Long Island Tennis Magazine November December 2014 by United Sports Publications, Ltd.

LITennisMag.com â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ Long Island Tennis Magazine

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Practicing Under Pressure: The Key to Match Relaxation By Luke Jensen see so many talented players play like pros on the practice courts and fall apart during matches. It doesn’t matter what level of play, I find the transition from practice to match player sometimes is the toughest hurdle to overcome. For example, a player once had a double fault and a toss issue. So, we went to the practice court and started to unwind the mental knots the player had with their second serve and erratic toss. A simple pressure exercise is to put 25 in a row in the box at game speed. No Sloppy Joe’s (an underhand serve). This is not easy at first. The player would reach the high teens and into the 20s, and really start to feel the pressure. After a miss, a negative emotion would show as if they failed to accomplish their goal. I simply pointed out that the 19 or 23 serves we did hit into the box is a high first serve percentage, and nearly a full set without hitting a double fault. I have found that, time after time, working with players where if the goal of 25 was not achieved, they would go into “I FAILED MODE.” What I explained was that 25 in a row is pretty hard if you are going at game speed. I also explained that these pressure drills are not about failing, but about taking the tiny steps towards a mental place where you become less nervous and anxious. Showing that through pressure-based practices, you can become a clutch under

pressure player. Simulating the impact and importance in drills and practice match play will translate directly into better pressure play in real match situations. My coaches had me play practice sets over and over with players I HATED with a passion. I played a ton of sets through my tennis life with my younger brother Murphy. He cheated me in every situation imaginable—even when he didn’t have to cheat to win—he still did to get under my skin. It was the thousands of practice sets in those situations that helped me play great under pressure. Practice had so much riding on it, just like a tournament match. I handled pushers and cheaters better and better as I gained more experienced playing in those match ups. My advice is to make practice tougher than any match you may play and your

game will shine when the pressure is on! By the way, that double faulter I mentioned earlier eventually earned a WTA singles and doubles ranking. Hard work and smart work … well, WORKS! Born in Grayling, Mich., Luke Jensen’s resume includes 10 ATP Tour doubles titles and singles victories against Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier. Jensen and his brother, Murphy, won the 1993 French Open doubles title. He was also a member of the 1991 and 1992 Davis Cup Teams. His ambidextrous play, including his ability to serve the ball with either hand at 130 mph, earned him the nickname “Dual Hand Luke.” He may be reached by phone at (315) 443-3552 or e-mail lbjensen@syr.edu.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Table Of Contents Bryan Brothers Reach 100 Career Titles

By Andrew Eichenholz A closer look at the conquests of Bob & Mike Bryan and their historic 100th career do

Feature Stories 12 2014 Holiday Gift Guide Get some great gift ideas for the 2014 holiday season from some of the sport’s top providers, including Ball Magnet, Frank & Camille’s, Gold Coast Jewelry & Pawn, Killer Doubles, Nutrition Solutions PC, Pocket Radar Ball Coach, ScoreBand PLAY and ScoreBand PRO, ServeMaster, Tennis Elbow Grease, and YTEX Quadro Twist Strings.

26 Long Island Tennis Magazine’s 2014 Tennis Travel Destinations Guide We take a look some of the hottest tennis travel destinations, including Casa de Campo, Elite Tennis Travel Inc., Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Peter Kaplan’s Westhampton Beach Junior/Adult Tennis Academy, Saddlebrook Resort and Sports Travel Experts.

34 Long Island 2014 Girls High School Recap A look back at the 2014 girl’s high school season, as champions were crowned and the Island’s top players head to the States.

50 2014 Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Coaches Roundtable Discussion We get the chance to sit down with the area’s top coaches and brainstorm on a variety of topics, from the parent’s role in a junior’s development, to the state of tennis in America.

Features 8 29 32 46

A Bold New Plan for U.S. Player Development By Steven Kaplan National One-on-One Doubles Tournament and Blues Concert Set for Nov. 9th at National Tennis Center ITC Brings Its Tennis and Life Lessons to Westhampton Beach By Matthew Cohen Taking Stock in the Pros for 2015 By Andrew Eichenholz

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oubles title. See page 18 Cover photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

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New Yorker Jamie Loeb Captures American Collegiate Invitational Women’s Singles Title Inwood Country Club Hosts Inaugural Kid’s Tennis Festival By Matthew Cohen USTA Eastern Honors Top Area Juniors

Featured Columns 1 4 11 20 22 24 30 39 42 44 49 64 66 68 73 74 75 78

The Jensen Zone: Practicing Under Pressure By Luke Jensen College Tennis Spotlight: Mythbusters By Ricky Becker Adult League Wrap-Up By Kathy Miller Tennis Injury Prevention By Dr. Karen Avensov Fitness & Nutrition: Nutrition on the Go By Irina Belfer-Lehat, RD, CDN Court Six: Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Gossip Column By Emilie Katz Across Long Island … News and Notes From Across the L.I. Tennis Community Game Changer: What If the Mental Game Was Your Best Shot? By Rob Polishook, MA, CPC Tennis Medicine: Tennis Elbow … Diagnosis and Treatment By Dr. Kenneth Kearns USTA Eastern Long Island Region Update Hidden Secrets of the Greats: Serena Williams By Dr. Tom Ferraro Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Charitable Initiatives The Serve By Lisa Dodson Four Years Come and Go By Lonnie Mitchel Gadgets and Gizmos Aplenty By Miguel Cervantes III Long Island Tennis Club Directory Long Island Rankings USTA/Long Island Region 2014 Tournament Schedule

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Advertising To receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines, and requirements, call (516) 409-4444 or e-mail info@usptennis.com. Article Submissions/Press Releases To submit any material, including articles and press releases, please call (516) 409-4444 or e-mail info@usptennis.com. The deadline for submissions is the first of the month preceding the target issue. Subscriptions To receive subscription information, contact (516) 409-4444 or e-mail info@usptennis.com or check out our Web site: www.litennismag.com. Fax subscription changes to (516) 409-1600. Statements of fact and opinion in Long Island Tennis Magazine are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of United Sports Publications Ltd. 3 Long Island Tennis Magazine reserves the right to edit, reject and/or postpone the publication of any articles, information or data.

college tennis spotlight

MYTHBUSTERS Long Island College Tennis Coaches Speak Out

By Ricky Becker ong Island has seven colleges that play tennis in the NCAA: Division I (Stony Brook and Hofstra), Division II (Adelphi, Molloy, Dowling and CW Post), and Division III (Farmingdale State College). We spoke to some of the coaches about what they look for in prospective recruits, Long Island as a college tennis destination and advice they have for high school students.

Michael Misiti Adelphi University Head Men’s and Women’s Coach Junior Tennis Consulting: Do you prefer local players or does it matter if the player is local? Michael Misiti: I love to have a diverse team. I like a few local players who know and understand New York. New York presents many distractions, so native New Yorkers know how to deal with them. Also, I have coached locally for almost 10 years, and for instance, my current number one player has been a student of mine since she was 12-years-old. She’s a former number one player in the East who won multiple sectional tournaments. Our relationship goes back a long way, and we work quite well together. However, I love international players. I love learning new languages, and having players from different continents teach each other about their culture and language. I identify well with Europeans and appreciate their work ethic. I have a home in Italy and Croatia, so I have connections with those particular federations, and use them well. Internationals tend to be grateful to come to America, and I appreciate that mentality. How do you sell your program to recruits? Misiti: Selling my program is simple: Adelphi has a solid business 4

and nursing program and is located 30 minutes from Manhattan by train. Manhattan is the best city in the world … a place that creates and oozes success. Tennis is considered the sport of a lifetime, but 99 percent of the players will move on to do something else in their life. I believe they are set up in the best location in the world to obtain an internship and then a job once they graduate. Secondly, as a coach, I’ve created and coached two national champions and many sectional champions. I am working to put Adelphi on the Division II map by getting this program nationally ranked within two to three years. Do recruits like being on Long Island? Misiti: Long Island is a place where I grew up and still love. You get a suburban environment, and particularly where the Adelphi campus is in Garden City, a beautiful surrounding area, yet you’re within 30 minutes away from New York City. Who could ask for more? What type of player/ranking are you looking for in a recruit? Misiti: I am looking for players who have the ability to play on hard courts … players who possess an all-court game. Ranking isn’t so important, as I believe I can grow and build players with good raw games. I do tend to like Scandinavians and northern Europeans because of their ability to play on fast indoor court (they’ve done it all of their lives), and they usually speak good English. At Adelphi, we require an 80 TOEFL score which is quite high. I prefer players in the top 50 in the East, but as a great example, my current number one men’s player was outside of the top 50 in the East, and two years ago when I took the position as head coach, he was number six. Now, he plays number one, is super fit, and has a win over Fordham’s number one singles player who was ranked in the top 50 in the country in Division I. Don’t focus on the ranking, but the attitude! Anything is possible. Do you have any advice for Long Island juniors who would

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

like to play college tennis? Misiti: My advice to recruits is to play a lot of tournaments, show a great attitude, be willing to play a lot of doubles, and be aggressive. Coaches get hundreds of e-mails per week from recruits. Sometimes they cannot get around to all of them but if you keep sending e-mails and calling, you may just get the attention of a coach who may have otherwise passed you by. Most importantly, work hard and let your personality come out in your videos and in meeting with coaches. In the end, it’s all about relationships, so build them wisely. Adam Waterhouse Farmingdale State College Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach Junior Tennis Consulting: Do you prefer local players or does it not matter much? Adam Waterhouse: It does not matter to me where my players originally reside. However, since Farmingdale State College has a large number of commuting students, I generally get players from Nassau County, Suffolk County, and Queens/Brooklyn. As more players begin to reside on campus, I am hopeful to bring in players from greater distances. How do you sell your program to recruits? Waterhouse: Farmingdale College is a Division III program, and therefore, does not offer athletic scholarships. However, there are several factors that help sell our program to recruits. The tuition is extremely reasonable, especially if commuting is an option. Farmingdale has abundant programs of study that prepare students for the work force, not just graduate school. Our state-of-the-art tennis complex and record of success are also major factors in helping recruits decide on Farmingdale State College.

