East Hampton Tennis Starts Off Undefeated in League Play

The East Hampton boys tennis team is off to a strong start, and the Bonackers are hoping to utilize what they’ve learned from nonleague losses as they continue to make a push toward an undefeated League IV season.

The team dropped a season-opener to undefeated Ward Melville, 6-1, and followed it up with a close 4-3 loss to Bayport-Blue Point back on March 23. They’ve since won three straight league matchups with 7-0 sweeps of Southampton, Westhampton Beach and Mattituck/Greenport.

“I think that we had a bit of a rocky start, but we are really starting to work together and pick it up as a team,” said junior No. 2 singles player Nick Cooper. “We learned that we need to communicate the best we can. We can beat every team in the county as long as we show up and work together.”

Cooper, and his younger brother Henry, a freshman, are the only two Bonackers who still have unblemished singles records. Nick Cooper is 3-0 with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Southampton’s Lucas Bencardino, a 6-3, 6-3 victory over his Westhampton Beach opponent and a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of his Southold/Greenport challenger. Henry Cooper is 2-0 with victories over Bayport-Blue Point and Westhampton Beach. He’s also 2-1 in doubles with wins against Southampton and Southold/Greenport.

The older Cooper said head coach Kevin McConville has helped him improve tremendously since the start of the season.

“I’m actually pretty surprised with how I’ve been doing,” the junior said. “Before the season started, I hadn’t played too much, but Kevin has been quick to get me and the rest of the team up to speed. Kevin has really been helping me become confident with my net game. My Westhampton Beach opponent has very consistent ground strokes, so being able to win at the net helped me put a lot of points away.”

His brother felt similarly.

“Coach has been doing a good job working with me and helping me fix my serve,” Henry Cooper said. “And practicing with and against my teammates has also helped me improve in matches.”

The pair also teamed up in a 10-5 loss to Ward Melville’s Gabe Bursztyn and Robbie Monticciolo, playing 10-game pro sets due to waning daylight.

“That was definitely my toughest match of the season. The two kids we played had really good shots,” Nick Cooper said. “Henry and I are definitely singles players, and we had never really played doubles together before, so I don’t think we did our best.”

The only player to come away with a win over Ward Melville was East Hampton sophomore Kiefer Mitchell, who won, 10-8, over Jacob Zilberstein at No. 4 singles.

The Bonackers also played eight-game pro sets in their loss to Bayport, while missing Nick Cooper and East Hampton seniors Max Astilean and Armando Rangel. But they’ve benefited from some time against top challengers. Against Bayport, Mitchell moved up from No. 3 to No. 1 singles, and Garcia jumped from second doubles to second singles, and both lost, 8-5. Pierson junior Chris Pilarski moved from No. 3 doubles to third singles and fell 8-7 (7-5) in a tiebreak.

With players also out against Southampton, Rangel moved up to No. 3 singles, topping Kirill Seus, 6-1, 7-5.

“I’m really impressed with Armando’s and [East Hampton senior] Miguel [Garcia]’s game,” Nick Cooper said. “They’ve really stepped up as upperclassmen and have improved a lot. Their strokes are a lot better, and they work really well as a team.”

Head coach Kevin McConville said he’s been impressed with all of his pairs to this point. The Bonackers’ matches against the Hurricanes were even won in straight sets, with no tiebreakers.

“We are getting way better with every practice,” he said. “The five starters in doubles were really rusty, so we practiced the last two Sundays. They’ll be way better come playoffs.”

McConville also said Henry Cooper and East Hampton freshman Jagger Cohen have been “terrific,” adding the pair will play doubles together in the individual tournament, while sharing time at fourth singles and first doubles with junior Cameron Mitchell, Kiefer’s older brother. Cooper and Cohen swept Southampton’s Dylan Grigo and Beckham LaRose, 6-0, 6-0, March 28 and won, 6-3, 6-0, over their Southold/Greenport challengers on Monday.

“We complement each other in a bunch of ways,” Henry Cooper said of his partnership with Cohen. “We have a similar competitive mindset, which helps boost each other. Jagger is very good from the net and I am good from the baseline, so he is able to capitalize and end points quick while I keep the ball in play. We also have decent serves, which helps add to us finishing points quickly.”

East Hampton traveled to Eastport-South Manor on Tuesday and hosted Hampton Bays on Wednesday, results of which were not available by press time. The Bonackers head to Shoreham-Wading River Monday, April 17, for a 4:45 p.m. matchup and host Mattituck on Thursday, April 20, at 4 p.m.

Again, during the Southold/Greenport matchup, the Bonackers were missing Astilean, along with a few other key contributors. Cooper said the wins without the entire lineup have made a statement.

“With some players not being there for certain matches, it has proved how much potential our team really has,” the freshman said. “Although people need to show up, I think it has also helped our team bond, because it gives opportunities to kids who don’t usually play, and they have been able to prove their skill. I think everyone on our team has improved a bunch, and I’m very confident in our team this season. I believe with the team we have now, and our chemistry and coach, we will go far this season.”