Bayport-BP's Lily Castka wins singles title and Ross' Lillie Weiss and Lola Dangin take doubles in Suffolk tennis
Lily Castka makes a return against Longwood’s Sofia Matos in 6-2, 6-2 win that ran her record to 18-0 on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
For those who claimed a girls tennis Suffolk County title on Tuesday, it was a matter of staying perfect.
Bayport-Blue Point junior Lily Castka earned first place in singles and Ross pair Lillie Weiss and Lola Dangin claimed the top spot in doubles at the Section XI Individual championships in St. James.
Castka defeated Longwood’s Sofia Matos in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, adding to her already undefeated season. Despite the 18-0 status, Castka said she doesn’t let the pressure get to her — even while competing for her very first county title.
“I always try to stay calm and not get too nervous, especially during important points,” Castka said. “In this match, every point was important so I knew I had to keep my composure.”
As the stakes get higher moving forward, Castka’s mindset will remain the same: one match at a time. As her successes thus far are already an improvement on last season, Castka said she is grateful for every rally that comes next.
“It’s been such a great season so far, so I just want to be able to perform my best at the state level and have fun with it,” Castka said.
Castka and Matos have both earned a spot in the state individual championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Queens. Mount Sinai’s Sofia Perez also punched her ticket to the state tournament by placing third with a dominant, 6-2, 6-0, victory over Victoria Abayev of Copiague. The rounds of 32 and 16 will begin on Monday.
Weiss and Dangin also remain undefeated as they claimed their title in a 6-2, 6-0 decision over Floyd twins Anabel and Lydia Van Cott. In their first season competing together, the freshman-sophomore duo are 17-0.
“I like to play the baseline, that’s my strong suit," said Dangin, a sophomore who won the Suffolk IV singles title as an eighth-grader. “Lillie is really great at playing the net which is why I think we work so well together.”
“We’re friends off the court, too,” Weiss, a freshman, added. “So that communication kind of comes naturally.”
Weiss and Dangin will join the singles qualifiers in Queens next week alongside the Van Cotts, Ashley Pursoo and Christina Zhao of Half Hollow Hills East, and Alyssa Davis and Ema Villacreses of Sachem.
In similar fashion to Castka, Weiss said there is no pressure that comes with the perfect record. Instead, the pair treated their first county title as just another match. Moving forward, Dangin and Weiss plan on keeping that same mindset.
“This was a nice win and a really cool experience,” Weiss said. “We’re going to keep working hard and we’ll try to go as far into the state tournament as we can.”
