New York Junior Tennis League (NYJTL) hosted the 24th annual "Mayor's Cup Championships" in June, 2011 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Corona Park.
About The Mayor's Cup All-Scholastic Tennis Championships
The Mayor’s Cup Championships is the largest scholastic tennis event in the United States, second only to the US Open in the number of players competing, bringing together more than 600 participants from New York City’s public, private and parochial schools competing in 11 different events. A tournament committee selects scholarship and award recipients and the New York City Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity All-Star Tennis Teams from the competitors.
Download Event Materials
2011 Mayor's Cup Champions & Finalists
Boys Varsity Singles
Christian Waldron (10) def. David Arroyave (3), 6-3; 6-4
Boys Varsity Doubles
Kilby Featherston/Christopher Jimenez (2) def. Christopher Jou/Leon Pan (1), 7-6; 6-1
Boys Middle School Singles
Marcus Smith (2) def. William Trang (5), 6-3; 6-1
Boys Middle School Doubles
Aleksandar Kovacevic/Oliver Sec (1) def. Kevin Luong/Eric Morgenstern 6-0; 6-0
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Girls Varsity Singles
Manuela Velasquez (2) def. Becky Shtilkind (1), 7-5; 6-4
Girls Varsity Doubles
Alexis Tashiro/Paulina Velasquez (1) def. Marylen Santos/Katie Derienzo (2), 7-6; 6-4
Girls Middle School Singles
Sabrina Xiong (1) vs. Yuka Lin (4) *(TBD)
Girls Middle School Doubles
Alexus Gill (MS 443)/Isis Gill (MS 443)
def. Deandra Brown/Danielle Akamba 6-0; 6-0
Boys Varsity Team Event
The Beacon School
def. Horace Mann: 3-2
Girls Varsity Team Event
St. Francis Prep
def. Leon Goldstein: 3-2
Middle School Team Event
Kew Forest
def. MS 67: 3-2
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Brian Watkins Award for Leadership
Kilby Featherston (St. Francis Prep)
Emily Quint-Hoover (Stuyvesant High School)
Kae Jones Varsity School Sportsmanship Award
Becky Shtilkind (Leon Goldstein High School)
Anvar Musayev (John F. Kennedy High School)
The Carey Leeds Memorial Scholarship
Kathleen Uy (St. Francis Prep)
Steven Wilson (John F. Kennedy High School)
Jana Hunsaker Memorial Award
Brittany Eady (Soundview Gardens)
The Kyle Barton Award
Justin Vijunco (Forest Hills High School)
Carrington and Lahens Award for Sportsmanship - Gordon Kent Camp Scholarship
Sabrina Xiong
Andrew Pokorny (Eastside Middle School)
NYJTL Youth Tennis Center Award - USTA BJK NTC Camp Scholarship
IS 204
Feinberg and Strasser Memorial Award - Joel Ross Camp Scholarship
Leonardo Escudero (PS 706)
Virgine Becht (IS 141)
All Academic Team Award
Stuyvesant High School and Dalton School
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2011 Boys' Varsity All-Star Team:
David Arroyave - St. Francis Preparatory School (Senior)
This year's Mayor's Cup Arroyave was seeded third and advanced to the finals, where he lost to Christian Waldron. A NYJTL Tournament Team Member for many years, Arroyave leads his high school team at the #1 singles position. The senior will be staying local, attending St. John's University in the fall.
Kilby Featherston - St. Francis Preparatory School (Senior)
As a senior, Featherston reached the Mayor's Cup Boys' Varsity Doubles Title for the third straight year with partner Christopher Jimenez. The team was able to win the 2010 Mayor's Cup without losing a set. The duo defended their title this year by defeating top seeds Christopher Jou and Leon Pan. Featherston will be attending UC California Berkeley in the fall.
Stefan Ilic - Forest Hills High School (Senior)
Ilic has been a top USTA Eastern player and will be attending Stony Brook University where he plans to play on the Varsity Men's Tennis Team in the fall.
Christopher Jimenez - St. Francis Prep (Senior)
Jimenez reached the Boys' Varsity doubles finals at the 2011 Mayor's Cup for the third consecutive year with teammate Kilby Featherston. Jimenez will be attending St. Francis University in the fall.