solutely love being on Long Island. Being so close to New York City and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a major reason. The college sits on the Nassau/Suffolk border, so everything that makes Long Island great is within reach. What type of player/ranking are you looking for in a recruit? Waterhouse: I am looking for high school players that do not require athletic scholarships. High school players with USTA experience and rankings are always preferred, but not required. I also look for players who understand the concept of tennis as a team sport and not just an individual effort. Do you have any advice for Long Island juniors who would like to play college tennis? Waterhouse: The best advice is to match schools for academics and tennis. Contact college coaches directly (e-mail is best), and if possible, provide a simple YouTube video link of basic groundstrokes, volleys, serves, overheads, footwork and match play. Visit the colleges that have tennis, talk to the players and coaches, and watch a match. Gary Glassman Stony Brook University Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach Junior Tennis Consulting: Do you prefer local players or does it not matter much? Gary Glassman: We definitely like to have players from the Metro New York area. The top local kids will always be our first choice in recruiting. The energy they bring with their families, friends, coaches, etc. is all great for our program. How do you sell your program to recruits? Glassman: Our main selling point is the fact that Stony Brook

Do recruits like being on Long Island? Waterhouse: Those recruits who have played for Farmingdale ab-

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college tennis spotlight continued from page 5 is one of the top one percent of all universities worldwide, and one of the top 40 public institutions in the United States. We are able to sell great academics and high level Division I tennis. This happens all while competing for a Conference Championship each season.

What type of player/ranking are you looking for in a recruit? Carabello: I am not as concerned with rankings as I am in recruits who have a strong work ethic, are determined, competitive and open to suggestion when it comes to working on improving their overall game and match play.

Do recruits like being on Long Island? Glassman: I think our recruits really like the fact that New York City is only a train ride away and they are surrounded by beaches.

Do you have any advice for Long Island juniors who would like to play college tennis? Carabello: The best experience they can get in order to be prepared for college tennis would definitely involve being a part of their middle and high school teams, or gaining match play experience by taking part in USTA Tournaments or joining a Junior Team Tennis League. All of those types of settings would best prepare them for being on a college team.

What type of player/ranking are you looking for in a recruit? Glassman: Player-wise, we look for recruits who are committed to improving during their college years. Ranking-wise, we try to go after kids in the top 100 to 125 in the United States. However, we have some two and three stars who contribute mightily in our lineup. Do you have any advice for Long Island juniors who would like to play college tennis? Glassman: My advice would be to first, make several campus visits. Second, try to attend as many college matches as possible at all levels. There is a college and tennis program in this country, and even on Long Island, for almost every level of player. Victor Carabello Molloy College Head Women’s Coach Junior Tennis Consulting: Do you prefer local players or does it not matter much? Victor Carabello: Whether a player is local or not, as a coach, what I’m most interested in is whether a player is a team player and is willing to work hard as an athlete and a student. How do you sell your program to recruits? Carabello: One of the best ways to sell the program is to invite recruits for a weekend stay, during which, they room with a team member, hit around with them and get a feel for what campus life is like. Nothing compares to a hands-on home away from home experience. I emphasize that if they choose to attend Molloy College, they immediately become family and we take care of one another. Do recruits like being on Long Island? Carabello: In my opinion, Long Island is best suited for students looking for a quality education and who are used to being in smaller schools and quiet suburban communities. 6

Joshua Wolfson Dowling College Head Tennis Coach Junior Tennis Consulting: Do you prefer local players or does it not matter much? Joshua Wolfson: Local players are easier to recruit because of the ability to contact them but, it doesn’t really matter. How do you sell your program to recruits? Wolfson: I don’t like to think of it as a sell. I simply discuss the opportunities available with the recruit and if their interests are congruent with what Dowling College has to offer then, we move forward from there. Do recruits like being on Long Island? Wolfson: Long Island has a lot to offer our athletes. Regardless of where you are located, there is always something to do. What type of player/ranking are you looking for in a recruit? Wolfson: When looking for recruits, I decide what attributes I am looking for based on the positions I have available on my roster. Do you have any advice for Long Island juniors who would like to play college tennis? Wolfson: Players interested in college tennis should reach out to coaches about potential opportunities. Ricky Becker is the founder of JuniorTennisConsulting LLC, director of Tennis at Pine Hollow Country Club and independently coaches high-performance juniors year-round. Ricky was named the Most Valuable Player for the 1996 NCAA Championship Stanford Tennis Team and was a top-five nationally-ranked junior. He can be reached by e-mail at rbecker06@yahoo.com, by phone at (516) 605-0420 or via JuniorTennisConsulting.com.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

LITennisMag.com â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ Long Island Tennis Magazine

A Bold New Plan for U.S. Player Development “I have several suggestions for the USTA to grow the game through player development, but I don’t really expect all of them to be taken very seriously because they are a far departure from the status quo.” By Steve Kaplan he USTA has a whopping $30 million annual player development budget, according to The New York Times. Given their goal to “Create the Next Generation of Champions,” things are not going too well. While the women’s side seems brighter than the men’s side, the outlook for the next great American, capable of winning multiple Grand Slams is a long way off. In fact, it seems that each Grand Slam sets a new record for U.S. tennis futility such as this last U.S. Open which saw no American male reach the fourth round for just the second time in the 134-year history of the event (the first time was last year).

Patrick McEnroe is now out as the director of player development after a five-year run, and USTA Executive Director Gordon A. Smith laments, “He will be hard to replace.” The new director of player development, as The New York Times explained, “Will need to hit the ground running.” I hope the new USTA director will bring a new vision for High Performance American Tennis. I have several suggestions for the USTA to grow the game through player development, but I don’t really expect all of them to be taken very seriously because they are a far departure from the status quo. 1. The current tournament system does not allow for the economic feasibility of clubs providing sufficient

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

umpires at all Level 2 or higher tournaments. The USTA should subsidize this cost. Legendary coach Robert Lansdorp has been saying for years that junior tennis shenanigans need to be cleaned up for the sport to grow and he’s right. Many parents and children are turned off by the gamesmanship, poor sportsmanship and cheating in junior tennis. The current setup is flawed, as it’s difficult to think of another sport in which children are asked to act as their own referee. The result is that the most aggressive kids, who are the least respectful of the rules, often flourish and the kids who embrace fair play often choose between honor and honesty or pragmatism and advancement. It’s a systemically rotten choice. Add in some nervous, demanding

parents, as well as ambitious coaches sitting on the sidelines and it’s not difficult to understand why some of the best kids and their families are fleeing tournament tennis. 2. The USTA needs to do a better job at identifying, motivating and developing talent at a young age. The current “talent identification” system identifies resources and playing background more than it targets talent. You need resources to progress to the level that your ranking and skills get you on the USTA radar and many talented young players are overlooked. We need to think “out of the box” here, and go beyond the scope and reach of the current QuickStart program. I propose establishing a balance and coordination program for young children, with funding from the USTA, so that it is free to the public as an outreach program. Let’s call it “First Start.” This would not be a groundbreaking program, as other countries have embraced the idea of early development athletic training with great results.

It can be run at existing clubs and it will immediately boost a declining industry. More importantly, it “Will Grow the Game!” John McEnroe has been talking about the need for tennis in this country to “attract better athletes.” Former top 10 American Todd Martin, whose name has been thrown around as a candidate for new the role of new head of player development, recently said, “As long as the best athletes are going to football, basketball, soccer and lacrosse (I don’t want to offend lacrosse players as they are great, but lacrosse?) we’re going to struggle.” How about we attract the best young athletes to tennis by training them in critical areas at important stages of development? This program would provide an edge in athletic development, talent identification and reduce the image of the sport that it is not economically accessible to all. Imagine hundreds of thousands of families introduced to thousands of tennis facilities and staffs across the country. Even with a retention rate of just one out of 20, the growth potential for the sport can be enormous.

John Isner

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3. Players should be allocated funds by the USTA for training advancement. Renowned Brown University Women’s Coach Paul Wardlaw favors a system of individual funding for talented players as the costs of tennis can be staggering. Bloomberg News recently estimated that the average cost of developing a worldclass tennis player is $400,000 over a career, or approximately $50,000 annually. Thirty million a year is a lot of money. For just $10 million annually, 200 players a year could receive an average of $50,000. This money could be allocated based in part on financial need combined with the cost of local training. For example, the cost of court time in New York is higher than in Southern California, and this would need to be factored in. The players and their families would not receive the funds directly. Instead, the monies would be payable directly to those providing services so that player’s amateur status is preserved. Players may be given guidelines for spending

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a bold new plan for u.s. player development continued from page 9 funds, so that at least 15 percent must be allocated to non, on-court instructional training, such as physical trainers, nutritionists, sports psychologists, etc. These guidelines will help increase the scope of each players’ training and these specialists could be required to register with the USTA to help ensure that they follow recommended practices for high performance players. Billing guidelines could be established for those providing services to players as well. The Canadian Tennis Federation permitted Eugenie Bouchard to train outside of Canada with their financial support. That seems to be working out okay. Imagine if we used this strategy on a way wider scale. The concept of National USTA Training Centers is flawed. As day academies, they appeal only to those in close proximity. As resident academies, they place the USTA in the child care business and the results of this venture thus far have been less than successful. More than $100 million will be spent on a new tennis center in Orlando, and this is costly and redundantly inefficient. The operating budget must be at least $5 million yearly. Amortized out, that’s $200 million over the next 20 years or $10 million a year (assuming no debt service). Why spend this enormous amount of

money to compete with the many great and successful academies already in the state of Florida? U.S. Open finalist Kei Nisihkori trained at IMG Academy with the financial support of Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai since the age of 14. Why not use this money to offer to send hundreds of aspiring players to academies like IMG who have a proven record of developing top players? 4. The USTA needs to invest in performance and academic education. The first educational investment can address making U.S. tennis the world leader in sports research and development. We need to be cutting-edge in sports performance science to compete on the world stage. The USTA should take responsibility to be on the cutting edge of scientific discovery and they should fund the development of innovative technologies and methods of high performance in a dedicated research and development center. I think it’s in the plans for the new Orlando center and it’s a very worthwhile aspect of that enormous project. Of equal value is the need to guide young players to seamlessly integrate tennis training with elementary, secondary and higher education. How about the creation or hiring of an independent educational advisement service to help guide young play-

