Scarsdale Girls Varsity A Tennis Team Sets the Bar High

Natalie Hu, Giana Marks and Maya CukiermanIt doesn’t get much better than winning the state tennis championship at the USTA Tennis Center. That’s what the Scarsdale Girls Varsity Tennis team did in November, 2021, the first state championship for the team under the leadership of Coach Jennifer Roane who has coached the girls for 27 years.

So what’s the goal for the 2022 team? Do they dare to think they can do it again?

This year the team has 10 returning members and 5 freshman and sophomores who are new to the team.

Standout singles players, Natalie Hu and Giana Marks are dominating the courts on every match and they have been joined by freshman Katie Kendall, who has taken on third singles and is doing well. In the September 14 match vs. Fox Lane, Hu, Marks and Kendall all won 8-0.

Senior Maya Cukierman, who played singles last year, has now moved over to play first doubles with freshman Emma Ha. We saw the two play Fox Lane on Wednesday September 14, and they scored a 8-0 victory.

In second doubles, Campbell Alin and Jalyn Ryu won 8-3, third doubles team Carly Alin and Kay Cottrell won 8-0 and playing fourth doubles Hyunjin Lee and Olivia Sun also won 8-0.

On other days, Maya Vora is paired with Yelena Sahakyan and make a strong team.

To date, the team is undefeated in both league and non-league matches, beating Ursuline, Bronxville and Horace Greeley 7-0 and Horace Mann 6-1. For the weekend of September 10, the team was invited to a tournament at Half Hollow Hills East in Long Island where they beat Half Hollow Hills East, Hackley and Harrison. Their match against Port Washington was called due to rain, but when officials counted the total games played in the tournament, Scarsdale emerged the winner.

The girls are psyched and have set the bar high. Their mascot, Ace the bear, is circulated around school on game days, and is clearly bringing them good luck.

The tennis team is just one of Scarsdale’s varsity teams that is undefeated. Athletic Director Ray Pappalardi looked jubilant when we ran into him on Butler Field last week. Scarsdale is back, athletics is back and the tennis team is just one of Scarsdale’s teams experiencing a stellar season.