HHS Girls’ Tennis Looks to Rebuild

The Huntington High School girls’ tennis team is in a rebuilding mode after losing seven seniors to graduation. The squad returned to the courts this week to prepare for the fall season.

The Blue Devils went 7-3 in Suffolk League II play (8-6 overall) last year. But, many of its best players are now heading off to college. “We aren’t returning a lot of experienced varsity players,” said Jamie Fishlow, the program’s longtime head coach. “I expect it to be a rebuilding year.”

Among the players who have moved on is Olivia Ammirati, who finished third in Division I and captured All-County honors in singles en route to a 15-4 mark. She is now attending SUNY New Paltz where she plans to study graphic design.

Last year’s 12-player team finished second in the league standings. “It was a wonderful team to work with,” Fishlow said. “All the players had nice personalities and they gave it their all. I was very proud to coach them.”

Two more players lost to graduation are Jamie Brown and Samantha Dever, who proved to be a formidable No. 1 doubles duo. The pair went 10-3 and garnered All-League honors. Brown is now at Providence College and Dever is studying business management at Fairfield University.

Melanie Grossman, who was Huntington’s recipient of the county Sportsmanship Award last year has also moved on and is attending Bucknell University. Pauline McGlone (University of Delaware), Rebecca Palladino (Loyola University Maryland) and Elizabeth Whitcher (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) also graduated last June.

Huntington does return a very talented player in sophomore Emily Shutman, who recorded an 11-2 record in No. 2 singles last fall. Also returning is senior  Beth Coneys and juniors Kristen Walsh and Lana Ziegler. “The team is wide open with JV from last year,” Fishlow said.

Last season’s junior varsity team went 5-3 in league play, 5-5 overall under head coach Eric Mininni. The squad was led by Sophia Latt, who compiled a 9-1 mark in No. 1 singles, Caroline Petrozzo, who won 8-of-10 matches and the No. 1 doubles duo of Allison Minoff and Hillary Hardart, who went 7-3.

The Blue Devils open their season on Monday, September 9 at home when Knox School visits for a 4 p.m. match.