Selden - There is room to improve and fortunately for three members of the Westhampton Beach boys tennis team there's time to improve too. The doubles pairing of Eric Antunovich and Greg Kandell, as well as top singles player Richard Sipala, are all underclassmen. At the Suffolk County Individual Tennis Tournament held over two days at Suffolk County Community College's Ammerman Campus, they saw first-hand the level of tennis at which their elite opponents play and hope to use the next year to ascend to that level themselves.

Sipala and Westhampton's top doubles team both made valiant runs on Saturday to reach Monday's semifinal round. However, consecutive losses against seeded teams held the Hurricanes to fourth place in their respective draws, one spot shy of qualifying for the New York State Championships in Flushing later this month.

"They're forward to coming back next year and going even further," Westhampton Head Coach John Czartosieski said. "They know what the competition is all about, that it's a different level. They just need to keep working and improving, and as long as they do that, they'll be right back in the running next year. That's really all you can ask for."

Westhampton sophomore Richard Sipala raised his record to 7-0 in three-set matches this season by winning two of them on the tournament's first day.

Sipala clawed his way to the second day by winning a pair of three-set matches on Saturday. The sophomore appeared to be in cruise control in round one when Bay Shore's Matt Racanelli fought back to win the second set 6-3 and force a third. Sipala, who was 5-0 entering the tourney in three-set matches, was brilliant late again, nailing down the victory with a 6-2 in set three. Chris Hunter, the second singles player at Hills East, nabbed the first set for Sipala 6-1 but couldn't seal the deal. Sipala won the next two 6-4 and 6-2 to advance to Saturday.

Monday, Monday
Monday was a different story for Westhampton's No. 1 as he squared off against two of the county's top talents. Top seed Brendan Ruddock, who will play tennis for the University of Minnesota beginning this fall, rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 win to reach the finals. That left Sipala fighting for third against Walt Whitman's Adam Mernit, whose 125-135 mile-per-hour serves are only part of the reason he will attend Johns Hopkins after graduation. Mernit was overpowering, winning 11 of the 12 last games in his 6-3, 6-1 victory, which earned him a bid at states.

"Richard was trying to keep him out on the court as long as he could," Czartosieski said. "He was moving him around really well, especially in the first set, but I think Adam realized that the longer he stayed out there, the greater Richard's chances were of improving his results. Adam tried to serve-and-volley a lot more and end points sooner, and it works for him because he has a terrific volley. His touch at the net was incredible, probably the best in the tournament."

Of the four seeds in the tournament, Sipala is the only one returning next year. Commack's Brett Gordon, another senior, dismantled Ruddock in the final to win his first county title. Before the tournament, Sipala figured he'd be fighting for third on the second day. With the other top players graduating, it could be his turn next year.

"When I saw the draw, it was my goal to get to this point and then see if I can do better from here," Sipala said. "I was happy with how I did. I feel like I was just overpowered; they were just both better players. I just have to get stronger and eventually - hopefully - I can hit the ball harder and more consistently."

Greg Kandell and Eric Antunovich came up one spot shy of qualifying for states, falling to Islip's Matt Celentano and Matt Imbo in the third-place match.

Kandell and Antunovich were slotted third out of 16 teams in the bracket and were able to march right through to the semifinals courtesy of two straight-sets victories. The Division IV champs held off Derrick Ettinger and Marc Sagliocca of Bay Shore 6-4, 6-4, before disposing of Hills East's Steve Ferrantello and Christian Bornan 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

The junior tandem, which was taken out in the first round at counties a year ago, stood a win away from a date at states but couldn't quite clear that hurdle. In the semis, Kandell and Antunovich were ousted by Hills West's Nolan Gelman and Matt Stevens 6-2, 6-3, and in the consolation match fell to Islip's Matt Celantano and Matt Imbo 6-3, 6-0.

"They're still going to have a to work a little bit more on their positioning and their serve," Czartosieski said. "Eric has a nice powerful serve but he just needs to be able to execute that with a little more confidence. It could be a huge weapon for him. Greg's serve has gotten better and it will continue to get better I'm sure. I think they knew their chances were really good [to reach states], but they just couldn't execute the shots in the second match like they normally do."

Both Kandell and Antunovich agreed that their net game needed the most tinkering in the off-season. Like in Sipala's situation, they'll have another crack at a county title next year with the majority of seeded players, including champs Zach Dean and Brian Roberts of Commack, lost to graduation.

