FTTC Coach Michael Song helped the Bronx High School of Science, the defending city champions, take home the title at the 2020 PSAL Girls Table Tennis Team Championship.
During the Semi-Final round, held at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, the Bronx Science squad, seeded 2nd for the tournament, went up against Queens High School Complex, seeded 3rd for the event. Bronx Science took the match 4-1.
In the other Semi-Final match, Brooklyn Technical High School advanced over Stuyvesant High School with a score of 4-1.
Slow Start for the Defending Champions
In the final, things started off well for the Bronx Science Team, as 2nd Singles Jasmine Lo beat Michelle Vilensky from Brooklyn Tech (11-3, 11-3, 9-11, 11-5) to put the first point on the board for Bronx Science. However, Brooklyn Tech’s 3rd singles player, Karen Chan, beat Bronx Science’s Beryl Sin in 4 games (11-4, 10-12, 11-7, 11-6) With the score tied at 1-1, attention turned to the 1st and 2nd doubles pairs. After leading 2-0, Joy Herrera and Emery John of Bronx Science games lost to Brooklyn Tech’s Allyson Hur and Allison Tan (9-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9). It was 2-1 in favor of Brooklyn Tech- the defending champions were in trouble.
The Turning Point
The 1st doubles pair, Chloe Guerreo and Lara Belton were now tasked with keeping Bronx Science alive. However, the pair found themselves down 3-7 in game 4, also being behind 1-2 in games. Could they come back?
With the perseverance of Belton and Guerreo, the latter bring previous student of FTTC Head Coach Sydney Christophe, the pair won 8 straight points to take game 4 11-7. With the momentum, the pair didn’t look back as they took Game 5 11-4. Elation from Bronx Science, the pair had come back from the brink of defeat to give their school a chance.
Always play your best
The last match was the 1st singles match between Gina Seo of Bronx Science and Jane Medved of Brooklyn Tech. Gina firing everything she had into the elbow of her opponent, while Jane meticulously controlling her play to find the wide forehand of Gina, the match locked at 2 games a piece.
“It was at this moment that I told her to think less about winning, and more about playing her best”- Michael Song
Gina proved too strong for Jane, taking game 5 11-6, and the overall team match 3-2 for the second time in Bronx Science history.
When asked after the match, FTTC Coach Michael Song stated he couldn’t be prouder of the entire team:
“The match was extremely close, and could have gone either way. In the end, it was the perseverance and mental toughness of these girls that won them the title. I could not be prouder”
Congratulations to the Bronx Science Girls Team for winning the 2020 PSAL Girls Table Tennis Championship!
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