Plenty of Long Island talent advances to state boys tennis quarterfinals
Leonardo Villacreses of Sachem North in action during the state high school boys tennis championships on Friday, June 5, 2026, in Queens. Credit: Anna Sergeeva
Even on the biggest stage, Long Island is tough to beat.
In both singles and doubles, the Island’s boys tennis state qualifiers put up strong performances in the first two rounds of the individual state championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing on Friday.
Sachem’s eighth-seeded Leonardo Villacreses began the region’s hot streak with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Michael Hanlon of Bethlehem Central. In the heat, Villacreses said his biggest focuses during the tournament were staying adaptable and consistent.
“I’m serving and adapting to the hit pretty well, which I want to keep doing,” Villacreses said. “My forehands were good and now I’m just trying to work on my backhand and stay consistent.”
Villacreses later took down Amherst Central’s Aiden Belle-Isle, 6-2, 6-0, in the round of 16 and advanced to the quarterfinals beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Second-seeded Saje Vijay Menon, of Wheatley, earned a swift win over Beekmantown’s Dylan Brown, 6-0, 6-0, before defeating Ketcham's Arjun Morali, 6-4, 6-2. Menon said the winning is certainly fun, but it feels even better with people to share it with.
What he’s most looking forward to on Saturday? An even better environment.
“First off, just playing at the US Open [facility] is crazy,” Menon said. “I come here every year to watch the pros play, so this is an amazing experience. And it’s great playing for Wheatley. All my boys back home are rooting for me and they’re all in school today, but it'll be great to have more people come out and support me tomorrow.”
All six of Long Island's singles qualifiers and doubles pairs advanced out of the first round, including an unexpected addition. Floyd’s Vidal Macchia did not originally qualify for the state tournament, but was awarded a spot when Ross School sophomore Alejandro Trapero Perez was deemed ineligible due to a violation of the foreign exchange direct placement rule, which Ross self-reported.
It was an opportunity Macchia knew he couldn’t waste.
“I’ve been coming to watch this tournament since sixth grade,” Macchia said. “It’s really amazing to experience. It’s an honor to be here now and actually play in it.”
Saje Vijay Menon of Wheatley during the state high school boys tennis championships on Friday, June 5, 2026, in Queens. Credit: Anna Sergeeva
Macchia won his first round matchup, 6-1, 6-1, over Cornwall’s Christopher Drake and later upset No. 7 Nicholas Chin of Jericho, 6-4, 6-1, in the round of 16.
Alongside Villacreses, Menon and Macchia, No. 3 William Bohner (Friends Academy) and No. 6 Ignacio Pena Lopez (Ross School) advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Highlighting the doubles slate was Syosset’s third-seeded pair of Aayan Mehta and Nikhil Shah alongside the brothers team of sixth-seeded Jacob and Grayson Prince.
Both pairs swept their opponents, 6-0, 6-0, in the first round. Mehta and Shah defeated Fayetteville-Manlius’s Joshua Zhai and Ian Sul, while the Prince brothers took down Knox Venator and Pratik Sharma of Williamsville.
“I think we did a really good job changing it up and trying new things,” Jacob Prince said. “We kept them on their feet with different formations and different strategies all throughout the game.”
Vidal Macchia of Floyd during the state high school boys tennis championships on Friday, June 5, 2026, in Queens. Credit: Anna Sergeeva
“We played strong and aggressive the whole time and didn’t let anything come to chance,” Grayson Prince added. “We can always clean up our game and be more consistent, but we played and won on our own terms.”
The Princes later defeated Ishaanth and Sreeyanth Reddy Guduru of Smithtown West, 6-1, 6-0, in the round of 16. Mehta and Shah took down Victor Januario and Denis McAteer of Warwick Valley, 6-3, 6-1.
No. 2 Garden City pair Ben Wiese and CJ Bravo and No. 7 Shoreham-Wading River brothers Ray and Kai Hidaka also advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday's high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
