As the spring sports season comes to a close, Townsend Harris High School’s teams have finished their regular seasons and moved on to the playoffs. The Classic spoke with representatives from the girls varsity badminton, flag football, and fencing teams to gain insight into the progress of each team.
Girls Varsity Badminton
The girls varsity badminton team concluded its regular season with a 8-2 record, ranking third in the Queens III Division. The team advanced to the playoffs, earning a 5-0 victory over James Madison in Round 1 and a 3-2 win against McKee/Staten Island Tech in Round 2. Last Monday, the team was defeated in the quarterfinal match by Brooklyn Technical in a close 2-3 game.
Players said that the most challenging match this season was against McKee/Staten Island Tech in the second round of the playoffs.
Senior Abby Chu said, “We were down 1-2 in a best of 5. It put a lot of pressure on our players and there was a lot of tension because we won against them in the finals in the previous season.”
“Everyone had to adapt and play our games the best that we possibly could,” junior Morgan Ma said. “Even if the situation that each of us were in was tough, we reset for the next point and fought for every shot given to us.”
In reflecting on the team’s overall performance this season, sophomore Jacey Jin said, “Our serves have gone better, we have more court awareness, and the chemistry of the team is just so much stronger.”
For Jacey, her favorite memory this season was team bonding. “We went to [sophomore player Sophia Ha’s] restaurant, Mr. Dak, it’s a very good chicken place. I feel like our chemistry… got stronger when we had team bonding, and it was just a very memorable part of the season.”
However, the team encountered challenges while facing tougher competition. According to Abby, “The most challenging part of playing badminton this year has been being able to keep our confidence up even when playing strong teams in the playoffs.”
Despite this, Morgan said the team has developed a “next point” mentality that has pushed players to grow beyond dwelling on a lost point and helped the team improve their technical skills to “play each shot with purpose.”
“I hope that by the end of the season…we’ve grown closer as a team together and have improved from the start and are ready to play again next season,” Abby said.
Girls Varsity Flag Football
The girls varsity flag football team finished its regular season with a 8-2 record, ranking second in the Queens 2A division. The team has advanced to the playoffs and will compete against George Washington in a Round 2 match this Tuesday.
Junior captain Keira Legaspi said, “Our biggest competition was expected to be Springfield, but in the regular season it would probably be Jamaica.”
Senior captain Nicole Saenz said, “[Jamaica is] currently undefeated. Last year when we played them, it was always a challenging game, and it really pushed us to play better than we usually do.”
Keira said players “have improved through deepening their understanding of the team. Lots of girls are new and have made great strides in this area.”
Freshman Surina Nandlal emphasized the team’s chemistry and positive mindset through “more team bonding and opportunities to connect with each other, and we always try to cheer each other on.”
Keira aims to keep the team adaptable in responding to unpredictable events. “I recently tore my quad and have been out for a lot of the season and so the team has had to improvise a lot since no one really plays my defensive or offensive position,” she said.
Coach Matthew Curiale highlighted Keira and Nicole for their leadership. He spotlighted sophomore Amelia Legaspi for her “standout season” and sophomore Hayley Mitrani for doing “an outstanding job leading the team” during Keira’s injury in the season’s first half.
“As a coach, one of the most rewarding parts of the season has been watching the girls learn the sport, gain confidence, and succeed on the field. Seeing their improvement, watching their eyes light up, and witnessing them develop a true passion for the game has been incredibly fulfilling,” said Mr. Curiale.
Girls Varsity Fencing
The girls varsity fencing team completed its regular season with a 8-2 record, tying for first in the Queens division with Francis Lewis High School. Today, the team competed in the City Championship, earning first place in epee and fourth overall.
Coach Diane Ramirez said that the team has “been rebuilding for a couple of years now,” and “added a lot of fencers” this year, including nine freshmen.
Ms. Ramirez said that while the addition of new members was initially difficult, the new players have “integrated well.”
Junior captain Sunny Chen spoke on the team’s performance at PSAL season openers, where “for epee, we had [players] place 2nd, 4th, and 7th, and for foil, we had someone place 5th,” she said.
Sunny described the April 27 match against Hunter College High School, with a score of 70-84, as the season’s most difficult game.
She said, “Despite losing overall, our epee team remains undefeated…after playing it safe with the harder fencers and working together to fence for every point with the easier fencers, our epee team ultimately won by 6 points.”
Freshman Sophia Faylayev said the team has made “various strategic improvements,” specifically “knowing when to play offensive or defensive during a close match [and] working together as a whole.”
Ms. Ramirez highlighted Sunny’s leadership and Sophia’s “fresh, aggressive instinct.” She described junior Madilyn Mercado as “instrumental in foil” and sophomore Catherine Hsu as a “lethal” player.
Junior Briana Inamagua said a memorable moment from this season was “nearly winning against Francis Lewis High School.” She said this was “great because they are an extremely talented school in fencing.”
The season was marked with successes and growth. After a 75-64 loss on April 15 against Francis Lewis High School, the Hawks faced them again later in the season, defeating them 76-73 on May 4. Ms. Ramirez said, “I don’t think we have done that since I took over coaching.”
Additional reporting by Misha Chatel and Anu Adeyemo
