Bayport-Blue Point boys tennis wins Long Island Division 2 title

Bayport-Blue Point stared at a 0-2 deficit against Wheatley and still finished with the Long Island Division 2 title, turning a shaky start into the defining victory of a breakthrough postseason.

The Phantoms had already changed the story before they ever stepped on the court for the regional final. Days earlier, they beat Port Jefferson 4-0 to capture the Suffolk County Small School championship, their first county boys tennis title after reaching the final five straight times and losing the previous four. That county breakthrough carried into the Long Island matchup, where coach John Selvaggio said the team was “battle tested.”

Wheatley struck first and struck hard. Saje Menon, the Nassau County singles champion, handed Bayport-Blue Point’s first singles player a 6-0, 6-0 loss, and Wheatley moved ahead 2-0. The turning point came at second doubles, where Dominic Linzie and Declan Schug steadied the Phantoms with a 6-4, 6-1 win. That court gave Bayport-Blue Point its first foothold and shifted the match from survival mode to a real comeback.

From there, Eric Swinkin pulled Bayport-Blue Point even closer with a 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory at second singles, setting up the deciding first-doubles match. Aidan Apicella and Nick Byman handled the final pressure, surviving a first-set deficit and then hanging on through a tense tiebreaker and final-set battle to clinch the Phantoms’ first Long Island boys tennis title. They did it against Wheatley’s Julian Ostrow and Chase Yoon, a pair that had not dropped a set all season before Bayport-Blue Point beat them for the deciding point.

The win gives Bayport-Blue Point High School a rare double breakthrough: first the county crown, then the Long Island championship in the same postseason. For a program that had spent years coming up short in county finals, the title run reflected more than talent. It showed a group that learned how to absorb an early setback, trust its depth and close under pressure, the kind of finish that can redefine a small-school program across Suffolk County and beyond.