Hewlett nets tennis title

Hewlett’s girls’ tennis team put together a season to remember this fall, getting strong and consistent play out of its senior heavy roster to finish in first place in Conference II-B with an 11-1 record.

According to coach Ron Remick, experience was a key factor in the Lady Bulldogs’ winning a conference title for the first time since 2008.

“There were seven seniors and we had a close-knit group,” Remick said. “They were all team players that really pushed each other in practice, and in matches really encouraged each other too.”

Hewlett had plenty of impressive performers, as every one of the team’s starters was named all-division. This included the doubles team of Sammi Golbert and Isabelle Straschnow. The duo went 12-0.

“They’re very smart players that don’t make a lot of mistakes,” Remick said. “They put away the ball at the net, and they don’t hit the ball to the net player.”

Danielle Grushkovskiy and Sophia Golbert also proved to be an important doubles team for Hewlett. They finished 8-4 and were often called upon to deliver in key situations. “A lot of times their match was the deciding match, and they were able to win them a lot of the time,” Remick said.

Renee Kaplowitz was one of the Lady Bulldogs best singles players. She finished with a 10-2 record, and was one of the team’s most reliable players.

“She doesn’t get down if she misses a shot or does something that she isn’t supposed to do,” Remick said. “She’s very persistent, and she can place the ball wherever she wants on the court.”

Ashley Bespechny was another player who impressed Remick. After struggling at times last season, she was able to come up big for her team this fall.

“She really focused herself this year,” Remick said. “She would probably be the player I saw step it up most this year.”

The Lady Bulldogs defeated Bellmore-JFK, Lynbrook, Carey, Plainview-JFK, and Massapequa twice apiece, and split matches with South Side. After losing 4-3 to South Side in September, they won the October rematch, 4-3.

Next season, Hewlett will have to deal with the loss of seven senior starters. But coach Remick believes players on the JV squad will be able to make the leap to varsity.

“There will be some good players coming up from JV,” he said. “I think they got a lot of good experience, and hopefully some of our juniors will be ready to step right in next year.”