When the boys basketball team walked off the floor on February 20, no one could have guessed it would be 237 days until another Stony Brook team played an official game.

The COVID-19 pandemic halted the spring season in mid-March and while the Bears returned to practicing this fall, games were not greenlighted until comprehensive protocols were developed by the athletic directors of the PSAA.

Yesterday, the Bears were finally able to compete once again as the girls’ tennis team won its season opener, 5-0, in a non-league match-up at Staten Island Academy. Since joining the PSAA in 2018, the girls have yet to drop a league match, improving to 13-0 all-time with yesterday’s win.

In a rematch of last year’s PSAA Championship, the Bears carved through the singles matches behind Carina Cristobal (2-1, Forfeit), Alanna Wu (6-0, 6-2), and Isabel Guo (6-1, 6-0) before the doubles tandems of Samantha Cox and Caroline Helmer (10-0) and Annie Cao and Elis Vieth (10-3) nailed down the sweep. The doubles teams played first-to-10 pro sets due to waning daylight.

The Bears return to the court on Tuesday in a home match-up with the Tigers, which will count as a league match. The Bears will play one league match against Staten Island and Portledge this season before the PSAA Tournament in November.

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