Christopher Jou - Stuyvesant High School (Junior)
This year's Mayor's Cup Boys' Varsity doubles finalist with partner Leon Pan. Jou was honored by NYJTL at this year's Spring Kickoff as NYJTL's MVP in 2010.
Daniel Lakhman- Francis Lewis High School (Senior)
Lackham represents the Francis Lewis Patriots as the #1 singles player. Seeded fifth in this year's Mayor's Cup, Lakham advanced all the way to the Semifinals where he fell to 10th seed and eventual champion, Christian Waldron from the Beacon School. Lakhman will be attending Muhlenberg College in Allentown PA.
Hugh Mo - Benjamin Cardozo High School (Junior)
Mo will be competing in the summer Super National Clay courts and the Super National Hard Courts in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kalamazoo is one of the most prestigious junior national tournaments in the country. The winner will receive automatic entry into the US Open this September. Mo is also beginning to look into colleges, particularly the Ivy League schools and other top Division I tennis programs.
Jake Sosonkin - Brooklyn Tech (Junior)
Sosonkon hopes to qualify for the Super National tournaments this summer. Sosonkin is beginning to look into several colleges on the East Coast that specialize in Pharmacy. Among his top choices is St. John's University, which holds a prestigious undergraduate and graduate pharmacy program. He is currently ranked #27 in the USTA Boy's 18s Eastern Section.
Christian Waldron - The Beacon School (Junior)
Waldron is this year's Mayor's Cup Boy's Varsity champion, defeating NYJTL Tournament Team member, David Arroyave in a close two-set match, ending 6-3; 6-4. Waldron plans to play national tournaments this summer and begin looking at top Division I programs for next year.
Steven Wilson - John F. Kennedy High School (Senior)
The senior will be attending Wilkes University in Pennsylvania where he also plans to play for the Boys' Varsity Men's Tennis Team. This summer, Wilson will be both playing tournaments and teaching tennis at Fordham University's summer camp.
Quinton Vega - The Beacon School (Senior)
Vega represents The Beacon School as the #1 singles player. He led his team to Boys' Varsity Team victory over reigning champions, Horace Mann School. Vega is one of the top players in the country and a top college prospect. He has already boasted interest from Wisconsin University, Boise State, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, and Wake Forest.
Justin Vijungco - Forest Hills High School (Senior)
A Queens, New York native, Vijungco has had great success both on and off the tennis court. Vijungco went undefeated this year in PSAL competition, finishing with a perfect record of 16-0. He led his High School team to the semifinals at this year's Mayor's Cup Team competition and reached the doubles semifinals with partner Justin Selegean. Vijungco also has show a passion for classical music, being trained by professionals from the prestigious Julliard School of the Arts in New York City. Despite a promising future and passion for classical music, Vijungco decided to focus all his efforts into tennis. He will be attending SUNY Farmingdale in the fall where he will be competing on the Varsity Men's Tennis Team and plans to major in Public Service.
2011 Honorable Mention:
Andrew Arnaboldi - Horace Mann
Steven Hefter - Horace Mann
Jeremy Kochman - Poly Preparatory High School.
2011 Girls' Varsity All-Star Team:
Angela Assal - The High School of Math Science and Engineering at City College (Sophomore)
Assal had a strong performance at last year's Mayor's Cup, reaching the semifinals against another standout player, Becky Shtilkind from Leon M. Goldstein High School. This year, Assal competed hard again reaching the Quarterfinals before losing to St. Francis Preps' #1, Kathleen Uy in a tough three-set match.
Destiny Grunin - Leon Goldstein High School (Sophomore)
Grunin plays tournaments every two weeks, while balancing out her rigorous studies. This summer, Grunin will continue playing tournaments and also start taking SAT prep classes.
Arianna Rodriguez - Kew Forest (Freshman)
The Kew Forest freshman is a rising junior player here in New York City. Rodriguez will be spending this summer competing on the ITF Junior Circuit against players from all over the country and world. Rodriguez is certainly a player to keep your eyes out for this summer and in the coming years.