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

ers and parents make the important educational decisions they may be faced with as rising tennis stars? Finally, vocational, employment and educational support services for former professionals would greatly reduce the risk of turning pro and act as a motivating safety net to those considering joining the Pro Tour. We shouldn’t cut players loose if they try and fail. The USTA is committed to the idea that to grow the sport, we need to grow U.S. champions. I’m all for it, and it can be done. It will take financial and core value accountability, bold creativity, a free market vision and a commitment to education. Steve Kaplan is the owner of Bethpage Park Tennis Center, as well as the director of Lacoste Academy for New York City Parks Foundation. Over the last 34 years, Steve has been the longtime coach of more than 600 nationally-ranked junior players, 16 state high school champions, two NCAA Division 1 Singles Champions, and numerous touring professionals and prominent coaches. Steve’s students have been awarded in excess of $8 million in college scholarship money. He may be reached by e-mail at stevenjkaplan@aol.com.

B Y K AT H Y M I L L E R

Congratulations to the Long Island teams that won at the Sectional Championship and are now advancing to the National Championship! The local winners include: Women’s 18 & Over League l 3.0 Blue Point (captained by Jenn Suh-McCormack) l 4.0 Sportime Kings Park (captained by Michelle Stoerback Women’s 55 & Over l 6.0 Sportime Massapequa (captained by Lori De Costanzo) l 7.0 Point Set (captained by Ann McGrath) Men’s 55 & Over l 9.0 Jericho Westbury (captained by Ed Wolfarth) The Tri-Level League is being run as a weekend event. The women, with eight teams, are playing the weekend of Oct. 17, and the men, with 10 teams, are playing the weekends of Oct. 24 and Oct. 31. The winning women’s team and men’s team will advance to a Sectional Championship in Albany, N.Y. the weekend of Jan. 18.

Next will be the Mixed-Doubles League. Play is on weekends and will take place from November-April. Teams are at combined levels of 6.0 (two 3.0 players or a 2.5 & 3.5), 7.0 (two 3.5 players or a 3.0 & 4.0), 8.0 (two 4.0 players or a 3.5 & 4.5), and 9.0 (two 4.5 players or a 4.0 & 5.0). The deadline to add players to teams is Jan. 1, so if you are interested in a mixed team, contact me by email at kathym65@aol.com. Final ratings will be available right after Thanksgiving once all of the National Championships have been completed, and can be found online at www.usta.com. The Men’s and Women’s 18 & Over, 40 & Over and 55 & Over Leagues will run from May 2015 thru August 2015. Organizing this League will begin in February. If you are interested in being placed on a team, contact me in March when I will then know which teams are in need of players. Looking forward to a great 2015 of USTA Leagues on Long Island! Kathy Miller is the manager at Carefree Racquet Club and is also the Adult League Coordinator for USTA/Long Island. She may be reached at kathym65@aol.com.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Ball Magnet (843) 816-1440 info@ihstennis.com www.ihstennis.com It’s the invention all coaches and players have been waiting for. The Ball Magnet is a must-have for all tennis facilities offering clinics, lessons, drills, cardio tennis, etc. because it takes the hassle out of an all-court practice and allows coaches to maximize playing time. During drills and sessions, most balls that hit the net are captured and stay below the net, allowing for uninterrupted drills and lessons. More time can be spent resting and reviewing technique, drills, etc. and it’s less time spent on ball pickup. It’s like having your very own invisible ball boy. The advantages of Ball Magnet are well worth the investment: Less disruption during lessons, drills and play; improved match play experience; nearly invisible and unnoticeable while playing; ideal for using a ball machine; save pickup effort and keep balls off adjacent courts; fewer lost balls; and lower replacement costs. Order the Ball Magnet today to get 20 percent off using the Discount Code “NYMAG2014.” For more information, e-mail info@ihstennis.com, call (843) 816-1440 or visit www.ihstennis.com.

Frank & Camille’s 482 Route 110 • Melville N.Y. • (631) 385-0606 229 Glen Cove Road • Carle Place N.Y. • (516) 333-2811 www.frankandcamilles.com A KAWAI Grand Player Piano is THE ULTIMALT ENTERTAINMENT CENTER. This grand piano will play live piano music that will entertain you, your family and friends. A KAWAI Grand Player Piano adds gracious beauty to your home … even if you don’t play. The Kawai Grand Player Piano will be the focal point of a room, adding grace and beauty to any space. And if you do play, a KAWAI Grand Piano is a quality musical instrument. The touch and tone of a KAWAI Player Grand Piano is incomparable. A KAWAI Grand Player Piano is educational … it is a wonderful music instrument for you and your children to learn to play. It will become an heirloom … a piano that will be passed on for generations to come. So, for this holiday season, why not give the gift that keeps on giving … A KAWAI Grand Player Piano! With the touch of your iPad, a Kawai Grand Player Piano will magically perform all genres of music, from classical to jazz … and from your favorites artists such as Billy Joel, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra, Van Cliburn, Liberace, etc. Hundreds of artists featuring thousands of songs. Your very own KAWAI Grand Player Piano will be playing LIVE music right in your own home. It is amazing! The Kawai Grand Player Piano can be found exclusively at Frank & Camille’s showroom in Melville, located at 482 Route 110 or in their Carle Place showroom, located at 229 Glen Cove Road. Call (800) 4-PIANOS or go to www.frankandcamilles.com for more information. Or just stop in and browse … let us show you how easy it is to own and enjoy a KAWAI Grand Player Piano.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

Gold Coast Jewelry & Pawn 1786 East Jericho Turnpike Huntington, N.Y. (855) 367-7296 www.longislandpawnshop.com The world is an evolving place, and the world of business is no different. One industry that has stood the test of time has also been radically revolutionized. Gold Coast Jewelry & Pawn has vowed to epitomize the 3,000-year-old collateral lending industry’s respectable new face, by merging the time-tested, with upscale ambiance. Committed to exceeding customer expectations, crystal chandeliers, warm carpets, display cases of dazzling diamonds, fine jewelry, luxury watches and knowledgeable staff are what greet our customers as they enter the showroom. Our services include collateral lending in the form of no credit check instant cash loans for your valued possessions. As licensed precious metal and second hand dealers, we buy and sell gold, silver, platinum and estate jewelry. For sale, we specialize in offering below market prices on diamonds, engagement rings and guaranteed pre-owned men and women’s luxury watches. Our staff includes a certified gemologist, and Watchmaster ready to appraise and or service your fine jewelry and luxury watches.

Killer Doubles: Strategies and Tactics for Better Tennis Rick Altman (925) 398-6210 ricka@killerdoubles.net www.killerdoubles.net Of the many books available on tennis, almost all of them focus on singles play or on the mechanics and fundamentals of stroke production. Enter Killer Doubles, 120 pages of strategy, tactics and philosophy, all devoted to doubles players playing on club teams, USTA leagues, or in regular weekend matches. Authored by former Inside Tennis managing editor and two-time national doubles champion Rick Altman, Killer Doubles offers fresh thinking and new approaches to competition without imposing new fundamentals. “Most of us playing adult tennis aren’t going to relearn fundamentals,” Altman said. “And we aren’t suddenly going to become stronger, bigger or faster, so we have to become smarter. That’s the beauty of doubles: There is always a new way to look at the game.” Across 20 short chapters, Altman explores all facets of the game: How and when to sustain a point; when to try to end a point; how to take options away from opponents; how and when to cross and poach; the most important quality of a serve (it isn’t pace!); how to pick a partner; and the true meaning of confidence. “Rick asked me to be one of the book’s playing editors, and he might have thought that I did it just to help out a friend,” said Jon Toney, Division 1 collegiate player, NorCal coach, and now USTA league player. “But I did it because I thought it would help my own game. And I was right; it is a wonderful read, and if it can teach this old guy new tricks, it can help any player on the planet.” Killer Doubles will be available in print and electronic formats and sell for under $15. For more information, call (925) 398-6210, e-mail ricka@killerdoubles.net or visit www.killerdoubles.net.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Nutrition Solutions PC

Pocket Radar Ball Coach

705 Middle Neck Road Great Neck, N.Y. (516) 439-5090 irina@irinalehat.com www.irinalehat.com

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A gift from Nutrition Solutions PC for you! Get 20 percent off on your personalized diet plan! A five-day meal plan, designed just for you by Irina Belfer-Lehat, a registered dietitian, that will include a pre-match meal, recovery meal and fluid, calories and protein calculations! Call (917) 769-8031 today and see where good nutrition can take you! Irina Belfer-Lehat of Nutrition Solutions PC is a New York State-licensed dietitian and certified dietitian-nutritionist. Irina Lehat RD Nutrition Solutions offers group classes for kids in kindergarten through high school. Small groups, affordable prices! For more information, call (917) 769-8031, e-mail irinalehat@gmail.com or visit www.irinalehat.com.

