GUILDERLAND — Guilderland and Shenendehowa held a show-down for the Suburban Council tennis crown last Thursday with the fight going on to the very last match.

Guilderland edged Shen, 5-4, with a win in the third doubles match to claim the victory and the Suburban Council title.

"We trailed, 4-3, and our second doubles team was down a set," said Guilderland Coach Curtis Snyder. "They fought through it and they then won to tie it at 4-4."

The match came down to the third doubles match. The Guilderland team trailed by a set in the match but also came back to pull out the victory and give the Dutch the match.

"My guys battled it out," Snyder said. "We went home happy. It was thrilling. We knew it was going to be close and it was. It was nice to end the Suburban Council season that way."

"Loaded with talent"
The Dutch have a tough combination at the top of their line-up.

Alex Kolomiets has been the number-one player for most of the season and is unbeaten in league matches this season.

Kevin Gioia is the number-two player and Joe Shawky plays in the number-three slot.

Eric Greenstein fills the fourth position, while Pat Ryan is number five and Mike Griggs is sixth.

Matt Goland-Van Ryn and Jon Ellenbogen are the number-one doubles team.

Chad Caplan and Josh Weisz are the number-two doubles combination and Dan Bakst and Joey Millstein round out the Dutchmen line-up.

"This is who we played our league matches with," Snyder said. "We’re sticking with it unless unforeseen injuries occur. We have exhibition players that could be in the line-up for almost any team in the Suburban Council. This team is loaded with talent."
Even with all the talent on the team, Snyder said that there is a good chemistry between the players.

"They are fun to coach," he said. "The thing is that Guilderland is so good in tennis we can’t take it easy. Our practices are competitive. Our top three compete well, but every now and then our middle guys will lose. But there is no weak point in this team."

Kolomiets will compete in the Section II individual tournament and Gioia and Shawky will form a team to try and repeat as state qualifiers in the tournament.

"Their goal is to get back to states," Snyder said. "Alex hasn’t lost in the league and Kevin hasn’t lost in the league yet. It’s nice to know they are going to win matches."

"Climactic"
Guilderland dominated many of its league matches, so the final match with Shenendehowa was its toughest draw.

"It added a little bit to the season," Snyder said. "We knew we’d be rivals and it would come down to our match at the end of the season. It made it much more climactic."

Guilderland wrapped up the season with a non-league win over Queensbury on Tuesday.

But, the Guilderland players have been focusing on Shen for the entire season, and even longer.

"Ever since we lost the sectional final to them last year, we’ve been wanting to get back at them," Snyder said. "Our guys have been playing year round — during the fall and winter — and they were doing it to win the Suburban.

"I’ve been saying all year to the guys that talk is cheap," he added. "But, to their credit, they did it. They worked hard and they wanted this."

The Dutchmen learned of their sectional seeding on Wednesday night. They will probably be the top seed in the Class A tournament and will receive a first-round bye, Snyder said. All roads are leading to a rematch with Shen.

"We fulfilled one of our goals of the season," Snyder said. "It took us all our matches; the competition is so good. We’re pleased with that, but now we want a little more."