Freshman sets the pace for Mattituck boys tennis team

When Mattituck High School boys tennis coach Cory Dolson selected Graham O’Connor as the team’s number one singles player prior to the season, no one was more stunned than the freshman.

“I was pretty surprised,” he said. What O’Connor has accomplished on the court hasn’t been surprising at all.

His solid play helped the Tuckers register a 6-1 win in a Suffolk County League IV match at Southold/ Greenport on a chilly Thursday afternoon.

O’Connor defeated Evan Czartosieski, 6-2, 6-1, to raise his season record to 5-4. That might not sound impressive — but remember that he is still only a freshman.

“Graham’s having a good year,” Dolson said. “First singles is a tough position to play. You get everybody’s number one guy. A lot of these teams’ number one guys are legit. He’s holding his own. He’s just got to try to keep stringing together wins and play hard. He’s got a very, very high ceiling for a ninth-grade player.”

Even though he is a freshman, the 5-foot-8, 125-pound O’Connor takes his role seriously.

“I totally felt responsibility for being first singles,” he said. “It’s not as much of a physical sport, so size isn’t as big of a factor. It’s not like I’m playing up in basketball or football.”

O’Connor took up the sport when he was 8 and began to focus his efforts three years later.

“I was playing on the weekends, just to stay busy, and then I went to the U.S. Open,” he said. “That really got me into it, seeing professionals in person. I was excited.”

A member of the varsity team since seventh grade, O’Connor was the second seed last year.

“He knows that he’s got a lot of work to do, but he’s a tennis kid,” Dolson said. “This is his sport. He’s not the top guy around yet, but I think that’s what he’s striving to do. He’s much better this year than he was last year. Every year, he improves tremendously.”

And there still is room for growth. “I’d like to improve my mindset when I’m down a set and staying with it,” O’Connor said. “Sometimes when I’m playing a kid that’s bigger and stronger than me, if I’m down a set, it’s hard for me to come back from that.”

As for his goals this season, he said he’s aiming to advance past the second round in the conference tournament and earn a top eight spot in the county on his way to a top four seed by the time he’s an upperclassman.

Senior Owen Searl, the Tuckers’ basketball standout and second-singles seed, wouldn’t be surprised if O’Connor makes it a reality.

“He’s going to be really excellent in the future,” he said. “He’s going to have a lot of success. He’s good competition, great for me to practice against. I think both of us can make each other better.”

Searl also had a strong day, downing Grady Brigham, 6-0, 6-1.

“What was working best for me today was my first serve,” he said. “That was giving my opponent some trouble. Once my first serve starts to feel good, that definitely brings confidence to the rest of my game. I hit the ball a little bit harder and just play a little freer.”

Dolson has liked what he has seen from Searl. “He really makes our lineup a lot stronger,” he said.

The coach also liked what he saw from the entire Tuckers squad (5-4, 1-4), who swept the three singles matches as No. 3 Jonas Schwartz defeated Jason Negron, 6-4, 6-2.

Mattituck also won three of the four doubles encounters. In the top slot, Peter Ixcotoyac-Krogulec and Ethan Sciotto defeated Jake Baxendale and Josh Uguna, 7-6, 7-5. Teo Apuzzo and James Junk beat Clint Cornell and Brandon Moran, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), in second doubles,and Landon Goldsmith and Franklyn Secaida downed Kyle Davis and Michael Layton in fourth doubles, 7-3, 7-5.

“The doubles teams played hard today,” Dolson said.“We were just going to keep moving around the doubles teams. We’re missing a few guys today. It’s close to vacation.”

The Settlers’ (2-5, 0-5) lone triumph came in the third doubles as John Moran and John Nuzzi defeated Mason Marengo and Brennan Daly, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.

“Anytime we win 6-1, it’s a good match for us,” said Dolson, who noted that several doubles matches could have gone either way. “There’s a lot of competitive tennis out there.”