The new Ball Coach model from Pocket Radar is a speed-training tool for player development through oneon-one coaching or self-guided drills, and hands-free operation keeps it simple. By making crucial results– serve velocity and accuracy–instantly visible, the Ball Coach is the easy way to get better faster. Provide instant feedback and accurate real-time data on serves, groundstrokes and volleys by getting a feel for how fast you should swing racquet-head speed wise, you will be able to mix speeds throughout the match and keep your opponents off their game. Revolutionary new features including Constant-On Mode for standalone tripod use, new easy triggering for automatic balltracking off the racquet, and 25 deep memory for detailed speed review, make it the ideal training tool for coaches and athletes. “This is, by far, the best radar device on the market and I have used them all,” said California USPTA President Mike Gennette on the new Ball Coach radar. “Not only is it pocket-sized, but it is accurate and measures every shot. No more missed serves that upset your student and embarrass the coach. There is no way any coach should even consider any other device. The two top technologies for high performance coaches today are video analysis and the Pocket Radar Ball Coach.” A fraction of the cost of other professional radar guns, it is accurate to +/- 1 MPH, and fits inside your pocket. Use Promo Code “TMGG” at the checkout page for a special 10 percent discount on the Ball Coach. For more information, visit www.pocketradar.com/tennis or e-mail info@pocketradar.com.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

ScoreBand PLAY and ScoreBand PRO

ServeMaster (925) 570-1326 lisa@thetotalserve.com www.thetotalserve.com

(888) 722-0444 www.SCOREBAND.net Improve focus, gain confidence and win more points with new ScoreBand wearables ScoreBand PLAY and ScoreBand PRO are the perfect tennis accessories for players of all ages and levels. Whether you are a beginner learning to play and score, or an advanced player that gets caught up in long intense rallies, ScoreBand wearables let you keep focus on the game, not the score. And with a ScoreBand on your wrist, you become the court authority. No more losing points, or rhythm due to scoring disagreements. TAKE CONTROL OF THE COURT! The one-size-fits-all ScoreBand PLAY is for basic scorekeeping, and features four modes (Tennis, Time, AllScore, Golf) available in three color options (blue, gray and pink). ScoreBand PRO, the most advanced scorekeeping device available, is available in five Modes (Tennis, Time, Stopwatch, AllScore, Golf) in two color options (black or white) and in two sizes (small/medium or large/extra large), and features DATABAR technology. ScoreBand PRO helps take your game to the next level by adding Stopwatch mode and DATABAR technology. The DATABAR offers three unique data views within each mode. In Tennis Mode, you can choose to view the current time, the elapsed match time, or the current set score, all while keeping score of the current game on-screen. ScoreBand PRO scores up to five sets, provides a server indicator, and a tie-break scoring option. After the match, use the review function to relive your victory set-by-set. For more information on ScoreBand PLAY & PRO visit www.SCOREBAND.net or call (888) 722-0444. Order from our Web site and take 10 percent off with discount code “LI10.”

Janko Tipsarevic, ATP worldranked player says: “Acing your opponent is the quickest & most intimidating way to win a point on the pro tour. Training with ServeMaster helps me maintain a dominant serve as my biggest weapon in the game.” Give the gift of an ACE! Did you know that in just 15 swings of ServeMaster, a beginner tennis player can learn to serve with the same fluid motion as a pro? Free online videos show you how to improve your serve and overhead strokes by using ServeMaster. It can be used to for forehand and backhand drills too. It’s like having a tennis coach in your bag! How it works: Follow the easy steps included in the package, watch ServeMaster videos online or get free tips emailed to you. With the Continental Grip (markings on the handle will get you in position), move slowly through your entire service motion. Because it is completely flexible, flaws such as hitches, erratic rhythm, inconsistent timing and poor technique will cause ServeMaster to “flop,” stop and bump you. With practice, you’ll have a rhythmic and flowing service motion. The ServeMaster is available in three sizes for players of all ages and abilities. Wholesale academy packages for teaching pros and group lessons are available. To find the size ServeMaster that’s right for you, visit www.thetotalserve.com. Coming soon, a full instructional video series for beginners by Master of the Serve, Lisa Dodson.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Tennis Elbow Grease (800) 636-4130 info@eliminatetenniselbow.com www.eliminatetenniselbow.com

YTEX Quadro Twist Strings (843) 816-1440 ivor@ytexstrings.com www.ytexstrings.com

Do you have tennis elbow (scientifically referred to as epicondylitis), or The string market is becoming increascarpal tunnel syndrome? Do you ingly crowded. With so many options know anyone with tennis elbow? Now available, a string has to stand out to there is finally some relief for this deget noticed. Quadro Twist from YTEX bilitating problem. Introduced at the now has your attention. New York Tennis Expo at the USTA In addition to being named the OffiNational Tennis Center in Flushing cial String of the Orange Bowl, the RacMeadows, N.Y., Tennis Elbow Grease quet Stringing Institute has rated it number one in spin production is now available in retail stores across the country and online at and number two overall. www.eliminatetenniselbow.com. When applied to the affected Our manufacturing partner is based in England and has more area three times a day, pain relief can finally be experienced. than 25 years of experience producing “cutting-edge” tennis Tennis Elbow Grease (TEG) is formulated as a topical analgesic strings. YTEX’s research and development team only design to address the symptoms of tennis elbow, as well as to aid in healstrings that will add the most value to a player’s game. ing the long term underlying problems of arm and elbow pain. UtiYTEX is always looking for a higher level of performance for tenlizing a unique delivery system, the active ingredients in the TEG nis players and have developed unique strings lines that are great formula are distributed through the sub-dermal layers of the skin, additions to our existing portfolio for players looking for additional where they can penetrate the affected muscles, tendons and skelecontrol, spin, power and comfort. The materials and manufacturtal areas. Essentially, the active ingredients in TEG target those ing processes used in these products added all the benefits of areas in need of relief, ultimately reducing inflammation and pain. long-lasting performance and most importantly, excellent tension Unlike many other topical analgesics currently on the market, hold. TEG incorporates a variety of ingredients that have been sucYTEX’s high-performance, high-quality strings, with patented cessfully proven to minimize or eliminate muscle, tendon and construction, offer minimal tension loss and virtually no string nerve pain. These include Glucosamine, MSM, Capsaicin, Curmovement to give you an edge in today’s competitive tennis. cumin, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E, R-Alpha Lipoic Acid, CamHighly recommended for full restrings, but are also superb in hyphor, Menthol, Arnica and DMSO (to aid delivery and speed the brid combinations. healing process). Consequently, TEG eliminates the need to buy The YTEX Quadro Twist is a string capable of prodigious spin and use multiple, less effective products. It offers efficacy, conwith above average feel and comfort for polyester. Its extremely venience and cost savings. high spin potential allows players to push opponents around the Give Tennis Elbow Grease a try, or buy it for someone who is court and dictate play with variety. hoping to return to the tennis court sooner rather than later. Go to Wholesale pricing is available for all coaches and stringers. For www.eliminatetenniselbow.com for more information and to shop more information, call (786) 280-2138, e-mail ivor@ytexstrings.com now. Use promo code “LITM” to receive 15 percent off your puror visit www.ytexstrings.com. Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com 16chase!

C O M I N G

I N

J A N U A R Y

Distribution scheduled for 01/01/15

This edition will feature: • Guide to Long Island’s Top Tennis Clubs • 2014 Year in Review/2015 Preview • Girls High School Tennis Season Recap (Part II) • Australian Open Preview

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Submissions for both advertising and editorial are due by December 1, 2014 LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine 17 For more information, please call 516-409-4444 or e-mail Advertise@LITennisMag.com

Bryan Brothers Reach

100 Career Titles

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

Credit all photos to Adam Wolfthal

“By the end of the year, the Bryan Brothers will have ended eight of the last 10 seasons with the title of being the best players in the world …”

By Andrew Eichenholz Romanian Davis Cup heroes Ion Tiriac and Ilie Nastase ruled the tennis world, reaching the finals in 1969, 1971 and 1972. What does that have to do with the best doubles tandem to ever step onto a tennis court? Tiriac and Nastase, 39 and 32 years older than twins Bob & Mike Bryan, respectively, created a drill that would later help mold the winningest tennis players to team together in history. Most tennis warm ups consist of isolating the swing of the racquet to get used to feeling the ball off of the strings and over the net to the other side of the court. A good chunk of players do that in the form of minitennis, but the Romanian Davis Cup drill is different. Hopping around on the identical spot of the service line on opposite sides of the net has two players in a diagonal line. Once the duo starts to move in opposite directions, it is hard to keep track, but the Bryan Brothers have made a drill famous that has helped them to the throne of men’s doubles. As one brother sidesteps in one direction, the other does the same in the opposite, forcing them to not only react to pinging volleys coming as fast as a serve and a return, but to place the ball on a dime in the other direction. It is this drill, which Bob & Mike have done under the watchful eye of their father Wayne Bryan over the years, that has given them the incredible hand-eye coordination, which has carried them to history. The number 100. In school it is associated with perfection, in many aspects of the world it has a positive connotation. The Bryan Brothers redefined a number that has been known for greatness at this year’s U.S. Open. Playing the talented team of Marc Lopez & Marcel Granollers, Bob hit an inside out forehand that was not returned. Just like they have done 99 times before, the twins walked towards each other, and launched themselves in the air for their trademark chest bump. With their routine 6-3, 6-4 victory, the Bryans had done it. They became the first doubles team to win 100 titles together. With their next active challenger at the age of 42 and 85 titles to his name, it is not very likely that anybody will touch their record any time soon, if ever. Who is third on the active list? A 41-year-old with 53 championships.

