Syosset boys tennis wins Long Island Championship
Syosset’s Aayan Mehta wins his match against Roslyn’s Brian Toh during the Nassau County Championship on Thursday, May 29, 2025 in Old Westbury. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
Aayan Mehta had done it again.
The junior walked off the tennis court for the second time in two days with a third singles win behind him that served as Syosset’s fourth victory in the match, clinching a championship.
“It’s all fortunate timing,” Mehta said. “… It feels amazing.”
Mehta did his part, and so did everyone else in Syosset’s lineup.
After taking a third straight Nassau Division I team crown Thursday, these boys claimed another three-peat in the division’s Long Island title clash Friday, winning 7-0 over Suffolk champ Half Hollow Hills East on Wheatley’s courts.
“It’s just super exciting,” Syosset coach Shai Fisher said. “Half Hollow Hills East is a great team, coming in here undefeated. The guys were amped up.”
They’re the two-time defending state champs among large schools. So they get to continue pursuing yet another three-peat.
“After two years of winning states in a row, there’s definitely some pressure to win states again,” Mehta said. “But I think our team really thrives under pressure, including me.”
To reach the state semis, the team needs to navigate an additional step this time, a Southeast Regional showdown against Section I winner Horace Greeley at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Harrison in Westchester.
“We expect the toughest match of the season, for sure,” Devan Melandro said.
The senior feels the experience from the previous state-title runs will help.
“We’ve been there, done that,” Melandro said. “So we know exactly what we need to do as a team to deliver our best tennis.”
All three Syosset singles players — Melandro (6-3, 6-1), Nikhil Shah (6-2, 6-4) and Mehta (6-1, 6-3) — won in straight sets.
Its four doubles teams did as well — Aidan Maddux and Jacob Prince (6-3, 6-3), Shiv Chadha and Veyd Trivedi (6-2, 6-1), Loui Peredo and Grayson Prince (6-1, 6-0) and Anik Paul and Leon Zhao (6-1, 6-0).
So Syosset is 19-1.
“I think, No. 1, it’s the veteran leadership,” Fisher said. “We have a lot of returning players that have all improved. The captains do a great job of leading by example, setting the tone. We have a good mix of youth that are willing to learn and willing to listen.”
Hills East finished at 19-1 and with its first Suffolk championship since 2019 — not bad.
“In my eyes, this doesn’t take away anything from our season,” coach Steve Ferrantello said. “It ends on a sour note, but we had an incredible year.”
