The captains of the baseball team hard at practice. Photo by Dimitri Theofanis

The snow is melting and the birds are chirping, which can only mean one thing for Townsend Harris: another successful sports season is on its way.

Despite the loss of some key seniors from last year, the Boys Varsity Baseball team is full of hope.

Senior captain TJ Ritter said, “I’m excited for this upcoming season because we have a lot of young talent and I think they can contribute to the team to help us win. With hard work we can make the playoffs.”

Fellow senior captain Elijah Dominguez said, “I believe we as a squad shall prevail due to great leadership qualities in many of our captains. We hope to get more wins this season, developing skills and team chemistry along the way.”

Senior captain Ameer Kazmi said, “It was hard to lose the seniors because we’ve been with them for so long, but we have a great team this season and hopes are high for being successful. We’re practicing differently and we’re changing things up to improve the way we’re playing and everyone seems more dedicated this season.”

Girls Varsity Softball is also getting ready to step on the field. “I’m hoping for a successful season with a winning record. We lost vital members of the team last year so hopefully the freshmen can help, and we’re excited to see what they have to offer us this year,” said senior captain Damaris Sierra.

The Boys Varsity Volleyball team is also gearing up for the upcoming season. Senior captain Alex Boychuk said, “I’m excited to start this season. Even though we lost the core of our team last year, we can still make some noise.”

Senior Terell Drayton said, “Personally I want to be in the top ten blocks and kills list of the league. I have high hopes for this team because the returning players have a sense of confidence that they didn’t last year.”

The Boys Varsity Tennis team is coming off the loss of a few key players, who helped the team achieve their best record in the past few years. However, senior captain Andrew Eichenholz thinks they can achieve that goal once more. “Even after losing our captains and key members of our team, new and returning players will be able to help us to another strong season.”

Girls Varsity Tennis is hoping for the best in their upcoming season. Senior captain Alison Mann said, “I’m really excited to be captain this year. Our returning girls are really great players and very committed to the team. We also have a few promising underclassmen that are trying out, so I’m excited to see what they bring to the team this year. The past 3 years have been tough because we faced really talented players from schools like Cardozo and Francis Lewis, but there are a couple of new schools in the division so we’re excited to see how they play.”

Fellow senior captain Bashe Miller said, “I feel that the tennis team this year is faced with a challenge. We lost our senior captain, who played an integral part both on and off the court. Of course we must find someone who can fill her position as second singles but I’m hopeful that the incoming underclassman will be capable of doing so. Otherwise I feel that the team will be successful with much practice during the beginnings of the cold brisk spring season.”

Senior captain Isaac Pulatov is expecting another successful track season, coming off the record-breaking fall and winter seasons. “We have a strong pool of talent and if we commit ourselves to this season, I have no doubt we will medal in Queens.”