Bronx Science Upends Hunter To Win PSAL 2A Championship
There is a new champion in PSAL’s 2A Division, and the title belongs to Bronx Science.
The Wolverines dethroned two-time defending champion Hunter inside the bubble at Queens College on Friday afternoon, edging the Hawks 3-2.
“I’m just really happy. I’m extremely proud of everyone, and we stand out as the best team in PSAL,” said Bronx Science’s Henry Bardey. “We went undefeated and we’re elated. We really wanted this.”
Bronx Science struck first in the championship as Leif Emery & Shaunak Thamke notched a 6-0, 6-3 victory at second doubles to put their team in front early. Kevin Diao bolstered his team’s advantage as he won 6-2, 6-4 at second singles, bringing the Wolverines within one victory of the championship with three flights remaining.
But Hunter would not go away easily. Jeffrey Tsai put his team on the board with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph at third singles, and Kyler Swiatocha evened the overall match up as he was a 7-5, 6-4 winner at first singles.
That meant the city championship would come down to the first doubles court as both teams as well as the spectators gathered by the first doubles court.
“We knew it would come down to one match,” said Bronx Science head coach Andrew Kilkenny. “When two teams are this closely-matched, it’s about the mental aspect of it.”
And the first doubles pairing of Bardey & Ishaan Bhagat were up to the challenge of being mentally tough. After winning the first set 6-2, the duo went up 5-2 in the second set, only to see their lead evaporate and the set eventually headed into a tiebreaker as the pressure rose.
But Bardey & Bhagat answered and won the first five points of the ensuing tiebreaker to take back control. A few points later and the Bronx Science duo would close out the set, the match and the PSAL Championship.
“We had a solid team all the way through. Kevin [Diao] stepped up today against a tough opponent,” added Bhagat. “For us it was about being consistent at the end, and having our team cheering for us helped a lot. It was tough when the lead slipped away and their crowd got loud, but when we won a couple of points our team was loud and we got our confidence back. I’m just really happy and proud of my teammates.”
