Huntington Freshman Now County Champ

Photo/Darin Reed
Blue Devil freshman Jack Flores is readying to play in the states next weekend.

By Jano Tantongco
jtantongco@longislandergroup.com

After Huntington High School freshman Jack Flores lost to Jackson Weisbrot of Half Hollow Hills West in the divisional finals last week he was eager to get back on the court.

Seeded second, he suited up Tuesday at William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach for the county’s individual championships. Again facing Weisbrot in the finals, this time Flores emerged with the win and earned himself a county championship.

Flores downed the Colt in a back and forth three-set match.

He’s earned himself a ticket to the New York State Intersectional Tournament at the National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadow Park in Queens, which is slated for June 1-3.

Coach Jamie Fishlow said the Blue Devil “played to his potential,” and then some.

“His consistently outlasted Jackson. He was really focused. He knew what he had to do. The game plan worked, and he won,” Fishlow said.

In the first set, Fishlow described, Flores and Weisbrot went toe-to-toe, with neither player winning their serves, but eventually Flores held it down to win the set 6-4.

“He tried to work the ball down the middle, deep… to cut back on Jackson’s ability to hit sharp angles. By playing more consistently, he was able to put balls away and keep the pressure on him and have less pressure on himself,” Fishlow, Flores’ coach since seventh grade, said.

But, in the next set, Weisbrot brought back the momentum in his favor to balance out the match with a 6-2 win.

In the third set, the players started close, but Flores soon pulled away to outpace senior Weisbrot, winning 6-3.

“I never really felt that I had him locked,” Flores stated. “I focused on one point at a time as I learned to always respect my opponents and not let my guard down. I also continued to believe in myself.”

With a 20-4 record this year, it’ll be Flores’ first time in the state championship.

“I came in with a new strategy and stuck to it,” Flores stated. “I also never gave up and fought for every point knowing it was going to be a challenge.”