out their competitiveness, we could win. Athlete to athlete, there was no one better than us. It was a matter of getting everyone focused on one goal."
How the players matched up
The following provides individual season records for Kennedy's top female tennis players:
No. 1 Singles: Jenna Fogel (12-5)
No. 2 Singles: Julie Friedman (14-3)
No. 3 Singles: Jennifer Goldstein (11-4)
No. 1 Doubles: Christine Caro and Emily Dunier (12-4)
No. 2 Doubles: Shaina Fessler and Alex Cender (11-5)
No. 3 Doubles: Samantha Shuster and Samantha Monchik (14-1)
No. 4 Doubles: Carly Creps and Stacey Eganthal (13-2)
