56 Photos
Westhampton Beach senior Abigail Gomez returns serve. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Ali Brandi serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Abigail Gomez reaches for a return. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Ali Brandi returns the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Abigail Gomez pushes the ball back over the net. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Ali Brandi serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Abigail Gomez stretches to keep the rally going. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Ali Brandi powers the ball back over the net. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Abigail Gomez sends the ball back. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Abigail Gomez return a serve. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Abigail Gomez keeps the rally going. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Aitana Garcia returns the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Aitana Garcia keeps her eyes on the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Aitana Garcia serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Aitana Garcia reaches to return a serve. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Aitana Garcia waits for the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Aitana Garcia keeps the rally going. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Aitana Garcia grabs a return. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Ana Way keeps the rally going. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Ana Way races for a return. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Ana Way with an overhead shot. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Ana Way volleys. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Diana Elliott comes in to grab the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Diana Elliott races for a return. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Diana Elliott serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Diana Elliott returns a serve. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Diana Elliott slices the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Diana Elliott sends the ball back over the net. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach freshman Gabriela Arango serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach freshman Gabriela Arango returns a serve. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach freshman Gabriela Arango serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach freshman Gabriela Arango and junior Zoë Grellet-Aumont celebrate a point. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach freshman Gabriela Arango and junior Zoë Grellet-Aumont wait for a game to start. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart comes in to keep the rally going. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart keeps here eyes on the bal. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart sends the ball back over the net. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart returns the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart waits for the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart pushes the ball back over the net. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart hits the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart returns a serve. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart stays in the game. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach sophomore Grace Hart reaches for a return. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach seventh-grader Riley Magner powers the ball back over the net. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach seventh-grader Riley Magner serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach seventh-grader Riley Magner keeps the rally going. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach seventh-grader Riley Magner serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach seventh-grader Riley Magner pushes the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach seventh-grader Riley Magner returns a serve. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Tess Ashley serves. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach senior Tess Ashley returns the ball. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach junior Zoë Grellet-Aumont returns a serve. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach junior Zoë Grellet-Aumont returns a serve. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Westhampton Beach junior Zoë Grellet-Aumont and freshman Gabriela Arango celebrate a point. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Abigail Gomez and Ali Brandi weren’t going to let an already-decided Suffolk County finals loss halt their comeback on Saturday, winning the last match of the evening, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, for their No. 2-seeded Westhampton Beach tennis team’s 4-3 loss to No. 1 Half Hollow Hills East.
“Even if we were super fatigued, we maintained our composure and pushed through,” Gomez, a senior, said outside Shoreham-Wading River High School on October 25. “We didn’t give up any easy points. We didn’t give up, period. We pushed ourselves to the limit and are really happy with the outcome. Especially being my last year on the team, this is the best thing that could happen.”
The fourth doubles team earned a close tiebreak win to force the third set, but Brandi, a sophomore, told her partner she wanted them to limit their mistakes to take a commanding win in the third, which is exactly what they did.
Out of a 2-2 tie with Gomez serving at deuce, Brandi came away with back-to-back poaches for a 3-2 lead, and Gomez had a strong hit from the baseline returned out on 30-30 and volleyed for a point to break Hills East’s serve. Callie Bornstein and Zoey Grochow hit a cross-court shot and split a shot up the middle for a 40-15 advantage in the next game before a Brandi pickup and ace for the hold and a 5-2 lead.
“We were nervous,” Gomez said going into the final set, “but we talked about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Hills East took the next game before a Brandi volley and Gomez ace clinched the comeback.
“We wanted to stay positive and stay fresh — keep our minds clear and determined,” Brandi said. “A lot of hard work was put into this. A lot of summer days were devoted to getting to this point, and it felt like everything paid off. We did what we needed to do.”
So did sophomore Grace Hart, who was first off the court with a win for Westhampton Beach (18-2), a 7-6, 6-4 win over Myrah Galhotra, to tie the match, 1-1, after senior Diana Elliott’s forfeit following a medical event during her 6-3, 5-1 match to Ashley Pursoo. Junior Maddie Montgomery and seventh-grader Riley Magner lost, 6-3, 6-1, at second doubles to Jayden Seff and Christina Zhao, but junior Zoë Grellet-Aumont and freshman Gabriela Arango topped Emma Wilck and Samantha Heyman, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), to retie things.
“Zoë and I are really proud of how the match went,” Arango said. “We communicated well and kept an overall positive mindset.”
The girls double backed on Hills East’s serve late in the match, which proved beneficial for the Hurricanes.
“It helped boost our confidence and got into the other team’s head a little bit,” the freshman said. “We also put a lot of pressure on the net player, which was a good move, and we were consistent from the baseline.”
It was a redeeming win for the pair after losing to the Hills East duo, 6-1, 6-3, in an All-State deciding match in the Suffolk County individual tournament to finish sixth. The top five teams earned the recognition.
“We knew to be more active at net and knew which shots we should go for or what shots to look out for,” Arango said. “It was good to play them again and beat them.”
“Sometimes, when you lose to your opponent, you can get in your head about whether you’re able to beat them, but they went into it with a fresh mindset knowing it’s a new match, a new day,” Westhampton Beach head coach Matt Reed said. “They knew that if they played to their ability, like they just did, that they could beat them.”
Seniors Ana Way and Tess Ashley, after bouncing back from a tiebreak loss to win another close set and force a third, lost, 6-7 (2-7), 7-5, 3-6, to Kayla Grochow and Kahenya Mukora at third doubles. It came seconds before sophomore Aitana Garcia’s 6-4, 4-6, 4-6 loss to Avery Sherman at third singles to hand Hills East (18-0) its fourth county final win — the third by a 4-3 score — over Westhampton Beach in the last five years.
“It was an awesome match. They put up a great fight,” Reed said of his Hurricanes. “We had three three-set matches, and the ones that were straight sets were really close, competitive matches, just like a final should be. Everyone gave it every single ounce of their energy and effort. Whether we were losing or winning, they all played really, really hard. So, it’s tough to lose, but I’m proud of the way they lost.”
Reed said he sees dropping just two of 20 matches as a successful season. It’s been so strong, in fact, that it earned Westhampton Beach the chance to compete in the state tournament with an at-large bid to play Section IV on November 3 in Binghamton.
“We told the girls that this is the culmination of everything that they’ve worked for. It’s a matter of putting it all together, and even though they lost, they put it all together and they played some great matches,” Reed said. “Half the team is new to varsity, and they showed that even with a new team, we can do a lot here.”