The bottom line is, the Bryan Brothers are truly special. It all started in 2001, at a small tour stop in Memphis, Tenn. Fresh out of college, where Bob & Mike led the Stanford Cardinals to back-to-back NCAA team championships, and Bob won the triple crown of a singles and doubles title on top of the team victory, the twins had a difficult draw. In their first match of the tournament, they came across a team including Goran Ivanisevic, who would go on to win the Wimbledon singles title just months later. Tommy Haas, who would get all the way to number two in the world with his widely feared onehanded backhand would come later on. It was not a cakewalk, yet as they would gain notoriety for throughout their career, the Bryans came through under pressure with flying colors. Perhaps it was the pressure that made Bob & Mike as special as they have been in the sport of men’s doubles. The Bryan Brothers have thrived when they had to win a match. Nothing is more challenging than putting on the colors of your country to represent millions against the rest of the world. In the 26 matches that the Bryans have worn the stars and striped of the United States for Davis Cup competition, they have performed impeccably. Chest bumps abound, 22 times to be exact, the tandem have lost only four times. Two of those have been extended five setters, with the other losses against some of the most skilled doubles tacticians to grace the court. To think that against the best competition in the world, a team could win 85 percent of their matches, when the record for winning percentage in all of tennis is just over 80 percent is unbelievable. By the way, both twins are married, and Bob has two children. Yet, they are playing the sport as well as they ever have. By the end of the year, the Bryan Brothers will have ended eight of the last 10 seasons with the title of being the best players in the world, owning the number one ranking, including an Olympic Gold Medal in 2012. If that does not show consistency of greatness, keep an eye out. Bob & Mike Bryan are not going anywhere any time soon. Andrew Eichenholz is a journalism student at Stony Brook University, where he currently is a staff writer for The Statesman, covering tennis amongst many sports. He

grew up playing tennis at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where he learned to love the game, eventually becoming a part time tennis instructor, working for the most part with the QuickStart 10 & Under Program. Andrew has also served as a ballperson at the U.S. Open. He may be reached by e-mail at andrew.eichenholz@stonybrook.edu.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

TENNIS INJURY PREVENTION

Avoiding Back Injuries on the Tennis Court BY DR. KARÈN AVENSOV Tennis is a sport that requires multiple muscle groups and ligaments to work in perfect symmetry to generate power and accuracy. One of the areas of the body that is often overlooked among tennis players is the spine, as both casual and professional tennis players tend to focus on avoiding injury

to the upper extremities. However, spinal injuries can make it difficult, if not impossible, to compete and can affect the function of both the upper and lower extremities. Different swings and returns utilize the spine in various ways, and the key to avoiding spinal injuries is all about conditioning.

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

Forehand The first shot any tennis player learns is the basic forehand, and it is the shot most often utilized during a match. A player’s leg muscles are no doubt burning for much of the match after running back and forth. This may lead to the casual player to become fatigued and their technique may suffer. On a low shot to the forehand or backhand side of the player, they may bend their back in order to give their legs a break, but still get low enough to hit the ball. This motion puts a significant amount of strain on the spine, and should a player get into the habit of rounding the back, it would almost certainly cause strain to the muscles of the back and possibly even a herniation of a spinal disc. The proper technique is to bend the knee and keep the back completely straight, much the same way a weightlifter would perform a dead lift. This allows the forces to be absorbed by the legs instead of the spinal column.

Serving The tennis serve requires an initial hyperextension of the spine, followed by a rapid acceleration forward to generate power. This hyperextension of the lower back puts stress on small joints in the spine, known as the facet joints, as well as the muscles and ligaments that support the spine. Every time a player attempts to serve, they are putting immense pressure on their spinal column, and that repetition could cause a curvature of the spine. Much like the basic forehand or backhand, it is important to keep your spine perfectly erect during the entire process of the serve. A player will want to give their legs and knees a rest during the serve, but in doing that, the player will dip their spine towards their dominant hand. This will not only take speed and accuracy away from your serve, but put unnecessary pressure on the spine as well. Continuing to serve with poor technique will catch up to a player very quickly and soon that player will feel thoracic back pain. Many factors go into a technically sound serve, but the most important of which is conditioning. The easiest way to develop bad habits during play is to compensate while playing tired. If you want to not only avoid back pain, but gain speed and accuracy on your serve, work on your core strength and conditioning, and straighten out your back.

French Open, his best ever finish at Roland Garros. Murray has said that, since his surgery, he feels more free on the court, while being able to get to and take the shots you could never before dream of. Even Wimbledon champions know when to shut it down and not make a bad thing worse. If you or a loved one is feeling back or any other type of pain while out on the court, do not hesitate to contact Total Orthopedics and Sports Medicine for an evaluation and treatment plan to get you back in top shape. Total Orthopedics and Sports Medicine has locations across Long Island and Manhattan. For more information, visit www.TotalOrthoSportsMed.com or call (888) 838-2340.

For a player already suffering back pain on the court, it is not smart to continue playing through the pain. If you are looking for inspiration, look no further than former Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray, who underwent spinal surgery last November and was able to make it back for all of 2014’s major tournaments. He even reached the semifinals of the

Dr. Karèn Avensov of Total Orthopedics and Sports Medicine is a Board Certified Orthopedic Spine Surgeon. A graduate of the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine where he received his medical degree, Dr. Avensov completed his internship and residency training in orthopaedic surgery at the Peninsula Hospital Center-North Shore Long Island Jewish Consortium. Dr. Avanesov’s clinical areas of interest are Adult and Pediatric Spinal Surgery, Spinal trauma, Deformity, Scoliosis, Complex Spinal Reconstruction and Degenerative Conditions of Lumbar and Cervical Spine, Minimally invasive Spine Surgery.

Ricky Becker’s

JuniorTennisConsulting Home of the JTC Recruiting Pages! Visit www.JuniorTennisConsulting.com to Make the Most Comprehensive College List Anywhere! Still Available: Personal Consultation – Get answers to a myriad of questions that you have about walk-ons, timelines, videos, and items you didn’t consider! Every child deserves to get personal attention.

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Contact former Stanford University and Roslyn High School MVP Ricky Becker today at 516-605-0420 or rbecker06@yahoo.com. LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Nutrition on the Go By Irina Belfer-Lehat RD, CDN roper nutrition is the key to maintaining energy throughout your tennis match. When exercising, your body is largely fueled by carbohydrates. Some carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles, but you need to continue fueling your body during a long tennis match. Starting with a full tank and keeping hydrated are important, but the longer you play, the more you depend on snacks to keep your energy up. Snacks should be on board for any tennis match over an hour. But what makes a good tennis snack is

about more than just energy. It needs to be portable, provide your muscles with the nutrients needed, be eaten on a good schedule and cannot melt. Pack more snacks than you think you may need. In general, aim to have a few bites of food and a few sips of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes. Here are five super snacks for you to pack into your tennis bags: 1. Powered by the peel: Bananas are snacks that are ready to roll. They are famous for their potassium and contain carbohydrates that may provide advantages to your musclesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to use the fuel efficiently. A recent study compared bananas to commercial sports drinks

and found them to be equal. 2. Peanut butter/jelly time: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are perfect pocket fuel. The bread and jam (or honey) provide carbohydrates and the peanut butter offers protein and fats. Allergic to peanuts? Try almond butter if you can tolerate tree nuts or sunflower butter if not. Cut your sandwich into quarters and have one piece each 15 to 20 minute increment. 3. Trail mix: Dried fruits and nuts are a concentrated source of carbohydrates. Dried apricots, prunes and raisins have the added benefit of potassium. Mix your

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favorite fruits with nuts and seeds to keep your body supplied with energy, vitamin E and magnesium. If you have a heavy sweat rate, you may want to choose salted nuts and seeds. 4. Water works: In general, if you’re planning to play tennis for an hour or less, water is the best way to stay hydrated and to prevent drinking the calories you just burned. If you’re going to be playing for more than an hour, if you have a heavy sweat rate or if the weather is exceptionally hot, consider having two bottles with you: One for water and one for a sports drink. You may purchase a sports drink for the sake of convenience, but making your own with black or green iced-tea, a splash of juice, some sugar and a pinch of salt is easy and provides an added antioxidant boost. Take sips of fluid often to maintain hydration and alternate between the two drinks if packing both. 5. Energy bars: While energy bars are convenient, they can also be expensive. If you would like to use energy bars, look for one that has ingredients such as whole grains, dried fruits and nuts. Irina Belfer-Lehat of Nutrition Solutions PC is a New York State-licensed dietitian and certified dietitian-nutritionist. Irina Lehat RD Nutrition Solutions offers group classes starting in September, for kids in kindergarten through high school. Small groups, affordable prices! Mention this article and receive 20 percent off any services. For more information, call (917) 769-8031, e-mail irinalehat@gmail.com or visit www.irinalehat.com.

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E M I L I E

KAT Z

Impractical Jokers hit the Island

Tennis world bids farewell to Li Na

The truTV show “Impractical Jokers” came to Long Island recently and filmed a segment Bethpage Park Tennis Center. For those not familiar with the program, Brian “Q” Quinn, James “Murr” Murray, Joe Gatto and Sal Vulcano have entertained each other for years with hilarious practical jokes. And now, these real-life best friends challenge each other to outrageous dares and stunts … all caught on hidden camera. In these tennis scenes, four Long Island Tennis players were “taught” by the comedians. The show aired in late September.

Asia’s first Grand Slam singles champion Li Na has called time on her 15-year tennis career due to “chronic” knee injuries. The current world number six won the French Open in 2011 and the Australian Open in 2014, as well as boosting popularity of the sport in Asia. “It took me several agonizing months to finally come to the decision that my chronic injuries will never again let me be the tennis player I can be,” said Li. “Walking away from the sport is the right decision for me and my family.” Serena Williams: “Congratulations to Li Na. A sad day for tennis, but I’m sure your

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

future will be bright and the star you left on our sport will never dim.” Rafael Nadal: “Congratulations on your career, and I wish you all the best in your new life.” Ana Ivanovic: “What an amazing person and champion! You will be missed on the Tour, but have an amazing new chapter ahead of you.”