"We're disappointed but we're just looking forward to the team tournament," Kandell said. "Hopefully we can go far in that and we're looking forward to coming back next year."

On the other side of the bracket, Westhampton's Christian LaDu and Mike Hammond, who finished second in Division IV behind their teammates, were bounced from the tournament by Islip's duo of John Ilardi and Rob Donahue 6-1, 6-3. Westhampton turns its focus to Tuesday afternoon's first round match with Southampton in the county team tournament (4 p.m.). The Hurricanes are seeded third and seek their first county title on Czartosieski's watch.

Dubin Makes His Move
Even younger than the Westhampton contingent is Southampton's Jeremy Dubin, a 13-year-old freshman who made his first trip to counties. If Dubin was even the slightest bit overwhelmed by the experience, he didn't look it, shrugging off a rough first set against No. 10 seed Nick Bauer from East Islip to take a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.

Southampton freshman Jeremy Dubin won the final two sets against East Islip's Nick Bauer to win his first-ever match at the individual county tournament.

Dubin's consistent play from the baseline began to take its toll on Bauer's psyche. Bauer's impressive winners were matched by his unforced errors as Dubin sent back anything that came his way. The seventh-seeded Dubin broke Bauer early in the second set and forced a decisive third set. Each player took a lengthy break between sets - Dubin to re-energize, Bauer to regain his composure. At 1-1 in the third, Bauer questioned Dubin's line calls and asked that the coaches be brought in to officiate. Dubin went up two breaks in the third, going ahead 4-1 when a Bauer forehand hit the net. A point away from victory, Dubin ripped a backhand crosscourt that Bauer was unable to return, giving him the victory.

The Mariner freshman's stay in the tournament ended in the second round when he lost to eventual county champ Brett Gordon of Commack, 6-2, 6-3. Nevertheless, Wingfield said the experience, both in victory and defeat, will pay dividends as soon as this week's team tourney as well as for next year's postseason.

"It was terrific that Jeremy was able to be in this tournament at this time of his life with so much in front of him," Wingfield said. "He can already recognize that next tier just by being around them. To understand that energy that you have to play at to reach that level of proficiency is something you never lose. There are a lot of ways to learn to play this game; one of the most important ways is to look at those who have already gotten to that pinnacle of success, to see what it takes."

Senior Jack Keenan, who finished fourth at the Division IV tournament to qualify for counties, drew the No. 14 seed and thus faced a buzzsaw early in third-seeded Adam Mernit from Walt Whitman. Keenan's consistent groundstrokes kept Mernit on the court for a good while yet he was still able to prevail 6-1, 6-1. Wingfield said that Keenan's accomplishments on the court aren't limited to victories during his varsity career.

"We would not be experiencing the success that we have right now if it wasn't for Jack Keenan," said Wingfield, whose squad visits third-ranked Westhampton on Tuesday. "Forget about the winning and losing. He has fulfilled everything that I could have possibly asked of him to make people around him better. He's the team captain this year and we knew that he always made it his moment to go out and give it all he's got."

Early Exits
Ross sophomore Henry Lee got his first taste of the county tournament by placing third in Division IV. Lee took on Brett Byron of Half Hollow Hills East but was upended 6-3, 6-0. The two were even at three games apiece in the first set before Byron went into another gear and pulled away for the win.

"There were a lot of deuce points and there are no [advantages] in high school so it could have gone either way," Ross Head Coach Vinicius Carmo said. "In the second set, I think Henry just lost his confidence. It wasn't about tennis; it was more about him losing his head."

Lee has been the anchor for what's been a tremendously successful season for the Ravens as a team. They moved up to League VII this spring and their 8-2 record in league left them second behind Westhampton, which has taken on all comers and won every league match - and thus every league title - since 2005. Ross resumes its schedule with a first-round match-up in the team tournament at fourth-seeded Sachem East on Tuesday (4 p.m.).

East Hampton's lone representative was the doubles tandem of Dylan Sanicola and Jona Sanabria, which took on Celantano and Imbo from Islip in the first round. The senior tandem was knocked off 6-2, 6-3 just hours after their 7-5, 7-6 win over Eastport-South Manor's Mike Biggs and Nick Prisco helped lift East Hampton to a 5-2 out-bracket win in the team tourney. As a result, the Bonackers lock horns with top seed Half Hollow Hills East on Tuesday (4 p.m.).