On Par with Greatness

The Birdies, Stuyvesant’s girls’ Varsity Golf team, have been arguably the most dominant athletic team in the entire school over the past years. They recently won their third championship in a row, maintaining a 39-match winning streak in the process. In the vast majority of their competitions, the Birdies have come away with 5-0 victories, winning all of their individual matchups. 

Birdies head coach Emilio Nieves attributes this prolonged dominance to both luck and dedication. Despite not being able to recruit, Coach Nieves is able to work with a very talented pool of players who work extremely hard towards their collective goals. Players on this team spend time both in the summer and during the fall season towards practicing, and that commitment is part of what makes the team so special. According to Coach Nieves, “It’s a very dedicated culture that developed in the team over the past few years. I think they recognize that they have the potential to win the championship, so they really dedicated themselves.” 

Seniors and captains Jade Chu and Zoe Chun both held profound roles on the team this year, with Chu winning eight of the nine matches she played in, while Chun was victorious in five of her six matches. Despite the impending graduation of their two most talented players, the team still holds the potential to continue its dominance. Captain Jade Chu’s younger sister Ava Chu transferred into Stuyvesant as a sophomore and has had an immediate positive impact on the team. She and fellow sophomore Nina Benson led the team in victories with nine each, both having won all of the matches that they competed in. Coach Nieves also believes that juniors Milena Wu and Grace Jung will prove to be integral parts of the team next year, stating that they have been putting in work throughout the summer and the fall season, both subsequently improving their games greatly. “I think they can step in and fill in the hole that is left by [senior] Jade Chu graduating,” said Coach Nieves.

Despite having sufficient talent to compensate for losing seniors, there is a large gap to fill in terms of the leadership and personality that the captains displayed. Specifically, Nieves describes how impressed he was by Jade Chu throughout her time on the team. “I was really impressed by her dedication to golf and school, and the whole idea of being a student-athlete. It was an honor to get to know her.” Both in terms of golfing abilities and leadership, there are big shoes to fill, but the Birdies remain confident that they have the tools to remain successful.

Other than their talent, this team has demonstrated its ability to prevail through challenging situations. This is best exemplified by their playoff match against Bronx Science, where Ava Chu won the competition for the Birdies on the last hole, giving them a 3-2 advantage. “That really showed me something about the team, that we could succeed in the face of strong adversity,” Coach Nieves stated regarding the match. This competition reminded Nieves of his team’s ability to not only dominate, but to also rally together and pull out victories when they needed them.  

The Birdies will continue to work towards their collective team goal throughout the off-season, and they have more than enough talent and leadership to hopefully carry them to, if all goes according to plan, their fourth consecutive City Championship next year.