Peglegs Seize Close Victory Over Rivals Laguardia, Seek to Dominate in the Playoffs

Senior and co-captain Ava Liu prepared to serve for the match-winning point in her second singles game against LaGuardia’s Jenny Chen at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School gym. Liu won the point after a short rally, resulting in a key 21-14 victory for Stuyvesant's girls’ handball team, the Peglegs, and eventually a 3-2 victory overall.

The Peglegs are in the midst of another successful season within league play. So far, they’ve racked up a record of 7-0, winning most games by a large margin. Four of those victories were 5-0 shutouts, and two of the remaining three were 4-1 wins. In the past few seasons, the Peglegs have topped their Manhattan League by either going undefeated or dropping one game to LaGuardia. This year’s success against weaker competition, coupled with an early season victory against LaGuardia, is a good sign for the Peglegs’ playoff prospects.

The team’s roster turnover was thought to be an issue, as all starters graduated except for current senior and co-captain Ariel Huang. Instead, the new upperclassmen have stepped up to the challenge, and seniors are currently first, second, and third singles, as well as both first doubles positions.

This year, the Peglegs are placing more emphasis on practice as well as scrimmages. “Our goal this year is to make it to the quarterfinals in playoffs, which is our highest record [from] the past years. We hope to achieve our goal by holding more outdoor practices, as we share the indoor handball court in Stuy with the boys’ [handball] team, and we don't always get to practice. We also plan to have our first unofficial scrimmages with the Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech girls' handball teams in the upcoming weeks,” Liu said. Hopefully, more practices and unofficial scrimmages against teams like Brooklyn Technical High School, who have gone deep into the playoffs, will allow the Peglegs to develop their rotation and prepare for the playoffs.

The real test for the Peglegs will come in their postseason, as they have been unable to break into the semifinals for the past two years, being eliminated in the quarterfinals both times. Unlike the Manhattan League, both the Queens and Brooklyn divisions have many competitive teams which have given the Peglegs trouble in the past. “We don't really face much competition in our division, and it hurts us when we move on to the playoffs where we face higher levels of play,” coach Eric Wisotsky said. Last year in the quarterfinals, for example, the team lost 4-1 to Queens III League’s Benjamin N. Cardozo High School.

With the division again shaping up to be a two-team race between Stuyvesant and LaGuardia, the Peglegs can spend the time practicing and gearing up for the playoffs. With a senior-heavy starting lineup, the Peglegs are looking to use their experience to keep up their regular season success and push deep into the playoffs once again.