Insalaco, Stabile Sweep Suffolk’s Top Doubles Duo In Westhampton Beach’s Semifinal Loss To Ward Melville

Westhampton Beach junior Andre Insalaco and sophomore Bobby Stabile had to back out of the Suffolk County doubles tennis tournament earlier this month, but if they hadn’t, they might have been crowned champions.

That’s because the Hurricanes duo took down the eventual winners — senior Matthew Kronenberg and freshman Gabe Bursztyn out of Ward Melville — during Westhampton Beach’s 5-2 team tournament loss on the road June 16. The pair won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.

Insalaco and Stabile — who were the No. 3 seed heading into the individual tournament back on June 11 — rallied after dropping the first set to beat Sachem seniors Sam Middleton and Drew Ryder, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the opening round, but deferred. Insalaco had to travel to a soccer scholarship invitational in Boston that weekend, so the Hurricanes were forced to exit the competition. The Sachem team also ended up dropping out, due to a medical disqualification, and the Ward Melville team, which came in as the No. 2 seed, bested Harborfields’ No. 4 seed of Marshal and Michael Singer to win the Suffolk County title.

“That’s one thing that makes a coach real proud is how they’ve worked at getting better, especially at playing doubles,” head coach John Czartosieski said. “We focus on strategy and tactics and drills in practice so they can learn the game — it’s a very different way of playing. Position and placement and finding the opening is important and they did a great job picking it up.”

Westhampton Beach senior Josh Kaplan said it was exciting to see his teammates, who remained undefeated on the season, go up against some stiff competition during the team tournament semifinals last Wednesday.

“They were on the next court, so I got to see all the action,” Kaplan said. “I thought they played a pretty solid match … they figured it out, and I’m proud of that. I think they proved they always have more to give.”

The senior, and only other match-winner against the Patriots, also swept his opponent, junior Aron Bursztyn, 7-6 (4), 6-4, who he’d beaten in the individual tournament consolation finals to place third in Suffolk County. With his win, Kaplan became the first All-State singles player Czartosieski has had since Dillon Pottish, a 2008 graduate who is now the head men’s tennis coach at St. John’s University.

“It was fun to play Aron again — he’s a nice challenge to go up against,” Kaplan said. “Knowing that I’d beaten him two times already, with the second time, of course, being very recently, I went in fairly confident in what I had to do. I’m happy I could end the season strong.”

The senior said his team gave everything it had.

“It was a great feeling to be able to push into the third round, especially with how tough the Bay Shore match seemed to be early on,” Kaplan said. “Going in to play Ward Melville, obviously with having played them before, we knew it would be a tough match … But I could see everyone was having a good time on the court.”

Sophomore Gavin Vander Schaaf, at No. 2 singles, and senior Santo Benentati, at No. 3, got some good practice in against Ward Melville’s United States Tennis Association tournament players.

“My lineup was the strongest it could have possibly been,” the head coach said. “The changes he and I made in our lineups — it just didn’t work out. His boys were just a little bit better than mine.”

The Hurricanes (9-2), which ended the regular season co-League VII champions with East Hampton, shut out Middle Country, 7-0, in the first round June 14, and topped Bay Shore, 5-2, the following day, winning all but the second and third singles matches. What helped many of the boys this season was that more than half the team saw postseason play in the individual tournaments.

“They got in more practice and more experience, which helps heading into the team tournament,” Czartosieski said. “But all the boys were happy about the season — how it turned out. They said we’re going to be even better when we come back next year.”

East Hampton (8-2) exited in the Round of 8 after a 7-0 loss to No. 4 Half Hollow Hills East on June 15. The Bonackers bested Southold, 7-0, in the opening round the day before. Pierson senior Jackson LaRose and East Hampton junior R.J. Jones finished fourth in the Division IV tournament to earn a Suffolk County berth, where they faced the No. 1 seed in the first round. East Hampton sophomore Max Astilean, at second singles, and freshman Nick Cooper, at first singles, were tabbed All-County. Astilean completed the tournament in the Top 8, one win away from being named All-State, and Cooper finished in the Top 16.

Graduating from Westhampton Beach this season along with Kaplan and Benenati, who finished the season with a winning record, is Kasper Buchen, who played at second doubles this year with his younger brother Max, a freshman.

Kaplan said he feels lucky to be a Hurricane, and appreciates what being part of the team and playing for Czartosieski have given and done for him.

“Being on this team has meant more and more for me each season,” Kaplan said. “Starting out in seventh grade, I remember looking up to the older guys, literally, as they would tell me to finish my matches faster. I moved through the ranks, and this year really was a lovely way to cap it off. It’s easy for me to just label everything in my schedule as ‘something else in my schedule,’ but to tell the truth, playing on this team has really meant more than I expected. I had my time as a Hurricane, and I’m certainly better off for it.”