Somers Tennis Drops Close Match to Yorktown

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Friday, April 26, Somers tennis traveled to Yorktown and got themselves involved in a tight contest.
A 3-3 match with all the others finished, the doubles affair had both squads hanging on every point.

“It was kind of exciting,” said John Raducany, and while going the limit, the match did have to eventually determine a winner.

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The Tusker tandem of Seth Cheung and Raducany fell 8-6 in the tiebreaker, and Somers lost the match by a score of 4-3.

Still, the senior partners showed fortitude in defeat. They were down in both sets and the tiebreaker and won the first set 7-5 and forced 6-6 and 8-8 ties.

“It was a good amount of pressure. But I tried to keep my mind off of it and just focus on the game,” said Cheung.

Together for several years, the duo know how to apply an attitude adjustment when necessary.

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“We work very well together. When we realize we’re making mistakes, we try to talk it out and figure out how to change our game,” said Cheung.

The final in the books, Raducany was able to reflect and identify a crucial shortcoming for the way forward. “We need to read the guy at the net to see whether he goes to the middle or stays in the alley,” he said.

Somers had a lot less doubt in getting out of the singles gate, though, and overdrive gave Harrison Mellor the advantage.

“My serve really kicked in,” said the senior.

An 8-2 victory, he wants to improve his second serve and his backhand but revels in how a good head space can give rise to winning. “It’s a solo sport and depends how strong you are as a person,” said Mellor.

Along those lines, Max Yates had plenty of strut in his 8-1 victory. “I’ve known him for a long time, so this was a routine match,” said the senior.

As a result, the game plan was set. “I targeted his backhand, and he’s a lefty. So I had that going for me on the serve,” Yates revealed.

He hopes to finish in the top eight in the sectionals, which doesn’t have a sophisticated game plan to get there. “I just need to play more,” Yates said.

Unfortunately, Somers wasn’t able to get a singles sweep. Luke Cukaj fell 8-5, but he’s pretty grounded about his game. Less about the outcome and more about the fun, the senior clarified that he’s “pretty much chill.”

Sam Polner had the sentiment down to a science in explaining his 6-4, 6-3 victory with his brother. “We hit the ball over the net more, and they hit the ball over the net less,” he said coyly.

That left it to Sam’s twin brother Zach to fill in the blanks. Specifically, his serve and Sam’s volley typically doubles the pleasure.

“Yeah, It’s pretty nice,” Zach assured.

The goals are pretty simple too. “We want to practice more and win more games,” said Zach.

Coming up a little short this time, John Leary and Daniel Ostapovich went the distance in a 6-3, 3-6, 8-10 loss. The first time the two were paired together, an uncertain outset was understandable. “We started off a little rocky,” said Leary.

Still, they eventually settled in. “We finished well and came close,” said Leary.

Either way, he’s down with the double's price of admission. “I like having a teammate, and I like the chemistry,” said the junior.

So resolving any discrepancies went off without a hitch, according to Ostapovich. “I think we kept each other accountable and mentally in check so we didn’t mess up easy shots,” said the senior.

Finally, Griffen Hechler and Landon Bleasdale suffered a 6-1, 6-2 defeat. But the lopsided score was not entirely revealing. A pretty time consuming match, Bleasdale clarified. “We had a lot of deuces and long points.”

Usually a single’s player, the switch was a challenge for Bleasdale. “Playing with four people is difficult,” said the junior.

Bleasdale liked the experience with Hechler anyway. “He’s a good teammate,” he said.

Living up, Hechler was able to assess without making excuses. “We didn’t play consistent enough,” said the junior.

And honesty gives him a straightforward approach for the rest of the way. “My goal is not to lose and play more consistent,” Hechler concluded the day.

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