Lady Lobsters Show Strength in Early Season Loss

Junior Alyssa Pustilnik sets up to serve in her first match of the 2018 tennis season. The ball is live, and a rally ensues between her and the second singles player from Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Pustilnik, seeing an empty side of the court, puts the ball down the line to win the point.

Nonetheless, Pustilnik ends up losing her match at a close score of 7 games to 9, mirroring the results of the meet itself for the Lady Lobsters, Stuyvesant’s girls’ tennis team, who narrowly fell to Eleanor Roosevelt High School on September 7, 2 matches to 3.

Though this narrow loss was disheartening for the Lady Lobsters, the final result was impressive, given the team was missing their top singles player. Senior and co-captain Celina Liu, who was unable to play due to issues with her medical forms, has been instrumental to the team’s success for the past three years. “The lineup members played really well despite the stress of not having our first singles player,” senior and co-captain Lily Yan said.

Pustilnik was forced to play first singles, a position she has not yet been in during her years on the Lady Lobsters, and freshman Ellie Yu stepped up as a sub to play third singles. Though both lost their matches, they were able to hold their own against higher-ranked opponents, which shows great promise for the rest of the season and the future of the Lady Lobsters.

“Our players are all really consistent and talented already. Everyone on the team seems to have more spirit now [than in] past years,” Yan said. Sophomore Talia Kahan was also promoted to second singles in Liu’s absence and won her match convincingly with a score of 8-4. Her victory was another bright spot in a tough loss to Eleanor Roosevelt High School.

The team is showing more synergy than in past years, with substitutes playing an important role on the team both on and off the court. During practice, the substitutes prepare as hard as the starting players so that in situations like the first game, they are able to step up in their place. And when they aren’t able to play during meets, the substitutes can be seen cheering on and coaching their fellow team members for every match.

However, even though the overall morale and cohesion of the team has stayed high, there is a different issue that the team hopes to address. While the team has strong physical talent, much of tennis is reliant on mental strength and discipline. “Some of our lineup members, myself included, tend to get nervous or frustrated too easily during a game,” Yan said. In all sports, and especially tennis, mental state can have a huge effect on how one plays, regardless of their physical talent. In order to maximize the team’s chances of going far, the captains and coach will need to address this issue.

With Liu’s return approaching, the Lady Lobsters hope to bounce back from their tight loss and remain a close-knit and victorious team.