Capping a long day of moral victories and frustrations, the Benjamin Cardozo boys’ tennis team fell just a few games short of a city title on May 15.
The victor, Manhattan’s Beacon School, inched past the Judges thanks to a big win at first doubles, where Jeremyah Schur and Christian Waldron pulled out a late break to seal a 3-2 team victory.
Their opponents, Cardozo’s Petros Georgiou and Hugh Mo, nearly stunned the Beacon pair when they rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the third set — and three match points — to serve with the score at 4-5. But Schur and Waldron prevailed, leaving Georgiou and Mo emotional and disappointed. The final score was 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
“I’m upset,” Georgiou said. “Honestly, I thought we had this match.”
The Judges’ title chances died at approximately 5:45, while first singles player Jonathan Raude was overcoming fatigue and putting together an inspiring finish that looked, at times, as if it might put Cardozo over the top. Against Quinton Vega, Raude recovered from a 0-6 loss in the second set to dominate, 6-1, in the third.
“I couldn’t move. I was struggling through each point,” said Raude, who started cramping during the first set. “I just looked up to the sky and said, ‘You know what? It’s now or never.’”
Raude couldn’t be blamed for tiring during the first set; nor could Vega, who seemed to have tired by the third. The opening games of their marathon contest culminated in a 7-5 victory for Raude, and all the while, their blistering groundstrokes and long rallies brought electricity to an out-of-season Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center.
Vega was serving at 4-4 when Raude broke serve; Raude was serving at 5-4 when Vega broke back; Vega was serving at 5-5 when Raude stole another game away. Raude finally held serve one game later and roared as the set tipped his way.
“He keeps every point in play, [hits] deep,” Raude said. “He’s not easy.”
The PSAL ‘A’ title marks a second consecutive city crown for Beacon, which is beginning to challenge Cardozo’s legacy. The Judges, however, are still tops on the girls’ side, beating Stuyvesant 5-0 on Friday.
Beacon lacks a girls’ team, and so Hannah Berner, a winner at third singles, was a feminine contributor to the team’s boys’ championship.
There was also good news elsewhere for Queens tennis: In the ‘C’ division, Long Island City claimed its own city title by the same undefeated margin.
“We were completely psyched. It was awesome,” said head coach Manuel Castro. “For my guys, they do this completely recreationally, so they won based on their actual ability, really, and some of the strategy that I give them. … They’re like sponges, man. They actually listen to what I say. They’re amazing.”