Wozniacki forgets to pick up U.S. Open check Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

After fulfilling her duties as U.S. Open runner-up following her finals loss to Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki headed back

to Manhattan, putting tennis in the rear view as she prepared to enjoy New York Fashion Week. Finishing second at the U.S. Open brings a $1.45 million runner-up check. Except in this case, it did not. So, Wozniacki’s car had to turn around to go back to Queens, and 30 minutes after leaving the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, she was back to pick up her winnings.

niebouchard and @ChrissieEvert promoting Singapore :) GET READY #GENIEARMY l Azarenka meets the Mouse: This just happened! We finally met! #mickeyandminnieVika

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Vic Braden: In memoriam … Long Island Tennis Magazine columnist Steven Kaplan of Bethpage Park Tennis Center remembers longtime tennis player, instructor and television broadcaster Vic Braden … One of the greatest coaches in tennis history, Vic Braden has died at the age of 85. Vic was a pioneer in the tennis instructional field. While other coaches were limiting their teaching to a reliance on personal experience, Vic was breaking barriers using science to support his instruction. Vic teamed with another pioneer, Dr. Gideon Ariel, who pretty much invented the field of computerized biomechanical analysis. Dr. Ariel was using a cutting edge “Dartfish” like system while we were walking around with 25-pound “mobile” phones. Together, these two innovators brought tennis instruction out of the stone age and integrated science and technology with human performance. Sadly, progress in tennis performance science is lacking in U.S. tennis today. Vic Braden was also a great personality and motivator. He was intelligent and made the learning of complex ideas easy and fun. He while be sorely missed.

Selfies from the stars

Tweets from the pros l Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole): Stefan, our baby angel was born! I am so proud of my beautiful wife Jelena! Thank you so much for your love and support. We love you all!!! l Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert): Congrats to @DjokerNole and his wife Jelena on the birth of their son! Such a special time for them … Enjoy and appreciate! l Justin Gimelstob (@JustinGimelstob): Congrats #PeytonManning Excellence personified l Eugenie Bouchard (@GenieBouchard): Roaming the streets of Wuhan and getting asked to take pics with babies l Noah Rubin (@Noahrubin33): If you fly you must smell good … simple rule l Serena Williams (@SerenaWilliams): I

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miss @GreenDay any new concert news??? John Isner (@JohnIsner): Thanks to those who still support me during the tough times. I’ll get better. #KeepPounding Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki): Yeaaaahhh!!! So happy to win against Sharapova today after 3 hours and 13 min on court! It was a tough … Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal): Congrats to the Women’s @usabasketball and to the Spanish team #SelFem for the great games you played throughout the World Cup #silver @FIBA Roger Federer (@RogerFederer): Thank you to all my fans in Shanghai for making @SHRolexMasters incredible! #happyRF Venus Williams (@VenusesWilliams): Winter #olympics 2018 here I come! #love #quebec Milos Raonic (@MilosRaonic): Had a great time yesterday in Tokyo with @newbalance @NBTennis Met great fans and the Raonic Robot. #NewBalance#NB10S Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76): Having fun walking the streets of NY w/this crew @justingimelstob @rennaestubbs @thetracyaustin @charlosfox Aga Radwanska (@ARadwanska): So happy to be returning to Perth for @HopmanCup with Jerzy. Great event and city! #TeamPoland Sloane Stephens (@sloanetweets): Girls night out w/ grandma shopping, taking selfies and whatnot. Clearly too many things to do in Fresno!

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Dr. Tom Ferraro (516) 248-7189 • 2 Hillside Avenue, Ste. E • Williston Pk, NY 11596 Drtomferraro.com • drtferraro@aol.com LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Casa de Campo

Elite Tennis Travel Inc.

(800) 336-5520 www.casadecampo.com.do

(914) 713-5074 www.elitetennistravel.com

Casa de Campo offers the widest array of experiences found in the Caribbean. The 7,000acre luxury resort offers choice accommodations, whether in hotel rooms and suites or spacious villas. The deluxe lodging options are accented by dining at acclaimed restaurants, such as The Beach Club by Le Cirque and La Caña by Il Circo. Dozens of other restaurants, bars and lounges give guest plenty of variety during their stay. For those guests seeking more of a thrill, The Sporting Life has countless options for athletic excitement. Experience 90 holes of Pete Dye designed golf courses—Teeth of the Dog, Links, La Romana Country Club and Dye Fore—Shooting Center, Equestrian Center, Polo Club, Marina for deep sea and river fishing, Yacht Club and exclusive beaches. Called the “Wimbledon of the Caribbean,” La Terraza Tennis Club overlooks the entire resort, as well as the Caribbean Sea. The club features 13 fast-dry Har-Tru courts, 10 of which are lighted for night play. Thirty-two ball boys in crisp white tennis attire chase errant shots, which not only makes guests’ matches more pleasant, but also helps local Dominican children learn the game and look forward to a brighter future. A former ball boy rose up in the ranks at La Terraza to become a Junior Pro, then Pro and is now representing the Dominican Republic in the race for the Davis Cup. In Fall 2015, La Terraza will host the 38th Annual International Tennis Open, an event that attracts over 300 players from Latin America, USA and Europe.

Elite Tennis Travel Inc. (ETT) builds exclusive tennis and cultural experiences in Spain. Tennis training: will be provided by masters at renowned clubs in Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid. Cultural activities include dinners at the chef’s tables, behind the scenes museum access, and winery tours. Programs are designed for adults, high school students, groups, and individuals. n Elite exclusive journeys for adults: Our seven-day program in Spain is a world-class tennis experience. Elite Tennis can arrange a Master-Class, a conference and lunch with Toni Nadal, Carlos Moyá or Juan Carlos Ferrero. These tennis masters will help you work on your technique, precision, strategy and match play. ETT is able to plan any or every aspect of your vacation. The one- or two-week program in Barcelona for high school students includes tennis and physical training, language lessons, cultural experiences, 24-hour supervision, accommodations, three meals daily and transportation. n Tennis development: Our coaches are former ATP players and will work on technical and tactical parts of the game. This high performance program includes four hours of tennis instruction, and two ours of off-court training. n Cultural program: During the weekends, there are planned excursions to explore various facets of Barcelona, including its culture and traditions. n Groups: Elite Tennis Travel Inc. can accommodate groups of various sizes. ETT will design an experience to the required specifications. For more information visit www.elitetennistravel.com, call (914) 713-5074 or e-mail info@elitetennistravel.com.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel

Peter Kaplan’s Westhampton Beach Junior/Adult Tennis Academy

(808) 882-5420 www.maunakeabeachhotel.com What makes Mauna Kea a “Top Tennis Destination?” The legendary Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an architectural icon designed to coexist beautifully with the unforgettable landscape of the Kohala Coast is located on a silky white-sand crescent beach, Kauna’oa Bay. Escape to paradise where you will find 252 luxurious guest rooms, Laurance S. Rockefeller’s private collection of Asian and Pacific artwork, impeccable service, one of the world’s finest golf courses and tennis club plus tantalizing cuisine with unforgettable settings. The 11-court Seaside Tennis Club is one of the largest and most sought-after tennis experiences in Hawaii. Each one of the 11 courts offer an incredible view of the Pacific blue ocean and on a clear day, you can see Maui in the background. Craig Pautler and his team serve up some of the most thoughtful touches available at the best private luxury tennis clubs. Facilities and services include 11 ocean side tennis courts, a pro shop offering equipment and apparel, equipment rentals, men and women locker rooms, video instruction service, ball machine, tournament planning, racquet stringing, individual game-matching, customized special events, tennis clinics, round robin tournaments, private and group lessons. Enjoy the many other amenities offered at the resort like the weekly Lu’au and Clambake, 2,500-square-foot fitness room and spa while taking in some of the most incredible views in the world. Celebrate the timeless Mauna Kea as she celebrates her 50th anniversary in 2015, visit www.TimelessMaunaKea.com. The Club is open daily, and can be reached at (808) 882-5420 or by visiting www.maunakeabeachhotel.com.

(631) 288-4021/(914) 234-9462 www.westhamptonbeachtennis.com Peter Kaplan’s Westhampton Beach Junior/Adult Tennis Academy, and the affiliated Grassmere Inn, is a wonderful destination for beginners to nationally-ranked players of all ages. Private instruction and 90-minute clinics are offered daily. Camps and one-day through seven-day programs are available. The flexibility of the programming enables participants to enjoy the nearby beautiful ocean beaches, charming village and other East End attractions. Resident students/families/teams stay at the historic Grassmere Inn, located on quiet, tree-lined Beach Lane in Westhampton Beach, N.Y., only 50 yards from the beginning of the charming village, yet less than one mile from a beautiful ocean beach. The location could not be better. The Grassmere has 22 guest rooms, all with air conditioning, WiFi, cable television and private bathrooms. A delicious breakfast is included daily. The Tennis Academy, located three miles away, is primarily a teaching center featuring 12 soft courts. The Academy features an enthusiastic staff, renowned for its high-quality instruction and low student-to-staff ratio. The maximum ratio is 4:1, but the average ratio is 2:1. The staff is always accommodating and happy to tailor programs to fit the needs of the customer. There are also tennis pros who bring groups. For more information, call Peter Kaplan at (631) 288-4021 or (914) 234-9462, e-mail peterkaplan2002@yahoo.com or visit www.westhamptonbeachtennis.com.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Saddlebrook Resort

Sports Travel Experts

(800) 729-8383 www.saddlebrook.com

(800) 677-5295 www.sportstravelexperts.com

Saddlebrook Resort is the Mecca of Tennis programs. Forty-five tennis courts are nestled in beautiful surroundings, complete with all four Grand Slam surfaces that attract tennis enthusiasts from all over the world. Both junior and adult athletes train and compete, while learning cutting-edge techniques to take them to the next level. Players from the full-time preparatory school can be seen training alongside touring professionals. The program features intense instruction, luxurious accommodations, and personal attention coupled with true professionalism from our tennis and resort staff. Saddlebrook Tennis has the ability to cater to the true tennis athlete who chooses to participate in our demanding five-hour program, offered 365 days a year. Participants enjoy watching some of the world’s best players who train at Saddlebrook, including: John Isner, Bob & Mike Bryan, Tim Smyczek, Jack Sock, Sam Stosur, Melanie Oudin and a host of other ATP and WTA players. Saddlebrook Tennis offers three programs: Adult Intensive Clinics and Camps; Tournament Preparation Programs for Juniors; and the Saddlebrook Preparatory School & Tennis Academy. For more information, call (800) 729-8383 or visit www.saddlebrook.com/tennis.html.

