Birdies Continue Old Habits and Open Season With Blowout Win

The Birdies, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity golf team, asserted their dominance in their season opener with a 4-0 win over Fort Hamilton High School on September 14. All five of the team’s starting players delivered a strong performance, resulting in an overall 19 hole win over Fort Hamilton.

Juniors Aeryn Lubelsky, Sara Mui, and Charlotte Yee as well as freshman Lea Kwok all won at a margin of four or five holes. The fifth match proved to be a nail-biter as senior Jessica Chaewon Park held her ground and came out with a tie, preventing Fort Hamilton from winning even a single match.

This type of strong play is a familiar sight from last year, when the Birdies went undefeated with a 9-0 record in the regular season, four wins ahead of second-seeded James Madison High School. In fact, Stuyvesant has been first seed for the past four years in the Brooklyn A division.

Last year’s playoffs started on a high note with a win against Staten Island Technical High School’s team in the quarterfinals, who had knocked the Birdies out of the playoffs the previous year. However, the Birdies’ winning streak came to an end as they lost to Tottenville in the following round.

This year, the Birdies’ early season success is due to their unique and effective practice schedule. Training started well before the school year with multiple practices over the summer. “We have rigorous practices where we usually hit around 150 balls each time with practice swings, but [Mr. Emilio] Nieves is a great coach and motivates us to play better,” junior Kristie Chu said. “[Practices consisted of a] small group or one-on-one [sessions] with Mr. Nieves, which is really different from most teams because they are much bigger.” The individualized attention toward each athlete’s game has made it easier for the girls to work on building their own techniques.

The Birdies’ first game was an encouraging sign of their potential to repeat their success from last year. Though the team looks significantly different this season due to the loss of last year’s seniors, the team has faith in its current starters and newcomers.

“We are focusing on mentoring the new members because we experienced a lot of turnover this year,” Yee said.

“[We have many] promising new additions to the team,” Nieves said. “[We will be a] good enough team to make the playoffs.” He believes hard work and dedication will improve the performances of his athletes.

It is also clear that Nieves and his players have mutual respect and trust for one another. “I’ve made lots of friendships from being on the team,” Mui said. Being able to trust your players and teammates in this way will help the Birdies stay on par this season.