Scarsdale Concludes Another Great Tennis Season

Sophomores Ben Fife and Austin Kaplan finished second in the state doubles tournament last weekend, capping another successful season for Scarsdale tennis.

Another Raiders doubles team, Jake Gorobetz and David Goldberg, followed up their third-place finish in the 2009 state tournament with an eight-place finish this year, and singles player Preston Poon lost to eventual state champion Jeremy Court of New Rochelle in the final of the conference tournament.

Fife and Kaplan were in the state tournament for the first time and were unseeded after losing in the Section 1 semifinals to Kyle Rosen and Jordan Kaufman from Byram Hills.

But Fife and Kaplan made it all the way to the final day of the season, where they again fell to Rosen and Kaufman 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

"One by one they were picking the teams off," Scarsdale coach Jennifer Roane said. "They communicate well on the court, Austin has a very good serve and they're smart. They know how to set the point up in their favor."

In the state semifinals the sophomore duo beat Eric Rubin and Matt Barry of Long Beach in three sets — the same doubles team that knocked out Gorobetz and Goldberg in the previous round.

Roane gave Gorobetz and Goldberg credit for what happened after their loss.

"They were hoping to go further, but they were very gracious because  Austin and David had to play that same team," Roane said. "They were bummed that they had lost and it was the end of Jake's career, but they took their teammates aside and mentored them."

Poon and fellow seniors Gorobetz and Justin Reindel are now graduating, but the future still looks bright — four underclassmen provided the Raiders with their two biggest wins this season.

Scarsdale was tied 3-3 against two of its toughest opponents, Byram Hills and Greenwich, heading into the decisive fourth doubles match. Sophomores Jared Greenwald and Ben Shapiro won the match that defeated the Bobcats, while freshman Jonny Baker and sophomore Danny Somekh sealed the win over the top-ranked team in Connecticut.

"They really had a lot of pressure but they were fantastic," Roane said.

Scarsdale finished 13-1 in its conference and 10-0 in its league, and Roane won the Section 1 Coach of the Year Award for the first time in her 15 years at the helm. Roane believes it's the first time that award was given to a woman.

Scarsdale's success was due to its depth — the entire team qualified for the league tournament and advanced to the conference tournament. Though only five doubles teams from the conference could advance to sectionals, the Raiders filled three of those spots.