Division's Lilliana Chou wins girls tennis state singles championship
Lilliana Chou of Division lets out her biggest smile of the week after winning the championship singles match at the state girls tennis championship on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026 in Flushing. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
There’s dominance, and then there’s Lilliana Chou.
The Division junior entered the girls tennis individual state tournament as the second seed. She easily won her first Nassau singles title on Oct. 18, but still felt she had more to do. After breezing through the singles bracket, Chou finally finished the job.
Chou became the first state champion in girls tennis from the Levittown District after defeating Roslyn’s Clare Seo, 6-0, 6-0, in the singles final Wednesday morning at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing.
“It means a lot,” Chou said. “I’ve been working toward this since I first stepped on the court at counties in 8th grade. I tried to stay positive through the whole match and not get too fancy. My spin and my slices were really working for me.”
Chou’s season came to a disappointing end last year when she was forced to retire with an injury in the quarterfinals. Now that she’s back to 100%, coach Kelly Glenn said she felt there was some unfinished business.
“She came to us as an 8th-grader, very quiet, and right away we knew there was going to be something big here,” Glenn said. “What happened last year was very disappointing, but the work she put in this year and how she made it back, she’s an inspiration to the girls on the team.”
Seo is a tough matchup, which makes Chou’s straight-set win even more impressive. On Tuesday, Seo upset the No. 4 seed and the No. 1 seed to earn a spot in the final. She entered the tournament unseeded after finishing third in Nassau.
Chou said seeing those performances gave her some insight on how to make sure she wasn’t the next upset on Seo’s resume.
“[Seo is] really fun to watch and to play against,” Chou said. “She’s an aggressive baseliner and hits pretty flat and low over the net, so trying to bend more on my own shots and give her the ball lower is what worked.”
That problem-solving mentality is what earned Chou the championship title. And, with another year of high school tennis to go, Glenn said she is looking forward to seeing Chou continue to improve.
“She’s grown so much mentally and has matured a lot since last year,” Glenn said. “I noticed the growth right away. Just staying positive and not getting down on herself has really helped her get through this.”
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday's high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
