By TONY BELLISSIMO
"It's unbelievable," Muscarella said after Calhoun, the Conference II champ, won two singles matches and two doubles matches to defeat Great Neck South, 4-3, to win its first county title. "We have a young team. We were just glad to win the conference and put a banner on the wall. We were thinking next year could be a big one, but as it turned out, the girls didn't want to wait until next year."
Juniors Tara Madden and Stephanie Holleran won at second and third singles respectively, and the first (sophomores Rachel Tedesco and Jen Diamond) and third (senior Caryn Brenker and sophomore Whitney Waldman) doubles teams also won.
"I was on pins and needles," Muscarella said. "It was a dead-even match on paper, and whichever team responded was going to win. As it turned out, all the extra hard work the girls put in during the season paid off."
The triumph over Great Neck South capped an amazing season and playoff run for the Lady Colts, who finished a perfect 17-0. Of all the victories, the one that stood out made news countywide.
In the first round on May 16, Calhoun hosted Roslyn and stunned the nine-time defending champions by a 5-2 count. The fourth doubles tandem of sophomores Tara Michaels and Krista Malewicz defeated the defending county doubles champions, Danna Finestone and Dana Greebel, 15-6, 15-10, to highlight the historic victory.
"It was a sound victory," Muscarella said. "We swept them at singles and won two of the four doubles matches."
The Lady Colts also won at second doubles with undefeated county champs Brenker and Waldman, at first singles with senior Jayne Hickey, and with Madden and Holleran. The latter was also an undefeated county champ.
A potential mental lapse sure didn't come into play in the semifinals against Conference IV champion Lynbrook. The Lady Colts won convincingly again, 6-1. Sophomore Lauren Cotugno and junior Michelle Pomerantz came back from one set down to win at third doubles, and the others followed.
"They stood their ground after losing the first set," Muscarella said. "Lynbrook beat us 6-1 in the playoffs last year, so that proves how far our team came."
