Ross School’s Alejandro Perez Trapero wins Suffolk boys tennis title

Alejandro Perez Trapero turned his first run through section play into a Suffolk boys tennis title, beating Ross teammate Ignacio Pena Lopez 6-3, 6-2 and giving Ross School a county champion in a draw that ended with both finalists wearing the same colors.

The final was played Tuesday at Smithtown East High School in Saint James, and Perez Trapero’s win carried extra weight because it came in his debut at the section tournament. Suffolk’s other state qualifier from the individual tournament was Sachem’s Leo Villacreses, who beat William Floyd’s Vidal Macchia 6-4, 6-1 for third place.

For Ross, the result was more than a single trophy. It showed a program that can develop two players strong enough to meet in a county final, which is the kind of internal depth that usually signals a healthy pipeline. That matters at a school with campuses in East Hampton and Bridgehampton and a tennis identity built around blending academics with high-level athletics.

The infrastructure behind that success is hard to miss. Ross says its East Hampton tennis center has six Har-Tru courts enclosed by a bubble from mid-fall through mid-spring, with year-round training programs and access for the public. In a place where outdoor tennis can be at the mercy of the season, that kind of setup gives players a real edge when the matches turn serious.

Perez Trapero’s title also fits into a larger run for the program. Ross repeated as Suffolk County Small School champions in 2025, beating Bayport-Blue Point 4-3 for its third straight county title, with Pena Lopez winning first singles in that match. This spring, the two Ross players were back on the same stage, only this time they ended up across the net from each other in the final.

That is the part local tennis people will remember. Ross did not just produce one county champion in Saint James. It produced both finalists, then sent Perez Trapero on to the next level with the kind of result that gives younger Hamptons players a clear model: if you can train year-round, handle section pressure and survive your own lineup, top-level county tennis is within reach.