With the championship game knotted up at two, it came down to, arguably, Brooklyn’s best two female handball players – Brooklyn Tech’s Sarah Au and Midwood’s Danielle Dasklakis – to settle the set for the title.
Overcoming two 8-point deficits, Au ultimately came roaring back to clinch the hardware for Brooklyn Tech as the lady Engineers won their second consecutive title 3-2 over Midwood, their opponent in the finals for a second straight season.
“I’m really glad that Sarah won it for us again. I think it is a culmination of her career and it is a great way to go out,” said Brooklyn Tech head coach Paul Hoftyzer of his first singles all star.
In her last season as an Engineer, Au wanted to go out with a bang.
“The whole time I wasn’t looking at them [my teammates]. I looked at the trophies on the table and since it is my last year here, I wanted to do it [win the championship] for everybody,” said the graduating senior.
“The handball celebrity,” a nickname given to Au by Hoftyzer, conquered a 9-1 and 16-8 shortcoming to eventually reclaim the title as the city’s best team for another campaign.
“I just didn’t think that I was down by anything. I just tried to climb back and I’m really glad that I did win,” said the undefeated senior, who boasts a perfect 13-0 record, which includes three playoff victories. But she gave props to her archrival, Midwood’s anchor Danielle Dasklakis,
“She is very competitive. She plays extremely hard and I just have to give props to her,” added Au.
As for the outlook on next season, Hoftyzer was hesitantly optimistic since he is losing Au and his third singles player Ana Ng due to graduation.
“Next season is going to be tough. I do believe that we are a playoff-bound team but as for this [championship game], I can’t say,” said the coach.
In the boys championship final between third seeded Midwood and fifth seeded Bronx Science, the Hornets were able to sting the Wolverines, 3-2. In that title match, the decisive match came down to each team’s respective first singles players- Midwood’s Tyree Bastidas and Bronx Science’s David Cao but it was Bastidas that stole the show by stinging Cao with five kills and two aces.
