South Side attains playoff goal

Coming off a disappointing 5-9 campaign, South Side more than doubled its win total in 2017 and fulfilled its main goal of reaching the Nassau County girls’ tennis playoffs.

“Our goal from the beginning was to make the playoffs,” coach Chris Colesanti said. “Every court had a winning record for the season. It was a total team effort.”

The Lady Cyclones finished 12-2 in Conference II-B, good enough for second place behind Oceanside. Both of their losses came against the Lady Sailors.

Freshman Lauren Zola and junior Julia Gentile provided South Side with essentially a pair of No. 1 singles players, Colesanti said. “They gave us a strong 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup,” he noted.

Zola, a varsity newcomer, went 8-4 at first singles and made a lot of progress along the way, the coach said. “Lauren has a real bright future in the program,” Colesanti said. “Her backhand is a real weapon. She hits angle shots so well and gets a lot of clean winners. She also has a strong forehand and a steady serve.”

Gentile, who played third singles as a freshman and in the top spot last season, was nothing short of dominant this fall at second singles. She not only went undefeated in 13 matches, but she didn’t drop a single set along the way. “Julia has experience playing all different types of opponents,” Colesanti said. “Her confidence is as high as it’s ever been. She’s smart and patient, and there’s more variety in her game.”

Senior Kendall Kelly relied on consistency to wear down opponents and earned eight wins at third singles. Kelly grinded out a three-set victory over Mepham’s Ariana Schwartzberg to close on a positive note. “She plays a steady and smart game and doesn’t hurt herself with unforced errors,” Colesanti said. “She does a good job of keeping the ball alive.”

It’s rare for a doubles pairing to stick together for three years, but that was the case for juniors Katie Mazzanobile and Caroline Ditchik. They formed South Side’s top tandem for a second consecutive season and racked up nine wins, giving them 19 in the position dating back to the start of 2016. They were No. 4 doubles as freshmen. “They play a strategic game and have great chemistry,” Colesanti said. “Katie is aggressive at the net and one of our hardest hitters, and Caroline is a steady baseliner.” The signature win of the season for Mazzanobile/Ditchik came against Plainview on Oct. 6 when they beat a previously undefeated Audrey Shine and Arushi Bhatia, 6-0, 7-5, to help the Lady Cyclones win the match (4-3) and punch their playoff ticket.

Senior Emma Waite and sophomore Kailey McCarthy thrived at second doubles, compiling a record of 11-3, seniors Alex Kildunne and Diana Milano cracked the starting lineup and formed a solid third doubles tandem, going 8-6, while sophomores Emilia Fuentes and Julia Temple went 9-2 at fourth doubles.