Top Teams, Top Conference Await Vikings Tennis

The Schreiber boys varsity tennis team will face a whole host of challenges as it looks to mirror a championship performance in 2009 in the toughest conference in Nassau County.

The Vikings moved up to Conference IA and will face the likes of Cold Spring Harbor, Jericho, Syosset, Great Neck North and Great Neck South a year after Schreiber handled Conference II-A with a 12-2 record.

"It's going to be a challenging season," coach Melissa Koulouris said. "We play all the top programs."

Koulouris took over the team the day before the season began, and will lean on nationally-ranked Jason Hubsher to anchor the attack.

"He's a player to watch," Koulouris said of her top singles player.

Hubsher said his backhand is his strength and he usually works from the baseline.

"I'll come to the net for a short shot, but I'm more of an aggressive baseliner," Hubsher said.

The junior will play first singles, with sophomore Sander Brenner as second singles, and newcomer Ben Rosen rounding out the singles lineup.

"They're consistent — focused on the game," Koulouris said.

The projected lineup for doubles will include Matt Kellenberg, who returns from a broken collarbone, and Dan Lee, as the top doubles team while Ben Spivack and Luke Record, who played together last season, will represent the second doubles pair. The team of Spivack and Record hasn't lost a varsity doubles match since they started playing together.

"Our doubles is really strong," Brenner said. "They could still win in this tough conference."

Schreiber will welcome the new challenges of the county's top conference on Monday, April 12, with a match at home against Great Neck South starting at 4:15 p.m.

The higher level of competition doesn't faze a team used to winning, especially after last season's successful campaign.

In fact, Hubsher said he is looking forward to competing against the top players in the county each match.

"It's first division, so it is really hard," Hubsher said. "They are all nationally ranked. I play some of them in [national] tournaments."

Coming off last year, it's hard for the Vikings to feel intimidated by the likes of two-time Long Island defending champion Cold Spring Harbor. Instead, the team is mightily confident.

"Oh, we're going to win," Hubsher said. "That's it."