Port Washington's girls tennis team is the Nassau County champion for the first time in four years. The Vikings beat top-seeded Syosset 4-3 in this week's county final, the Port Washington school district announced, and they are not done: the team plays for the Long Island championship this Saturday, October 24, at noon at Shoreham-Wading River High School.

A 4-3 final against the county's top seed

The one-point margin in the final matched the path the Vikings took to get there. In the semifinal, Port Washington edged Roslyn by the same 4-3 score to earn its place in the championship match against Syosset, the tournament's top seed.

The opponent puts the win in context. Going into this season, Syosset had won four of the previous five Nassau County team championships, a run that included three straight Long Island titles and, last fall, the program's first New York State large schools championship. This week the Vikings, coached by Shane Helfner, took the county crown from that program by a single point.

Seventh county title in program history

The championship is the seventh in the history of Port Washington girls tennis. The program's previous county titles came in 2007, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2019 and 2022.

The run of titles spans two decades of tennis at Paul D. Schreiber High School, and the 2019 team went the furthest, adding the Long Island championship in Commack that November.

The Long Island championship is Saturday

Next up is the match that decides the best large-school team on Long Island. Port Washington faces the Suffolk County champion, the winner of the bracket between William Floyd and Commack, on Saturday, October 24, at 12 p.m. at Shoreham-Wading River High School.

The Long Island final is open to spectators, and for Port Washington families who cannot make the trip east, the district posts results on its website and social channels. A win Saturday would give the program its first Long Island championship since 2019.

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