The long wait is over for the Huntington High School varsity girls’ tennis team, which has finally returned to the courts along with its junior varsity counterpart after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back the season by six months.
The Blue Devil varsity team returns sophomores Kate Balm and Anna Bell Young; juniors Alyson Baker, Tallulah Pitti and Regan Sansiviero; and seniors Nina Drakulich and Lily O’Heir.
Last year’s team reached the county playoffs and compiled a record of 8-7. Young, Sansiviero and Baker all garnered All-Division honors. Pitti and Drakulich were All-League.
Huntington head coach Jamie Fishlow is back, too, and excited with work with his veteran players along with several newcomers to the program.
The core of the team looks promising with many experienced players. Pitti was 8-7 in No. 2 singles and Drakulich went 8-6 in No. 4 singles a year ago. Young, who teamed up with the now graduated Caitlyn Palermo in No. 1 doubles will once again play a key role with the team. Sansiviero and Baker went 7-7 in No. 2 doubles and Balm and O’Heir were 7-7 in No. 3 doubles.
Fishlow hopes the Blue Devils continue improving and maintain their overall competitiveness. Huntington went 5-1 in meets that ended with a 4-3 score in 2019.
A tentative schedule posted on the Section XI website includes 10 league meets along with one non-league contest.
Huntington is set to open the season on March 12 at Hauppauge. Home and away league meets will follow Walt Whitman, Half Hollow Hills East, Half Hollow Hills West, Harborfields and Commack.