Sports

After missing the playoffs last year with a 4-6 record, the Stuyvesant boys’ varsity tennis team, the Ponstars, started off the 2008 season with two consecutive victories. Now with a 4-4 record, the Ponstars sit in fourth place in the Bronx/Manhattan A Division, behind the Blue Devils of Beacon High School (6-0), the Wolverines of the Bronx High School of Science (5-2) and the Hawks of Hunter College High School (6-1).

In their first game of the season on Wednesday, March 26, the Ponstars beat the Senators of the High School of American Studies at Lehman College (1-3) with a score of 5-0. The next game against Eleanor Roosevelt High School on Friday, March 28, was much closer. After losing their first and second singles matches, they rallied back to win the third and final singles match and both doubles matches against Eleanor Roosevelt High School.

Nonetheless, these two victories, in which the Ponstars defeated the division’s weaker teams, were not seen as much of a challenge. “Our main competition is Beacon, Hunter and Bronx Science,” senior and first doubles player Chaitanya Medicherla said. The Ponstars lost 3-2 to the Hawks on Friday, April 4 and 5-0 to the Blue Devils on both Wednesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 10. Stuyvesant was dominated particularly in the latter match. Although it was missing its three top singles players—Sam Alperin, Norman Yu and Jason Su—it did not manage to win more than four games in any match.

In addition to strong teams like Beacon, the Ponstars have also been forced to face the challenge of rainy weather. So far, the Ponstars have been rained out of three matches. In two of these rained out games, the Ponstars were supposed to play Bronx Science.

While the weather has impeded on the Ponstars’ game time, the lack of space has prevented them from practicing sufficiently. “It’s kind of decreased our chances of practicing,” senior, co-captain and second singles player Sam Alperin said. According to Medicherla, the team used to practice every other day before the season started. Now, often faced with three to four matches per week, the Ponstars have held only one practice since the start of the season. “It’s not just the weather that is keeping us from practicing, but also the lack of courts,” Alperin said. The Ponstars practice at the court located right beside the Tribeca Bridge. But with one court and 21 members on the team, it is difficult to get a lot of practice in.

The fast start has the Ponstars thinking about the playoffs, which they have not made since 2005. In order to make the playoffs this year, the Ponstars must finish with an even record of 6-6. “I have faith in the team and hopefully we’ll go all the way this year,” Medicherla said.