This year the PSAL Tennis commissioner divided the Island’s eight tennis teams into four A teams and four B teams, with A being the higher league and B being the lower league.

Last year the boys tennis team was placed into league B due to their record. However, the team dominated, with a consistent victory over other tennis teams in Staten Island. After consistently outperforming the other teams and even reaching the semifinals for the B league, because of these results the tennis team would was bumped into the A league.

The coach, Lisa Pillarella, who has been coaching the boys and girls tennis team for eight years. 

She explained the impact of the division switch on the boys team. “After being in the B championship last year, and expecting much harder opponents this year, they came out swinging,” said Coach Pillarella.

Despite their success, the coach also explained that the team has faced their share of difficulties. “There is a lot of mental struggle this year. People get into matches and beat themselves a little bit,” Pillarella explained.

When comparing it to last year’s performance, Pillarella stated the boys were a “deeper team.” To explain, this year’s team has 22 players, which made it easy to sub players, whereas in past years they would forfeit the match when more than one student couldn’t play. The team has also won a few games using subs, which  has not happened in previous years. As Coach Pillarella explained, this year’s goal is to keep improving on the team’s skills and mental game. The future of boys tennis is bright with this recent division switch.