Sports Travel Experts was founded by Karl Hale, one of the leaders in the tennis industry, to provide quality service and experiences at numerous tennis sporting events around the world. We combine some of the world's best resorts and destinations, along with the biggest tennis stars, to provide the most unique tennis sporting travel experiences and events for our guests. In 2014, Jamaica Tennis Week was privileged to have tennis great Jim Courier team up with us to put on a brilliant exhibition. Guests would wake up in their beautiful villas and enjoy breakfast on the hot white sandy beaches of Jamaica, followed by tennis camps in the mornings and matches that went into the cool evenings. This created a first-class experience and unparalleled atmosphere for our guests. Our guests loved the atmosphere so much they didn't want to leave and they are all coming back in 2015! Pick up your racquets and come join us on our Jamaica Tennis Week, April 21-26, 2015, at the spectacular Half Moon Bay Resort in beautiful Montego Bay, Jamaica. Jamaica Tennis Week is a melting pot of players from all around the world. The week’s festivities kick off with our opening ceremonies; followed by our popular tennis camp (10 hours of amazing clinics); the Second Annual Jamaica Senior ITF Championships; a Pro Charity Exhibition, featuring 2013 Wimbledon Champion Marion Bartoli; social events throughout the week; finally culminating with our closing ceremonies. For more information on Jamaica Tennis Week, please visit www.sportstravelexperts.com, e-mail info@sportstravelexperts.com or call (800) 677-5295.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

National One-on-One Doubles Tournament and Blues Concert Set for Nov. 9th at National Tennis Center he National Prize Money One-on-One Doubles® Tournament and Live rockin’ blues concert will take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Sunday, Nov. 9 from 2:30 p.m.7:00 p.m. One-on-One Doubles, considered the Third Game of Tennis, is sanctioned for tournament play with USTA Florida and USTA Eastern. The Tournament will coincide with a live, rockin’ blues concert by recording artists, the F&G Blues band. This event is unique to the tennis industry, as both a pro tennis tournament and live concert take place simultaneously to create a fan-friendly, party atmosphere. The 2009 One-on-One Doubles Prize

money tournament, also played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, was won by Jared Palmer, 2001 Wimbledon Doubles Champion. This year’s National Tournament will host the winner of the Pro One-on-One Doubles Grand Prix Circuit played in Florida this year, amongst the strong anticipated field of national-level players. There will also be a Men’s and Women’s 4.0 NTRP One-on-One Doubles Tournament held the same day as the Pro Event from 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. One-on-One Doubles is the half-court serve and volley singles game played on the doubles court. All points are played cross-court with the alley included. The

T E N N I S

game’s rules enforce the serve-and-volley or there is an immediate loss of point. Since the game’s inception in 2004, One-on-One Doubles has been played at USTA, USPTA, ATP and ITA National events. The Pro One-on-One Doubles Tournament of Ocala was televised on Tennis Channel in the Summer of 2012. “We are excited to bring the Pro One-onOne Doubles National Tournament and Live Concert Event to the USTA National Tennis Center,” said Whitney Kraft, director of tennis at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. “This event will make for a festive Sunday event filled with highquality, all-court tennis, coupled with world-class rockin’ blues music.”

R U S H

Come play where the surf applauds every shot. The Seaside Tennis Club at the legendary Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on Hawaii Island. 1.866.977.4589 I MaunaKeaBeachHotel.com

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Across Long Isla John McEnroe Tennis Academy Moves LI Base to Syosset

John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) has announced that it will be accommodating its growing Long Island base of students with a move of its home facility on Long Island to SPORTIME Syosset Tennis & MultiSport this fall. The flagship JMTA location will remain at SPORTIME Randall’s Island, and SPORTIME Bethpage will remain a valuable Academy resource. Long Island JMTA students will benefit from the more easily accessible location of SPORTIME Syosset (75 Haskett Drive), as well as its larger and more diverse space. In addition to a much larger functional training room, a full multi-sport court, a large pro shop with on-site stringing service, the SPORTIME Syosset facility offers

both hard court (Deco-Turf) and clay (HarTru) surfaces, ideal for tournament training throughout the competitive seasons. “Being part of JMTA has made me into the junior player I am today,” said Cannon Kingsley. “I have never enjoyed training and being part of an academy so much my entire life. The coaches and players are the best! Private coaching and match play will now be available at SPORTIME Bethpage, with more day/time options, as well as an expanded schedule of “home club” tournaments. “The Academy is really starting to take hold here on Long Island,” said Mike Kossoff, JMTA director. “And with SPORTIME and JMTA student Noah Rubin having just won

the Wimbledon Junior title, the phones have been ringing. The move to SPORTIME Syosset, with its multiple surfaces, larger training space and other amenities, will help foster that growth for all of our students, including the many elite players who train with us.” “I love being part of the JMTA because of the great atmosphere, coaches and players,” said Michelle Sorokko. “They make me want to work hard while I am having a great time on the court.” Daniel Pellerito said, “I couldn’t imagine playing tennis anywhere else besides JMTA. Having John McEnroe around giving me tips, along with the best coaches in the world, make it the best academy in the world!”

Maloney crowned Boys 14s Super Six champ in Rochester Congratulations to Patrick Maloney on winning the Boys 14s Super Six title in Rochester, N.Y. Patrick trains at Bethpage Park Tennis Center and is pictured here with his coach, Keith Kambourian, co-tennis director at Bethpage Park Tennis Center.

and

… News and notes from across the L.I. tennis community

Topspin opens new Roslyn location Known as the home of “Clothes for the Pros,” Topspin has been serving Long Island tennis pros and players with equipment and the top fashion in the sport for more than 30 years. Topspin recently expanded its operations by opening a pro shop at the new stateof-the-art tennis facility at Christopher Morley Tennis in Roslyn, N.Y. They will carry all the new racquets, apparel and shoes for the whole family. Topspin’s new facility at Christopher Morley Tennis is located at 500 Searingtown Road in Roslyn, N.Y., or call (516) 484-4200 or visit www.TopSpinTennisLI.com.

Carefree Racquet Club gets facelift

Carefree Racquet Club, located at 1414 Jerusalem Avenue in North Merrick, N.Y. has announced that it has completed some

recent Club renovations. Carefree has extended their lobby, not offering more seating and more viewing, and has expanded

its front desk area. The Club looks great, so stop in and check out the new Carefree renovations.

Long Islanders visit Saddlebrook Danae Schneider, Lahna Bidner and Alyssa Levy (pictured from left to right) take their tennis very seriously. In addition to their weekly tennis schedules of zone drills, leagues and lessons at Point Set Indoor Racquet Club, as well as Long Beach Tennis Center, Danae, Lahna and Alyssa lifted their games even more with a recent trip to Saddlebrook Tennis, home of the famous Harry Hopman Tennis Academy. Watch out Serena!

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

ITC Brings Its Tennis and Life Le to Westhamp B Y M AT T H E W C O H E N

n its continuing quest to “Empower Israel’s children ... beyond tennis,” the Israel Tennis Centers Foundation (ITC) held a special fundraising event at the home of Richard and Leora Linhart in Westhampton Beach, N.Y. The Linharts had this to say, “We are delighted and happy to host such a moving and fun event. These are two things very close to our hearts–Israel and tennis.” A diverse team of Israeli players were on hand, including 10-year-old Tali Malykhin who started playing tennis at the age of five and is ranked number one in Israel’s 10 and Under age group; 17-year-old Matvey (Moty) Radionov, who has been with ITC since the age of six and is currently ranked number two for his age group in Israel Men’s Singles; 16-year-old Rotem Ashkenazy, who, in spite of being hearing impaired, plays tennis for over two hours each day; 11-year-old Ethiopian Oshri Ayalew, who is referred to as a “new immigrant;” and coach Rakefet Benyamini. The group flew into the U.S. to meet members of the West-

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hampton Beach community and the surrounding area who were interested in learning more about the current conflict and how the ITC centers are playing an integral role in keeping them safe and secure. “These children represent the ITC. They are not only truly excellent tennis players, they are an exceptional group of kids,” said Irwin Shorr, board member of the ITC. Hors’ d’ourves and drinks set the mood for what was an exciting, emotional and fun-filled day of tennis. The children began by sharing some of their incredibly inspiring stories with the audience. “It is always gratifying to hear the children speak about the positive impact our organization has had on their lives,” said Jacqueline Glodstein, ITC’s vice president of global development. None were more captivating than that of Ayalew, a member of the High Performance Program at the Marjorie Sherman Israel Tennis Center in Ashkelon, who has endured countless rocket attacks and scrambling to bomb shelters for his safety. Oshri’s family made the journey to Israel from

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

Ethiopia 10 years ago and, despite the latest conflict, he dreams of being the first Ethiopian player to represent Israel in Davis Cup tournaments. His story is one of courage and determination in the face of turmoil and war. “Having Oshri here in Westhampton Beach is a true Mitzvah,” said Yoni Yair, Israel development director. What followed was a unique set of drills led by Benyamini which showcased the children’s superior tennis skills. “Kadima! Kadima!” Benyamini shouted, which in Yiddish means “Let’s go!” Even for such a young group of children, the discipline and attitude they carried commanded respect. It was clear that these children are destined for a bright future both on and off the court. Being part of this event felt like being part of some greater purpose. Hundreds of children from southern ITC locations have been transported to northern centers, away from the blare of sirens and the threat of rocket attacks from Hamas. “Missiles don’t discriminate” said

essons pton Beach Glodstein. Throughout this crisis, the goal has been to provide a caring and nurturing place for disadvantaged Israeli children of all backgrounds, a place where they can continue to learn essential life skills through the sport of tennis. “Every person in the tennis center is carefully chosen, from the people who string the racquets to the tennis coaches. They are all handpicked,” said Benyamini. “For most, the streets are more attractive than tennis; we give these children a home where they may not have a home to go back to.” It is a scary time for the people of Israel, a time where school teachers carry rifles over their shoulders, bomb shelters are a

staple in tennis centers and most put down a tennis racquet to jump into a tank. “I come from a really low social economy. The Tennis Center is like a second family to me,” said Radionov, who moved to Jaffa from Russia in search of a better life. “When I had nothing, the Tennis Center got me the equipment, shoes, racquet and clothing I needed to pursue a career in tennis. I would be lost without them.” Since opening its first center in Ramat Hasharon in 1976, the ITC has helped more than 400,000 children, many of whom come from outlying development towns throughout Israel. The ITC’s 14 centers stretch from Kiryat Shmona on the Lebanese border in

the North to Beer Sheva in the Negev Desert in the South. With the help of the Westhampton Beach community, the ITC is looking for funding to raise $50,000 with the goal of installing two more small shelters. “I wake up every morning knowing I’m going to change a child’s life today. We don’t want to just give them the fish, we want to give them the means to get the fish,” said coach Benyamini. Matthew Cohen is director of business development for Long Island Tennis Magazine. He may be reached by phone at (516) 409-4444, ext. 306 or e-mail matt@usptennis.com.

