Spring Sports Preview: Scarsdale Tennis

Last year Jake Gorobetz and David Goldberg were two of the Scarsdale High School tennis team's better singles players. But as the Section 1 tournament approached, qualifying for the state competition seemed unlikely.

Just before the Section 1 tournament began, Gorobetz and Goldberg decided they had a better chance of making it to the state finals if they joined up to form a doubles team. After being the third and final qualifying team from the section, Gorobetz and Goldberg traveled to the United States Tennis Association's National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows and the duo ended up placing third in the state.

"They were an unknown team, and they're good tennis players," Scarsdale coach Jennifer Roane said. "A week before the sectional tournament they decided to team up. Teams that played doubles all year didn't get as far as them."

Heading into this season the two players plan on competing in singles, but with all the talent in the section, it is unclear how they will finish the season.

Along with Gorobetz and Goldberg, the Raiders will be relying on team captain Preston Poon and senior Justin Reindel to win a bulk of the team's matches. Reindel took last year off to concentrate on his academics and his USTA tournaments.

Last year Scarsdale finished third in the power league, behind Byram Hills and Horace Greeley. But this season, due to the current economic situation, the leagues have been realigned based on geography. Scarsdale will now have to compete against unfamiliar opponents – Hastings, Mamaroneck, Pelham and Bronxville.

"Normally we have a power league and there's some really good tennis that's played," Roane said. "These different divisions don't make any sense. Hopefully there'll still be competitive matches, but it doesn't make any sense if you're beat 6-0, 6-0 and have the bus ride be longer than the meet. I want to see a competitive season."

Regardless of the other teams in its league, Scarsdale promises to have plenty of competition. Along with a number of the Raiders playing in USTA tournaments throughout the year, Roane has set up matches with some of the top teams in the area – Sleepy Hollow, Horace Greeley, Greenwich County Day, Byram Hills and Horace Mann.

Roane's goal for her players is that they not only win, but improve as the season goes along. It will be tough to beat Scarsdale in the league, but once the sectional tournament arrives, the Raiders hope to be sending some players back down to Flushing Meadows.

"A bunch of my kids have lessons after school or play in the USTA; they play some type of tennis," Roane said. "Of course you want to win, but you want to practice and improve your skills, hopefully we can do that this year. We should be a strong team."