Lady Lobsters Conclude a Memorable Season

The rain started to fall on the Flushing Meadows Tennis Courts, marking the finale of a dominant performance from the Lady Lobsters, Stuyvesant’s girls’ tennis team. After victories in both doubles matches and second singles, sophomore Kara Yip rallied to win the last match of the day, concluding a 4-1 victory over the fifth-seeded Forest Hills. The upset punched the Lady Lobsters’ ticket into the quarterfinals, where they were slated to play the undefeated Staten Island Tech Seagulls.

In a division with some of the best teams in the city, the Lady Lobsters put up a fight against every team, finishing with a record of 4-6. Along the way, they developed strong team chemistry. With three new members this season, a smaller team allowed for closer connections between players, which was evident from the support of each teammate on and off the court. “We were closer than ever. All of our long train rides to the Bronx were spent talking and laughing. Some of the best moments from the season were actually after games when we all went to get food together,” captain and first singles Alika Peker said. “After all our games near Columbia, we went to get boba and recreated our old TikToks and photos from when we did it the year before.”

Granted the 12th-seed and a bye in the playoffs, the Lady Lobsters faced the 13th-seeded Tottenville Pirates in the first round, who had just come off a 5-0 victory in the first round. As the Pirates played in a different division, the girls entered the match with nerves and uncertainty about the Tottenville team and their players, but ultimately, it did not affect the final result. In a swift victory, the Lady Lobsters won all five of five matches and enjoyed their third 5-0 win of the season.

The next round featured an even better team—the fifth-seeded Forest Hills Lady Rangers. It would also create one of the 12th-seeded Lady Lobsters’ best wins of the season, as they were able to pull off a huge upset in a 4-1 win. Sophomore Sabrina Xu, who amassed eight wins in the regular season, logged the first win against Forest Hills, which was followed by identical 10-4 victories from both doubles teams and an 8-6 victory from sophomore Kara Yip in her singles match. “Our favorite game from [the] season was probably our game against Forest Hills in Flushing Meadows Park,” said Peker, when asked about her favorite win from the season. With this win, the Lady Lobsters reached the quarterfinals, and were now matched up against the undefeated Staten Island Seagulls.

Defeating the fourth-seeded Seagulls would be no easy task, and the Lady Lobsters put up a strong fight against their statistically superior opponents. Despite their loss, the Lady Lobsters managed to win two matches, with a final score of 2-3. The match showcased many strong performances from the team that will likely carry onto the team’s next season. Second singles Xu had another impressive performance, winning her match without dropping a game in an 8-0 victory. Junior Tara Suri and freshman Sophie Shih, who collectively did not lose a match in their three playoff games, picked up the other win, defeating the Seagulls’ second doubles 8-2.

As the team prepares to say goodbye to both of their captains, seniors Alika Peker and Alexandra Tsarenkov, they are also looking ahead to next season. Though the exit in the quarterfinal in an extremely close match was devastating, the deep playoff run from the Lady Lobsters this season has shown everyone their capabilities as a team. “We expect the team to have another great season next year, and they can probably make it even farther in the playoffs,” said Peker, who was asked about the expectations for next year’s season. There is certainly no reason to believe that they won’t.