Westhampton Doubles Team of Bobby Stabile, Giancarlo Volpe Earn Spot in Suffolk County Final

Westhampton Beach’s doubles team of Bobby Stabile and Giancarlo Volpe have placed second in Suffolk County and are headed to the state tournament beginning June 2 at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing.

Prior to a 7-5, 6-1 loss to Ward Melville’s No. 1 doubles team of Gabe Bursztyn and Shashank Pennabadi on Tuesday, the Hurricanes pair bested Commack’s Joe Romito and James Yu 6-4, 7-5 on Monday.

“To make it this far feels really great,” said Stabile, a junior who has made it to the county quarterfinals with different partners since he was a freshman. “We went in having no expectations, so we could go into it relaxed — with no pressure. I think we played well. We were loose.”

The two teams traded games with Commack before a Cougars hold gave the duo a 3-1 advantage. Westhampton Beach actually went down 4-2 before taking the next four to win the set. Stabile hit a big, powerful return to knot it at 4-4, and Volpe smashed a strong volley of his own to make it 30-15 en route to the Hurricanes’ next point.

“I was looking to hit my volleys firmer and harder — putting them away rather than tapping it back to them,” the sophomore said. “My baseline and Bobby’s net game work really well together, and my serve was pretty good today. I only double faulted once, which was really big for me.”

Volpe’s thundering overhead and a Commack return out of bounds at the back of the court helped Westhampton Beach to the first-set win.

“That’s the best I’ve seen them move,” head coach Matt Reed said. “Especially in the big points, too, they were as clutch as you can get. If you don’t go for your shots against teams like that, you’re going to lose. And in those big moments they went for it — they stayed brave — and it paid off.”

The Hurricanes bounced back to tie the first set at 1-all, but Commack countered to make it 2-2 and 3-3 before a Stabile hit down the line, one of several big points earned off that kind of return in the set, gave the pair a 4-3 edge.

“Going down the line and going right at them was working really well, plus my passing shots and finishing off volleys,” Stabile said. “Giancarlo’s serve was consistent. He was holding serve, which is very important, and he was putting the ball away.”

But Commack also came up with three holds in the match, the last of which knotted the second set at 5-5. After Stabile’s poach that gave the advantage to Westhampton Beach, Volpe’s strong volley led to a wide right Commack return for the point to make it 6-5.

“We told ourselves to just keep the ball in play, and go from there,” Volpe said. “And a lot of Bobby’s down-the-line shots were fabulous.”

Stabile secured 15-0 before a Commack double fault and two more strong Hurricanes returns were sent back out of bounds for the final points.

“Commack’s serves were amazing, and the fact that my guys were able to break that shows that they were on it today, and they had to be,” Reed said. “That’s a great team they versed. Both teams were incredible. There were bang-bang points. They played absolutely amazing, and they had to to win that match. That’s about as good of doubles as you will watch.”

Volpe said he couldn’t find the words to explain how he felt making it to the finals in his first tournament appearance.

“I’m shaking. I can’t even explain my excitement,” he said. “I’m just so happy and relieved.”

Stabile said it feels good to finally make it past the quarterfinals. He and Volpe’s older brother Sandro were eliminated in that round last season.

“I’m really happy for him,” Reed said of his junior. “Doing this with a different partner every year is not easy. A lot of these better teams have partners that have been together for three or four years, so it’s nice to see him finally rewarded for all of his hard work every year.”