Bayport-Blue Point’s Castka Captures Suffolk County Singles Title

It’s been a steady climb up the ranks of the top tennis players in Suffolk County for Lily Castka. The Bayport-Blue Point junior hasn’t forgotten losing in the second round of the Division IV Individual tournament two years ago as a freshman, or falling in the early rounds of the Sectional tournament a year ago. 

But all of that led up to Tuesday afternoon in the singles final of the 2025 Section XI Girls’ Individual Championships at Smithtown East High School, where Castka won 6-2, 6-2 over Sofia Matos of Longwood to become the Suffolk County champion. 

“I’m really happy. My coach and I have worked really hard to get here, so there’s definitely a feeling of accomplishment,” said Castka. “It took a lot to get here, a lot of hard work throughout the year, but it definitely paid off.”

Standing in her way of a county title was Matos, who finished third in the county tournament a year ago. Castka knew the challenges Matos would present, and so she entered the match focusing on playing her own game to dictate points.

That worked, as she broke Matos in the match’s opening game, and would break again two games later to take an early 3-0 advantage. 

“She [Matos] gets everything back, so I was just trying to accelerate through, and play my game style,” Castka added. “That’s the main thing I focused on, playing my own style and not trying to get into long rallies the whole time.”

That strategy worked as Castka didn’t allow any opening for Matos to come back after taking the early lead, and eventually closed the match out after dropping just four total games.

“She’s a perfect person to be a county champion, not only because of her talent, but also because of her work ethic and more importantly her character,” said Bayport-Blue Point head coach John Selvaggio. “She’s grown so much from a maturity standpoint, both personally but also as a tennis player. I told her heading into this match that you have all the skills to overcome any adversity out there, so just stay confident and trust yourself.”

Castka will now head to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Individual Championships, which will be held from Monday, October 27 – Wednesday, October 29 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. She will be joined by Matos, as well as Sofia Perez of Mt. Sinai. Perez defeated Copiague’s Victoria Abayev 6-2, 6-1 in the third-place match on Tuesday.