Sports

The Dragons, the boys’ varsity handball team, have begun their season this year with the hopes of bouncing back strong from a stunning defeat they endured in last season’s playoffs. In a season in which the team had expected to win the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) championships, Stuyvesant lost in an upset to Bronx High School of Science in the second round of the 2007 PSAL handball playoffs, in which the Dragons were eliminated from further playoff contention. “This year, we’re much better, in terms of our talent level,” history teacher and coach Robert Sandler said.

So far, the Dragons have been taking advantage of their weak Manhattan Division II, as evident in their current undefeated record of 8-0 within league play.

Senior and co-captain Michael Wu, who has been a member of the team since his freshman year, is currently second in the Public Schools Athletics League (PSAL) with 76 aces in only six games. According to Sandler, Wu is “the heart and soul of the team.” Another senior, Pengyuan Qiao is ninth in the city with 48 aces in five games. These two veterans have been playing the positions of first and second singles, respectively.

“It’s hard to [stay in shape with a weak division]. Sometimes I wish the PSAL would have divisions like they do at colleges, but we have scrimmages. We scrimmaged against Brooklyn Tech and I sometimes have players who are better and players who are older come play with us at Central Park,” Sandler said. Sandler occasionally even gets involved himself, and practices with the players—working on drills.

Recently, senior Alex Tam and senior and co-captain Nelson Chiu, who play first doubles on the team, won first place at the third Annual Handball Invitational Tournament this season, in the doubles division. “We definitely proved that we’re there this year,” Chiu said.

Although last year’s early exit from the playoffs was disappointing, the team has learned from that experience. “It’s been a year so a lot of us have been more mentally prepared [for the playoffs],” Wu said. Though Sandler cited the problem of new players who do not consistently attend practice, many of the senior Dragons still hold very high expectations for the playoffs. The graduating class of 2008 has had very successful careers at Stuyvesant, helping the team to a 33-game regular season winning streak and an overall record of 41-1 dating back to the 2005 season.

“We’re probably the team to beat this year,” Wu said.

Sandler agrees. “I expect us to win the whole city this year,” he said.