Sabaev Clinches Townsend Harris’ PSAL 2A Championship

For most of the season, Townsend Harris was on cruise control. The Hawks had been dominant in the Queens 2A division throughout the fall, including in the first two rounds of the playoffs where it defeated Beacon and Brooklyn Tech, both by the score of 5-0. 

But in the semifinals, Townsend Harris received its biggest test of the season up to that point, edging Bronx Science 3-2 to book its place in the final. That experience proved invaluable as it would be tested once again in the final against defending champions James Madison.

The Hawks defeated James Madison 3-2 to win the PSAL 2A Championship at Queens College Tennis Center, earning the program’s first city title in girls’ tennis. 

“We didn’t have a lot of competition until the semifinals and here in the finals, so they hadn’t had a lot of practice playing in tough matches,” said Townsend Harris head coach Stephen Mazza.  “It’s amazing how they were able to do it, and I’m really honored to be their coach.”

Micaela Galicia got her team started with a 10-4 victory at second singles which put the Hawks in front, but the defending champions responded. Irma Gaidukova & Sofia Vinnik posted a 10-4 victory at second doubles, and soon after, Milana Markov won 10-6 at third singles which moved the Lady Knights in front. 

But the first doubles tandem of Morgan Ma & Tiffany Huang held on to win 10-7 to even the championship at 2-2, and left the city title to be determined on the first singles court between Elizabeth Sabaev of Townsend Harris and Mariia Vainshtein of James Madison.

With the eyes of both teams and all spectators on their court, Sabaev and Vainshtein went back-and-forth and delivered clutch shots to force a tiebreaker when the match became tied at 10-10.

“She’s an amazing player, and last year she lost both playoff matches so I think she has improved her mental fortitude a lot, and you saw that today,” Mazza added. “That was a tough match, and she could have given up a bunch of times in that match but didn’t. In her match in the semifinals, she was up 7-0 and 8-1 before winning 10-8, so she did a great job of staying mentally strong for us, and it showed.”

In the tiebreaker, Sabaev would use that experience of being in close, pressure-packed matches to win 8-6, sealing her first singles win and clinching her team’s city championship.

“It feels surreal, I’m so happy to do it with my friends on this team,” said Sabaev. “It was a crazy match with a lot of close points, and I’m really happy to clinch it for my team. It was a big thing to have all of my teammates there giving me a lot of energy.”

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