East Hampton - Not since 2002 has the Westhampton High School girls tennis team captured the county crown. That's the ultimate goal. But first things first, the Hurricanes took care of business, locking up their fourth consecutive League VII title, downing rival East Hampton 6-1.

"I said at the beginning of the season that, with the talent that I have, anything less than the county title is not acceptable," said Westhampton coach John Czartosieski. "Everybody's seen my team, and they know how deep we are, so we have to be the odds-on favorites."

The Hurricanes (14-0, 10-0 League VII) looked well on their way to an easy victory when they racked up three straight-sets wins to start the match. First doubles was first in the books, with Allie Harding and Elli Vamvakatis teaming up to defeat Joneen Murphy and Hyatt Tortorella 6-2, 6-2. Then came a victory at No. 3 doubles – Rachel Paoletta and Allie Lehrer over Erica Barco and Emma Shilowich – and another with Christine Cassaro's 6-2, 6-3 win at third singles over Bev Keyes.

Bonackers Showed Grit
But the Bonackers (11-2, 8-2) showed grit, even in defeat. After losing the first set 7-6 at No. 2 singles, sophomore Casey Nicoletti forced a third set when she battled freshman Diana Vamvakatis to a 6-3 decision. But Vamvakatis turned her game up a notch in the decisive stanza, winning it 6-1 to clinch the match and the league title for Westhampton.

"Diana is a really tough competitor and she's in great shape," Czartosieski said. "She hits out on all her shots. She just hung in there and her confidence got her through that third set, knowing that she can win three-set matches."

Right next door, Westhampton's Brooke Pottish was locked in a duel with East Hampton's Molly Nolan. The teams' top singles players split the first two sets, with Nolan capturing the first, 6-4, and Pottish coming from 4-1 down to even things at a set apiece. Then in the tiebreaker, Pottish had just enough left to escape with the 7-4 win.

Finally, Sarah Haupt and Jamie Hann of Westhampton scooted past Amy and Kelly Naula at No. 2 doubles, 6-2, 6-4.

East Hampton's lone victory came at No. 4 singles when Calli Nicoletti outpointed Westhampton's Kellie Westfield 6-1, 6-2. In the end, Bonackers coach Jim Nicoletti was thrilled with his team's performance. His squad had won 29 games in the first match with Westhampton; this time, it won 55.

"My biggest thing since day one has been to get better every day," he said. "All the teams we play, I want to play them better the second time around. We certainly have. We played them tougher. I want to keep going.

"In my mind, Westhampton's the No. 1 team in the county," Nicoletti continued, "And we're not all that far behind. There's a chance we'll play them again in the county playoffs, and if we can close the gap a little more, maybe we'll win."