Sports

After losing in the final round of the playoffs last year, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity tennis team, the Lobsters, is looking to go one step further.

They started off on the right foot, winning their first match of the season. The game was held at the FDR-Houston Street Courts against the Bronx Science Wolverines on Thursday, March 18. The Lobsters won by a score of four matches to one. In last year’s Division A standings, the Wolverines had a 7-3 regular season record, placing them in second. Stuyvesant’s Lobsters came in first place, with a 10-0 regular season.

“I think our first match went pretty well considering Bronx Science is one of the better teams in the division,” senior and captain Jane Lin said. Lin and her partner, junior Christine Yeoun, won the second doubles match by a tight score of 11 games to nine. “Our expectations for this year is, of course, to win the city championships,” Lin said.

Based on their past performance, that goal seems within reach. Stuyvesant, which currently has a 2-0 record, has reached the final round of the playoffs in each of the past two years. Last year, they lost to Midwood High School, attaining second place citywide. However, Lin said that Benjamin Cardozo High School should be their biggest threat this year. The Lobsters lost to Cardozo in the 2006 finals, but beat them in last year’s semifinals.

The Lobsters practice several days a week either at the FDR-Houston Street Courts, Pier 40, or the Chamber Street court. There are four new players on the team this year, including three freshmen: Jasmine Wong, Emily Quint Hoover and Diana Hou. None of the rookies are starters, but sophomore and rookie Elizabeth Soukup has been positioned as the second substitute.

On Tuesday, March 25, Stuyvesant defeated the Racketeers of Lab/Museum United High School by a score of five matches to none. Junior Veranika Li (1st singles) and sophomore Bessie Rentzler (3rd singles) each won their matches 10-0. “[My oppo got better as the match went on,” Rentzler said, “but it wasn’t that tough.”

Despite their success in the first two matches, the team is still warming up and adjusting to the new season. “Some of us are still rusty on our doubles techniques since it’s the beginning of the season and we all have new partners,” Lin said. “So we’re going to have to learn to communicate and find our strengths and weaknesses to play to our max potential.”

Still, some players do not think their maximum potential will be too hard to achieve. “Last year, we didn’t have any problems,” Rentzler said. “I don’t anticipate anything changing.”