All-Star Becky Shtilkind Leads Leon M. Goldstein To Upset Win & Singles Title

The Stony Brook bound senior and top seed of the girls’ varsity division, led her team to its first Mayor’s Cup team title upsetting perennial champions St. Francis Prep and then followed by defending her singles title, with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Queens native, Rebecca Fakas. She was also named to the All-Scholastic Team selected by the Mayor’s Cup Tournament Committee.

The Mayor’s Cup showcases some of New York City’s best student-athletes competing for the prestigious all-scholastic title. Three players from NYJTL’s Tournament Team reached the finals, including Christian Gloria of Queens, who competed in the Boys’ Middle School final; Alexus Gill, who was the top seed and played in the Girls’ Middle School final; and senior and Johns Hopkins University bound Christopher Jou, who captured the Boys’ Varsity Doubles title with partner Leon Pan.

More than 100 New York City youngsters attended NYJTL’s 10 & Under carnival held prior to the start of the matches at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Face painting, carnival games, a Quickstart tournament for nine of NYJTL’s Aces Clubs after school programs, tennis prizes, and a live DJ entertained the youngsters prior to the finals matches which they watched.

Following match play, NYJTL presented awards to all the division winners and announced winners of prestigious scholarships and the coveted Sportsmanship Awards. Scholarships can be used for training and for college tuition. Among the 13 award recipients were six NYJTL Tournament Team players: Isabelle Balilo, Christopher Jou, Stephanie Ranches, Marylen Santos, Whitney Schott, and Bojidar Todorov, all from Queens, New York.

Individual Event Results:

Boys' Middle School Singles Event – Finals:
Ananth Raghavan def. Christian Gloria (4) – 6-1; 6-0

Boys' Varsity School Singles Event – Finals:
Jeremy Kochman (12) def. Andew Aranboldi (7) – 6-3; 4-6; 6-1

Girls' Varsity School Singles Event – Finals:
Becky Shtilkind (1) def. Rebecca Fakas – 6-1; 6-0

Girls' Middle School Singles Event – Finals:
Aleksandra Bekirova (2) def. Alexus Gill (1) – 6-3; 6-2

Boys' Varsity School Doubles Event – Finals:
Christopher Jou/Leon Pan (1) def. Jeremy Klapper/Sam Schwarz – 6-3; 6-2

Girls' Varsity School Doubles Event – Finals:
Nakia Miller/Steliana Fakas (2) def. Julia Gokhberg/Dina Levy-Lambert (3) – 6-4; 7-5

Team Event Results:

Middle School Team Event – Finals: Louis Pasteur MS67 def. Wagner MS – 3-2

Boys' Varsity Team Event – Finals:
Beacon HS (1) def. Horace Mann (2) – 4-1

Girls' Varsity Team Event – Finals:
Leon M. Goldstein def. St. Francis Prep (1) – 3-2

2012 Mayor’s Cup Award Recipients:

Varsity Awards:
Brian Watkins Award for Leadership
Girl – Becky Shtilkind (Leon M. Goldstein High School), Brooklyn, NY
Boy – James Ruben (Horace Mann), Bronx, NY

Kae Jones Varsity School Sportsmanship Award
Girl – Whitney Schott (The Kew Forest School), Queens, NY
Boy – Jeremy Kochman (Poly Preparatory School), Brooklyn, NY

Cary Leeds Memorial Scholarship
Girl – Stephanie Ranches (Francis Lewis High School), Queens, NY
Boy – Christopher Jou (Stuyvesant High School), Manhattan, NY

Jana Hunsaker Memorial Award
Girl – Marylen Santos (St. Francis Preparatory School), Queens, NY

Kyle Barton Award
Boy – Win Smith (The Beacon School), Manhattan, NY

High Team GPA Team Award
Girls – Stuyvesant
Boys – Stuyvesant

Middle School Awards
Carrington/Lahens Award for Sportsmanship
Boy – Nicholas Pustilnik (IS 239K), Brooklyn, NY

Feinberg and Strasser Memorial Award
Girl – Isabelle Balilo (Benjamin Cardozo), Queens, NY
Boy – Bojidar Todorov (JHS 190 Q), Queens, NY