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Sports

Massapequa Boys Tennis Go Undefeated En Route to a Conference Title

Chiefs defeat Hicksville to win first title since 2003.

The Massapequa boys tennis team closed out a remarkable undefeated season with a 5-2 win over Hicksville in May. The Chiefs finished 16-0 in Conference III and look set to move up to a more challenging Conference II come 2012.

Led by 15th year head coach Michael Pavlides, Massapequa won their first Conference title since 2003 and third Division title overall (2002-03, 2011) under his tenure.

“Winning it all was a big accomplishment because last year we lost in the semifinals to Farmingdale. When we left that day, everyone knew that 2011 had to be our year,” Pavlides said. “We went into the season with the Conference championship as our top goal and nobody disagreed with it.

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Massapequa first took down Locust Valley in the semifinals, 5-1, before defeating Hicksville in the championship round. Andrew Bentz won in first singles over Stanley Lau, 6-4, 6-2, to lead the Chiefs in the win. During the season, Bentz had lost to Lau twice, but overcame all odds to win the third and most crucial match.

T.J. Bilski served as the senior captain in what was a very young Massapequa team. Thomas DaCosta and Jeremy Wiss, who played third and fourth doubles respectively, both played on the varsity squad as just eight graders. Both players also contributed with wins in the Conference clinching match at seasons’ end.

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“It was pretty tough throughout the season especially for myself as one of the top singles spots on the team,” Bilski said, who participated in his sixth year on Chiefs varsity. “To finally be a captain and lead the team to a championship after six years meant a lot personally.”

Bilski will be playing on the SUNY Farmingdale tennis team come the fall as an incoming freshman.

Prior to the playoffs, Massapequa defeated Hicksville twice, both by a score of 4-3, as well as Calhoun twice, both by a score of 5-2. Each team closely joined Massapequa in the running for the Conference III crown. As the Chiefs are set to move up in conference, they will only lose one player next year in Bilski.

“The higher conference should be much tougher, but we will be very competitive because a lot of the guys have now learned better how the high school game is really played,” Pavlides added.

Congratulations again to Coach Pavlides and the Massapequa Chiefs tennis team on an undefeated season and earning the Conference championship!   

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