Garden City Pulls Through in Tennis Counties

After a tough season of many 4-3 losses, Garden City came through with two big wins at the Nassau County tennis tournament. Garden City sent the doubles team of senior Marisa Cameron and junior Brittany Burke and eighth grade singles player Morgan Herrmann to represent the school in the tournament. The matches were played at Eisenhower Park on Oct. 15 and 16.

“The first day was tough for all the players with wind gusts up to 40 mph, but our girls stayed consistent and focused, and really played the elements well,” said Garden City coach Crystal Boyd.

The team of Cameron and Burke opened up against the team of Prafder and Reisig from Massapequa. The first round was a 10 game pro-set. The match started a bit shaky for the girls, dropping the first two games, but they settled in and dominated the rest of the match winning 10 of the next 11 games.

Their next match was then a best two out of three, no add scoring against a strong team from Plainedge. Cameron and Burke went on the attack right away and controlled the net the entire match beating them 6-1, 6-3. The next round was against conference rivals Roslyn. It took a set for the girls to find Roslyn’s weakness but they eventually finished them off 6-4, 6-0. That win landed the team in the semi-finals against two of the strongest players in Nassau County from Hewlett. The Hewlett team beat Garden City and sent them to the consolation match. Cameron and Burke played their best tennis and beat Syosset 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the state tournament in Syracuse.

In the singles draw, Herrmann was seeded second in the tournament behind senior Hannah Camhi from Syosset. After a first round bye, Herrmann took care of her next two opponents 6-0, 6-4 and 6-0, 6-0. Those two wins put Herrmann in the semi-finals against Torres, the top singles player from Great Neck South. After numerous long rallies and masterfully crafted points, Herrmann’s fitness and skill proved too much for Torres, besting her 6-2, 7-5.

“Morgan shows such maturity when she plays, she sets up each point beautifully,” said Boyd. With that win, Herrmann was guaranteed a spot at the state tournament. The finals match played out as the girls’ were seeded with the top two facing off. Herrmann was beaten by the senior but gained invaluable experience in the Nassau County finals. “She is the up-and-coming player to watch. This will not be her last Nassau County Finals,” Boyd added. 

Cameron, Burke and Herrmann traveled to Syracuse Nov. 4-7 to represent Nassau County in the New York State High School tennis championships.

There Morgan faced 1 seed Hannah Camhi from Syosset once more. “Morgan Herrmann did wonderfully,” commented athletic director Nancy Kalafus. “She placed second in the state with 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. We will hear lots more from her in the future!”

Garden City’s doubles team of Marisa Cameron and Brittany Burke went through the consolation round, losing to the eventual tournament runner-ups. “It was great to just be at States!!” explained Kalafus.

(Editor's Note: Coach Crystal Boyd submitted the article.)