East Hampton's Astilean Reaches Quarterfinals Of County Boys Tennis Singles Tournament

After losing 10 pounds from catching COVID-19 and a 104-degree fever, East Hampton junior Max Astilean struggled in the Suffolk County boys tennis tournament, and exited in the quarterfinal round with a 3-6, 2-6 loss to Walt Whitman freshman Samuel Lopez Cardenas.

“Overall, I felt good — my legs felt a little heavy, but that’s to be expected after having a lot of matches,” the No. 4 seed said. “It’s just that my serve for sure wasn’t working. I just couldn’t get enough height and speed on it like I wanted to. I tried mixing it up and giving him different looks at different balls, but my opponent just seemed locked in today.”

The junior had 14 double faults and 45 unforced errors across his last match Saturday at Smithtown East High School.

“The way he plays is high-risk,” head coach Kevin McConville said. “So, if he’s hot, he can beat anybody, but he can also lose to anybody.”

Astilean had to fight through the first round after battling back to win the Division IV singles title four days prior. He picked it up after dropping the first Suffolk set to win, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, over Bayport-Blue Point’s Matt Decatur, and easily topped Harborfields’ Kyle Johnson, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the quarterfinals.

“He played great in his second round,” McConville said, pointing to the extra pressure of Johnson being surrounded by the support of students and friends from Commack and Ward Melville. “There were a lot of people watching.”

Astilean said he was happy with his overall performance, adding he learned a lot from the experience.

“I need to be much more patient,” the junior said. “I’m used to just blasting balls and hitting winners, but coach was trying to get me to be a bit more patient and wait for the opportunity to win the point.”

Astilean’s teammate, eighth-grader Jagger Cohen, was the only other Bonacker to compete in the tournament, despite eight East Hampton athletes earning a chance to compete in the county singles and doubles tournaments. Sophomore Nick Cooper and freshman Kiefer Mitchell, and the doubles teams of sophomores Cameron Mitchell and Miguel Garcia and junior Armando Rangel and Pierson freshman Dane Schwalb, all deferred due to medical reasons. McConville said four out of eight were sick, mainly with sore throats, but that Astilean was the only one who tested positive for COVID.

“It was a great experience for the guys who were able to compete,” the coach said, “but the kids have always been way more focused on the team competition, which I love.”

The Bonackers (16-1), the No. 4 seed in the Suffolk County team tournament, swept No. 13 Hauppauge, 7-0, after a first-round bye, and hosted No. 5 Harborfields Tuesday, May 24, results of which were not available by press time. Should East Hampton have won, the team had the opportunity to travel to No. 1 Ward Melville for a rematch. The Patriots were the only team to top the Bonackers, edging them, 4-3, back on May 5.

“Our team goes super deep, so we have great players from first singles to third doubles, which is a great advantage to have against other teams,” Astilean said.

McConville said his boys have been looking forward to seeing Ward Melville again, which if the Bonackers beat the Tornadoes, would have taken place Wednesday, May 25. Results of which can be found later this week at 27east.com

“They buy into the team concept and they push each other, so it makes my job very easy,” the coach said. “I don’t have to motivate them. They’re all motivated.”

The difference this time around would have been that Ward Melville had a full roster. The Patriots, which were missing four players earlier this month, won a couple of close matches, in third singles and second doubles, to claim the May 5 victory.

“I’m expecting it to be even tougher this time around,” McConville said. “But we both have the luxury of adjusting our lineups; we have options. We’ll have to guess what each other is going to do, and they have more talent than us, definitely, but it’ll be a very good match.”

The coach said matchups will depend on Pierson sophomore Chris Pilarski, who participated against the Patriots at second doubles, but didn’t play from March 25 to May 5, only competing in the first match of the season before then. Pilarski has been dealing with a shoulder issue.

“He’s coming to practice to test his shoulder again,” McConville said Monday. “He makes our lineup way better — he’s an excellent player — but he’s rusty, so it’s a little bit complicated. It’s the same with Nick Cooper, [who was also out with a groin injury]. I know what our singles lineup is going to be, but I’ll make our doubles lineup based off what I see in practice.”

Regardless of the outcome, with the Bonackers making it to the team semifinals twice in the past six years since McConville took over — with one year lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic — the coach is proud of where his student-athletes stand.

“We’re looking at development this year, not so much results,” McConville said, “And I couldn’t be happier with their development. They all play for each other, which has only brought out the best in them.”