Lily Castka clinches first state girls tennis team title for Bayport-Blue Point
Lily Castka of Bayport-Blue Point smashes her forehand return during the state Division II girls team tennis final against Edgemont on Friday. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Lily Castka’s win sealed the state title, but the Bayport-Blue Point team stayed to cheer on every last point. When the final doubles match wrapped, the Phantoms stormed the court, celebrating the program's first NYSPHSAA Small School girls tennis championship, one year after coming up just short.
The Phantoms defeated Section I’s Edgemont, 4-1, on Friday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center after taking down Section V’s Honeoye Falls-Lima earlier in the day in the semifinals.
“It feels amazing,” Castka said. “This is something our program has never done, so it’s pretty cool to be a part of it.”
“I’ve been proud of this team from the start, and they did a phenomenal job today,” coach John Selvaggio said. “They stayed calm, cool and collected, but also got fired up when they needed to.”
Castka clinched the win for Bayport-Blue Point with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Brenda Roy at first singles, following a 6-1, 6-1 win by Eden Romano in second singles and a 6-2, 6-4 victory from Evie Romano and Leila Rogers at first doubles to give the Phantoms a 2-0 lead.
“I was starting to get really nervous,” Castka said. “I knew the others had won, and I could feel the tension.”
After the match was clinched, the third doubles duo of Jordana Heller and Julie Wellems defeated Haoyi Zhang and Eloise Doherty, 6-4, 6-2, to cap the 4-1 victory.
“We were really focused,” Castka said. “We knew this was something we wanted, and it wasn’t going to be given to us; we had to take it. We knew we had to go out there and play our best.”
The championship marks the latest milestone in Bayport-Blue Point’s stellar season.
Last week, the Phantoms captured their fifth consecutive Suffolk title, and on Wednesday, they defended their Long Island crown with a 4-1 win over Cold Spring Harbor.
“It’s a testament to the hard work these kids put in the offseason and the grueling schedule we had toward the end that got us ready,” Selvaggio said. “We played some of the best teams in New York State leading up to this tournament, so it got us prepared for any situation.”
Castka said what made the moment special wasn’t just the championship itself, but the group that earned it together.
“It’s something that I’m proud of myself and my team because this is something we worked so hard for together,” Castka said. “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without everyone on our team.”
