Schreiber Girls tennis has won yet another Long Island championship title.  The team went undefeated this year with a record of 18-0, and they have won 50 of their last 51 matches over the last few years.  The team also had multiple members place in the individual state tournament.  The squad has dominated Long Island for years and hopes to continue to do so.

The Long Island championship match was postponed four times due to rain.  The team went two weeks without having a match leading up to the finals.  Because of the bad weather, Coach Shane Helfner had to find creative ways to prepare physically and mentally for the match.  

“It was definitely mentally exhausting, but we were able to try and stay in a rhythm by being able to practice at the Port Washington Tennis Academy, who is always so generous with their court time for our team.  We also watched videos of some of our practices to really talk about things we need to continue to fix and improve upon,” said Coach Shane Helfner.  

The physical and mental preparation in the weeks leading to the Long Island championship were key in the victory of Schreiber’s Girls Tennis Team.

The Vikings tennis team would not have had the success that they did without the leadership of their seniors.  

“From the beginning of the season, my co-captain, Casey Fanous, and I implemented a certain mentality on the team.  With every drill and exercise, we stressed the importance of family and more importantly passion and tenacity,” said senior captain Charlotte Forman.  “Our team has succeeded because of our eagerness to win and our love and support for each other.  We always put in the extra time and effort to achieve greatness.”

The team’s captains, and all of the seniors, were key contributors to the team’s success this season, both on and off the court.  Their leadership allowed for the team to remain confident in each other and play with all of their hearts.  Their ability to be welcoming and approachable is what brought the team together as friends, almost as family.  In every sports team, the leadership of seasoned veterans is key to its success, and the same has been true for this one.

Although the team did need to work cohesively in order to end up at the top of Long Island, each player also had the opportunity to win individual awards in a variety of tournaments.  In addition, the most coveted awards are handed out in the state tournament.  Only some members of the team took the trip to Latham, New York, but the achievements of those who did are significant to the entire team. Freshman singles player Thea Rabman placed second in the state-wide singles tournament.

“My personal achievements help my team with our confidence and positivity.  For me, it shows that I have lots of experience which is helpful to those who don’t,” said freshman Thea Rabman. 

This is Rabman’s third year on the team and her incredible accolades will only accumulate as her high school career continues.  Her personal achievements along with those of others helped boost the morale of the entire team.  

“The whole team is super proud of everything our teammates accomplished at county and state championships and it only made us more motivated to do better throughout the season,” said senior Alexa Albanese.

The success of their teammates drives the rest of the team to improve.  Going into next season, the team hopes that more and more members will represent our school during state and county championships.

The team also has expectations to improve and continue their dynasty in next fall’s season.  Although this year will be a hard act to follow up, the team still hopes to do even better next year.  

“We have been as dominant as you can be over the last three years, winning three conference championships in a row, two Long Island Championships, and having won 50 of our last 51 matches.  Our girls keep coming back hungry for more.  We hope to stay on top going forward,” said Rabman.

The team clearly understands that, despite a perfect season, they still can rack up even more accolades next year.  For the success of the team to continue, the returning players must improve and some new players will need to join.  Many new freshmen joined the team and had an instant impact on their success.  

“A lot of really great freshman players joined the team this year and had a huge impact on our success this season and will continue to do so in the following years.  I think that some younger players who didn’t get as much playing time this season will have a big influence, will rise to the occasion, and will continue this great legacy we have created,” said Albanese.  

The continuation of success relies on these players doing their absolute best, as the new members did this year.  Along with the duo of Rabman and freshman Ellie Ross, fellow freshmen Dasha Perfiliev and Katie Kors had outstanding seasons.  The team hopes that they will continue to perform and that the new members of the team next year will do the same.  Schreiber’s dominance in tennis is driven by constant improvement from young players, along with the contributions of experienced veterans.

Our girls’ tennis team is creating a dynasty that will surely continue for years to come.  Each team member was important to the achievement of a Long Island Championship title.  This special year for Port Washington tennis is hopefully a sign of good things to come for the program.  The unprecedented success is unmatched by any other school, and every student is proud of their representation of our school.  The girls tennis team hopes to go on to defend their title as the best on Long Island for another year.