In 2025, Scarsdale’s Jack Reis took a year off from high school tennis. Now, he is a state champion.
“A state title means a lot to me,” Reis said. “Obviously, the (Section 1) tournament was really big, but to compete on the state level and play against some really good players and win this thing, it definitely means a lot to me.”
Two weeks after outlasting Briarcliff’s Charlie Martin in three sets to hoist the section trophy, Reis became a state champion with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Ross School’s Ignacio Pena Lopez in the state finals at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens on Sunday.
“It’s a really cool experience to win where they play the U.S. Open and in front of people who are supporting me from all different parts of the state,” Reis said.
While winning a state title is impressive enough as is, Reis did so having not played varsity tennis his junior year. Instead, he spent last season focusing on his academics and playing non-scholastic tournaments to boost his college recruitment.
However, even with an intriguing academic and athletic future ahead for Reis, he missed out on a year of representing his high school last year. That only added to his desire to win in his final season.
The byproduct: a commitment to continue playing collegiately at Amherst College in the fall.
“It definitely added to the excitement because I missed it last year,” Reis said. “I was really excited to play this year. I was really motivated, it hyped me up a lot more and I was feeling more determined in matches.”
Reis’ win on Sunday was much less dramatic than his marathon against Martin. It was decided in just two sets, and according to Reis, he did not have to deal with the constant leg cramping that plagued him in the section finals.
But that did not take away from the feeling at the end, once he had summited in New York State boys’ singles tennis.
“I was really happy,” Reis said. “The best feeling I felt was just being able to absorb the entire experience and really enjoy it.”
Other state tournament participants from Section 1
Reis was not the only Section 1 player to make the trip to Queens for the state tournament. By the end of the doubles bracket, Section 1 players occupied the No. 2, 4 and 5 spots.
New Rochelle’s Alex Suhanitski and Fynn Bowman placed fifth, just behind Scarsdale’s Lucas Yao and Dylan Pai.
The Section 1 doubles champions — Clarkstown South’s Pratik Nayak and Christopher Cho — finished as the state runner-ups. They fell in the state championship match to Ben Wiese and C.J. Bravo of Garden City, 6-3, 6-4.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Scarsdale’s Jack Reis revels in NYS boys tennis singles title win
