Port Washington has a state tennis champion for the first time. The Schreiber High School girls varsity tennis team beat Horace Greeley of Chappaqua 5-2 in the New York State final, and the Port Washington Union Free School District says it is the first tennis team in the town's history to win a state championship.

The title closes a fall in which the Vikings, coached by Shane Helfner, won every level of postseason play available to them: the Nassau County final, the Long Island championship and then the state tournament.

How the run unfolded

The district reported in late October that the team had won the 2026 Nassau County final, which sent Port Washington into the Long Island championship against the Suffolk champion. There the Vikings swept Commack 7-0, according to the district's account of that match.

That Long Island crown was the program's sixth. The previous five came in 2007, 2008, 2017, 2019 and 2022, which makes the 2026 team the fourth Port Washington group in a decade to win the island and the first to finish the job at the state level.

The state rounds started on November 3, when Port Washington met Scarsdale in the quarterfinals at Harrison High School. From there the team advanced to the final, where the 5-2 result over Horace Greeley settled it.

How a high school team match is scored

For readers who know tennis from the pros rather than from the high school fence line, a team match in New York is seven separate matches played at once: singles and doubles flights, each worth one point. Four points wins. A 5-2 final means Port Washington's lineup took five of the seven flights against Greeley, and a 7-0 sweep in the Long Island final means Commack did not win a single flight. Depth across the whole lineup, not one star player, is what wins matches scored that way.

A big season for Port Washington sports

The tennis title landed the same week the district posted another championship: the combined Port Washington and Roslyn girls swimming and diving team won the 2026 Nassau County championship. For the town's fall athletes, it has been a season of banners.

Where to follow along

The district posts athletic results and celebrations on its news page. Schreiber High School is at 101 Campus Drive in Port Washington. The district's news page is also where any public recognition of the team will be announced.

Sources