Leighann Sahagun - (Senior)
Sahagun is a standout player and a Queens, New York native. The college bound, Sahagun will be attending Arizona State University in the fall and expects to make the starting lineup in her first year. With her great athletic ability and big forehand, Sahagun will be a great addition to the Arizona State lineup.
Marylen Santos - St. Francis Preparatory School (Junior)
Santos was the highlight of this year's Mayor's Cup, clinching the Girls' Team Event, winning 6-4 in the third set against Leon Goldstein High School, giving the St. Francis Prep Team its 12th consecutive team title. A member of the NYJTL Tournament Team, Santos was ranked in the top 30 in the Eastern Section for the Girls' 16-and-under division. Santos will be spending this summer training and applying to colleges. Santos is interested in attending Johns Hopkins, Cornell University and Columbia University.
Becky Shtilkind - Leon M. Goldstein High School (Junior)
A Brooklyn native and seeded first in this year's Mayor's Cup, Shtilkind advanced all the way to the finals. Shtilkind was the 2008 Mayor's Cup middle-school singles champion and is ranked in the top 10 in the east and top 100 in the nation. She will be competing this summer in the Super Nationals Girls 18-and-under division.
Gabrielle Sullivan - Poly Preparatory High School (Senior)
Although Sullivan did not play in the Mayor's Cup this year, she was a Quarterfinalist in 2009 and won the Girls' Middle School singles in 2008. A top college recruit, Sullivan will be attending Cornell University in the fall where she will play on the Varsity Women's Tennis Team. Sullivan plans to compete this summer in some college tournaments provided by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
Alexis Tashiro - Francis Lewis High School (Junior)
A Jamaica, Queens native, Tashiro is the #1 singles player on her team. She led Francis Lewis to a semifinal finish in this year's Mayor's Cup Team Event. Tashiro is competing in the USTA Eastern 18-and-under age division.
Manuela Velasquez - Home Schooled (Senior)
The 2011 Mayor's Cup Champion, Velasquez displayed some great playing ability upsetting Leon Goldstein's #1 player and this year's Mayor's Cup top seed, Becky Shtilkind 6-4; 7-5. Velasquez will be spending her summer competing on the pro circuit, competing in Atlanta Georgia and Evansville, Indiana. The senior is still undecided on colleges, but plans to try out the pro circuit for awhile, before committing to a Division I college tennis team.
Paulina Velasquez - Francis Lewis High School (Junior)
The sister of this year's Mayor's Cup Girls' Varsity Singles event, Paulina will be taking a break this summer from tennis to concentrate on her studies as she prepares for the SAT's and college applications.
Kathleen Uy - St. Francis Preparatory High School (Senior)
Uy reached the Quarterfinals of the 2010 Mayor's Cup. Uy helped St. Francis Prep at #1 singles to capture this year's Girls' Varsity Team Event. This is St. Francis Preps' 12th consecutive team title. Uy is a former top 20 ranked player in the USTA Eastern Section. She will be attending the University of Rhode Island in the fall on a full tennis and academic scholarship.
2011 Honorable Mention:
Katie Derienzo - St. Francis Preparatory School (Junior)
A Junior from Douglaston, New York and a member of the NYJTL Tournament Team, Derienzo is a two time Mayor's Cup Girls' Varsity Doubles Champion. Pairing up again this year with partner, Marylen Santos, the reigning champions reached the doubles finals, but lost a close match against a tough Francis Lewis team, 6-4; 7-6.
Francesca Franchin - LaGuardia High School (Senior)
In only her first time competing in the Mayor's Cup Championships, Franchin reached the Quarterfinals of the Girls' Varsity Singles event. The senior will be attending Queens College in the fall and plans to compete on it's Division II Women's Tennis Team. Franchin often trains at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center at Columbia University.Franchin hopes to be working with the USTA this summer at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Lisa Ventimiglia - St. Francis Preparatory School (Junior)
A junior and a member of the St. Francis Preparatory Girls' Varsity team. Ventimiglia plans to compete in several Level I tennis tournaments this summer. Ventimiglia transitions to the Girls' 18-and-under this year, finishing in the top 60 in the Girls' 16-and-under for the USTA Eastern Section.
For More Information
For more information, contact Elena Bantovska at 347-417-8168 or ebantovska@nyjtl.org.
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