The spring season has wrapped up for all sports teams as playoffs have come to a close. The Classic spoke with representatives from the boys handball, baseball, tennis, and volleyball teams to learn more about their playoff runs, season challenges, and aspirations for future seasons.
Boys Varsity Baseball
The boys varsity baseball team went into playoffs with an undefeated regular season record of 14-0, ranking first in the 1A Queens North division. The team received a BYE in Round 0, and on May 21, the team lost to the Comprehensive Model School Project in Round 1 with a score of 5-9.
The team faced challenges including several injuries. Junior Gavin Lettieri said the injuries “impacted our ability on both sides of the ball.” He said, “Even with these setbacks, though, the team stayed focused on competing together.”
This positive sentiment was shared by boys varsity baseball coach Matthew Lemanczyk, who put an encouraging spin on these challenges and said they “allowed others to step up and others to get opportunities to play. I think them getting the opportunity to play and see what that’s like can really spark development, and that development will cause competition.” This development was aided by the support of volunteer assistant coaches Richard Rodriguez and Justin Obidienzo, who offered their time and effort throughout the season.
Adding on, Mr. Lemanczyk said that this “playoff run wasn’t exactly what we had envisioned, but knowing that we had a perfect regular season and that we have a lot of people coming back, it’s really exciting to think about the future and where we’re going to go… So, I try not to dwell too much on our short exit in the playoffs, but rather, I like to think about how we can build upon this moving forward.”
Boys Varsity Handball
The boys varsity handball team went into playoffs with an 8-2 record, tying for first in the Queens II division with Forest Hills High School. On May 7, the team competed against Sunset Park High School in Round 1 of the playoffs and were defeated with a close 3-2 score. Overall, the team has expressed optimistic opinions about this season and playoff run because of great team commitment.
Senior captain Israel Morales said, “I want this season to be remembered as the most successful one we have had in years. Yes, we didn’t make it far in the playoffs, but I have never seen so many players so committed to the sport. Even after practice ended, they still continued to play, and this is something that made me really proud.”
Despite the team’s positive attitude, junior Tristan Zheng said that “there were many injuries from other players that hindered minor performances on the team, [but] not by much… and there were intense moments where the score was 2-2, and immense pressure was on the final games to win it all.”
Looking ahead, the players believe that this playoff run will leave a lasting impact on the team.
Tristan said, “The biggest lesson I personally took away from this playoff run is that you can’t bury yourself after a loss. Use it as a way to keep dedicating yourself to do better and win the next games.”
Israel said, “I am extremely proud of what this team accomplished, and I know for certain that the future is bright.”
Boys Varsity Tennis
The boys varsity tennis team went into playoffs with a season record of 5-5, ranking fourth in the Queens 2A Division. On May 7, the team faced off against Brooklyn Technical High School in the first playoff round and lost 4-1. Despite this early exit from playoffs, the team expressed pride in its performance because of the season’s uncertain start.
Junior captain Harrison Zhu said that at the beginning of the season, he was “pretty worried about how the season would end up” because the team “only had four players returning.” However, “towards the last couple games of the season, [Harrison] was pretty proud of how far [the team] came” because despite being a rebuilding year, they succeeded in making it to the playoffs.
According to Harrison, qualifying for playoffs “shows just how much work [the team] put in,” and “the way everyone stepped up, especially some of our newer players, really made [him] rethink how much we could accomplish this season.”
Going from not knowing whether they would be able to fill the roster, and having a team mostly made up of new players, competing with “some of the best teams in the city” was an impressive feat. Reflecting on his first season, freshman Gavin Ha said, “The biggest lesson I learned was how a team can motivate each other and make such a lonely sport feel more fun.”
Boys Varsity Volleyball
The boys varsity volleyball team went into playoffs with a season record of 9-1 and placed second in the 1A Division, closely trailing Scholars Academy. On May 8, the team competed against Queens Technical High School in Round 2 of the playoffs, where they lost 2-0 with set scores 25-21 and 25-12.
Previously, on May 5, the team faced The Clinton School in the first playoff round and was victorious with a score of 2-0, winning both sets 25-19. The victory came in spite of injuries, as two starting players, juniors Neo Mun and Alessio Volpe, were sidelined with injuries and unable to compete. One of these players, junior captain and starting setter Neo Mun, said, “I got injured right before the playoffs and wasn’t able to support my team in the game; however, I was able to watch and give them support on the side. Seeing them play against a strong team and play well as a team even without many of the starting members was so memorable.”
Coach Christian Castillo said that he “[believes] that [injuries] were the major factor that affected our performance.” Freshman player Hunter Katz agreed and said that “setbacks would be our team’s injuries. Alessio and Neo were key parts of our team.”
Mr. Castillo said, “I want this past season to be a reminder that we are now a very strong team because we have seen it. We know as a team where we’re standing with regards to the skills.” He said he thinks that matching the team’s skills with a renewed sense of commitment will bring the team to the next level.
“I think that one of the biggest lessons that we have learned is that in order to meet our goal as a team, we all need to have the same mental commitment,” he said.
Above all, the team agreed that this playoff run was a “growing moment.”
“I want us to remember this season as just an unfortunate loss and to come back even stronger, knowing where we could’ve been better for the next season,” Neo said.
