The yelling from one court over started, and Will Bohner was momentarily confused.
His teammate on the Friends Academy tennis squad, Bryan Bin, was screaming at himself and for himself, exhorting his body to come back after an early deficit in his No. 2 singles match against The Ross School at the Long Island Championship.
“He was as loud as he’s ever been, which was weird for me because he doesn’t usually do that,” Bohner, the senior No.1 singles player, recalled. “But it was working for him, so I started doing it.”
Soon, Bohner and Bin were pumping themselves up and helping each other through a match in which both started off by losing the opening set.
All that shouting worked wonders, as it led Friends to a comeback 3-0 win and its third straight Long Island small schools championship on May 30.
In four of the five matches, the Quakers trailed after the first set, but they came back to win and advance to the small schools state tournament semifinals, to be held June 13 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens.
“I was not surprised we won, but it was hard this season,” said Friends coach Owen Kassmir. “We lost three key players from last year, so we were working in some new pieces, and the kids worked hard and got better all year.”
For the Quakers (7-7 record), the veteran leadership at the top of the lineup was key.
Bohner, a semifinalist at the Nassau County individual tournament this spring, has a steady game that enables him to compete with any of the area’s top players.
He admitted he wasn’t sure this edition of the team was as strong as past years.
“This year just felt a lot different, with an inexperienced team and a lot of guys playing brand new positions,” Bohner said. “But as the matches went along and I saw guys step up bigtime, I thought, maybe we are as good as the last few years.”
In addition to Bohner and Bin playing at the top of the lineup, the Quakers have gotten contributions from doubles players like Hudson Lee (8th grader), Steven Seviroli (freshman) and senior captain Henry Koelmel.
“We just have a good mix of talent and chemistry,” Koelmel said. “We have mixed up the lineup a lot this year with different doubles teams, and everybody has been able to contribute.”
Friends, which defeated Wheatley 3-2 to win the Nassau championship, had a strong regular season. The team’s players said they gained confidence from wins over Port Washington and Manhasset, stronger, bigger programs who have traditionally beaten them, as well as coming so close to a state title the past two seasons.
In both 2023 and 2024, the Quakers reached the state championship match only to lose to Bronxville Academy.
“Coming in second is great, but it’s annoying to come in second, twice in a row,” Koelmel said.
“We’re going to win it this time,” Kassmir said. “We’re hungry and confident.”