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“Keep your eye on the Ball!” LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Long Island 2014 Gir Cosme Claims Second Consecutive Nassau County Title as Kowalsky/Matute Win Doubles Crown Credit photos to Keith Kowalsky, Gary Simeone & Matthew Cohen

By Gary Simeone

Runner-up Alex Koniaev of Locust Valley and 2014 Nassau County Champion Taylor Cosme of Herricks High School

The number two-seeded team of Courtney Kowalsky & Celeste Matute of Oyster Bay were crowned 2014 Nassau County Girls Doubles Champions It was familiar territory for Taylor Cosme, as she made her return to the Nassau County girl’s championship tennis finals at Eisenhower Park. The Herricks senior had to come from behind after losing a tough first set to Alex Koniaev of Locust Valley and rally to win the next two sets to defend her title and win her second consecutive Nassau County title, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2. “I was a little nervous in the first set and it was really windy today and that took some getting used to,” said the defending champion, Cosme. “In the second set, I figured I had nothing else to lose, so I pumped myself up after I won each point by saying ‘Come on and Let’s Go!’” All the ‘come on’s’ and ‘lets go’s ‘ obviously did the trick. as she turned things around and became the more consistent player on the court. “I give a lot of credit to Alex because she played really well, but I didn’t let her shots effect me as much in the last two sets and I was able to pull out the win,” said Cosme. Koniaev, who was playing with a pulled 34

Courtney Kowalsky & Celeste Matute of Oyster Bay en route to their 2014 Nassau County Girls Doubles title

Alex Koniaev of Locust Valley, along with Jericho’s Shanice Arthur and Taylor Cosme from Herricks are headed to Latham, N.Y. for the 2014 New York State Championship stomach muscle, said that she felt she was & Maddie Clinton of Manhasset, 5-7, 6-4, not as mentally tough as she could have 6-3. The second-seeded team of Celeste been. Matute & Courtney Kowalsky of Oyster Bay “I was getting down on myself when I lost beat Juliana Shenker & Bailey Lopez of points and Taylor was the more consistent South Side 6-2, 6-0 to set up a showdown player in those last two sets,” said Koniaev. of the number one and two seeds. Both Cosme and Koniaev qualify for the The seedings set up for a competitive NYS Championships in Latham, N.Y. match, but in the end, Matute & Kowalsky “Last year, I lost in the quarterfinals, and took control of the action defeating the I think I’ve matured a lot since then and Syosset duo in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 en want to win the title,” said Cosme. route to the 2014 Girls Doubles Title. Koniaev said, “I’m very much looking for“We played really well and we work toward to States.” gether as a team,” said Kowalsky. “We are Cosme beat Shanice Arthur of Jericho 7- really excited we won, and are looking for5, 6-2 in the semifinals, and Koniaev beat ward to States. We are going to try as hard Ashley Lessen of Wheatley in a thrilling as we can when we get there.” three-setter, as Koniaev came from a 1-5 Cirella was gracious in defeat: “Rhea and third set deficit to win 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. I are good friends with Courtney & Celeste. Arthur will join Cosme and Koniaev at the They played really well. The games were all New York State Championships in Latham, very close, it was a good match, but the N.Y., as she won the third place match better team won.” when Lessen was defaulted for lateness. Both teams will head to States, along In the doubles semifinal matches, the with Manhasset’s Foo & Clinton who defirst-seeded team of Katie Cirella & Risha feated South Side’s Shenker & Lopez 6-0, Malhotra of Syosset defeated Amanda Foo 6-1 in the consolation match.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

rl’s High School Recap Sophomore Provan Captures Suffolk Title; Hills East Pair Wins Doubles Final By Brian Coleman

Credit all photos to Brian Coleman & Matthew Cohen

Ester Chikvashvili, Vanessa Scott and Stephanie Chikvashvili from Half Hollow Hills East

2014 Suffolk County Champion Courtney Provan from Half Hollow Hills West awaits a return during her 6-2, 6-1 win over Ester Chikvashvili

Danah Han & Nikayla Williams clinched the third spot for the New York State Championship in doubles Half Hollow Hills West

Vanessa Scott serves during Half Hollow Hills East’s Doubles Finals victory

Kelci Henn & Lisa Lin from William Floyd High School, Suffolk County Doubles finalists, clinched the second spot in the New York State Championships

Courtney Provan and Ester Chikvashvili had played two close three-set matches during the 2014 Suffolk County Girls High School season, so it was only fitting that the rubber match between the two would take place during the Suffolk County Championship. Provan, a sophomore from Half Hollow Hills West, and Chikvashvili, a junior from Half Hollow Hills East, had split their previous two meetings, with the most recent one going to Chikvashvili in the Division I tournament.

“I wanted to redeem myself after that one,” said Provan. She did just that, beating Chikvashvili 6-2, 6-1 on a chilly day at Smithtown East High School to win the 2014 Suffolk County Championship. Both players exchanged holds through the first five games before Provan was able to notch a break point which gave her a 4-2 advantage in the opening set. She was able to hold serve with an overhead winner, and

Ester Chikvashvili rips a forehand during the singles title match

broke in the final game to cruise to the 6-2 first set win. Chikvashvili responded immediately in the second set by breaking Provan in the opening game. From there, however, the match belonged to the sophomore. She rattled off the next six games to capture the title. “I moved the ball around a lot better,” said Provan, when asked about what she was able to do differently against Chikvashvili. “I was attacking her weakness which would be

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Long Island 2014 Gir her backhand. Last time, I played too much to her forehand, I was hitting balls short. This time, I definitely got to her backhand more. And I served well, too.” Provan, the third-seed in the tournament, had to get through the two top seeds on Monday to come away with the title. Before taking on top-seeded Chikvashvili, she knocked off second-seeded freshman Jackie Bukzin of Eastport-South Manor. Buzkin reached the Suffolk County Finals last year, but ran into a buzz saw in the semis. Provan beat her 6-0, 6-2, as she did not drop a set and lost only five games all afternoon long. “It was definitely physically a lot tougher playing both of them in one day,” said Provan, who missed the majority of her freshman season with injuries. “This tennis season, I’m coming back from my injuries, so to win both felt really good confidence-wise.”

“I just have to stay positive in my matches, not get mentally down on myself,” said the sophomore Provan who set her sights on a trip to the New York State Championships in Latham, N.Y. “I don’t know many of the girls so I guess just see how it goes.” Chikvashvili will join Provan for the state playoffs along with third-place winner Bukzin, who beat Karen Serina in the consolation match. While Chikvashvili fell short in the singles final, her younger sister, Stephanie, captured the doubles title with partner Vanessa Scott. The Hill East duo defeated Lisa Lin & Kelci Henn of Floyd 6-0, 6-2. Scott, a senior, defended her doubles title from last year, but this time with new partner Chikvashvili. The two used a leftyrighty combination that made it really tough to defend, which allowed them to use fore-

hands for the most part. “Our strongest shot are our forehands,” said Scott. “Since we have them on both sides, it’s an advantage for us.” Scott captured the doubles title a year ago with Alli Huber. She said the transition to a new partner wasn’t a problem at all. “I don’t think there really was any challenge,” said Scott. “We are already good friends so it was pretty easy.” Both teams earned spots in the state playoffs. Third-place winners Danah Han & Nikaylah Williams of Hills West will also be heading to Latham after they beat Floyd’s Antonette Viglione & Kayla D’Addario. “It’s my first time, so I’m excited to go and have the experience,” said Williams of reaching the state tournament. “We are friends with all the girls this year, so I think it will be a lot of fun.”

Long Island Tennis Magazine Recognizes Nassau County High School Coaches of the Year Credit photos to Matthew Cohen

Long Island Tennis Magazine took time out at the recent Nassau County Championships to recognize the Nassau County High School Coaches of the Year. Colleen O’Connell of Jericho High School was named Long Island Tennis Magazine’s 2014 Girls High School Coach of the Year. 36

By Gary Simeone

O’Connell has been coaching varsity girls tennis for more than 20 years. She has epitomized sportsmanship and character in all of her players throughout the years. O’Connell led the Jericho Jayhawks to the Inaugural Long Island Girls Championship in 2006. She has coached three New York

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

State champions (one singles player and one doubles team) and has coached seven Nassau County champions. Pictured at left, Colleen (right) accepts the Coach of the Year Award from Syosset High School Tennis Coach Shai Fisher (left). Also recognized at the event was the Long Island Tennis Magazine Nassau County Boys High School Coach of the Year winner Chris MacDonald from Glen Cove High School. Since Chris has become the Varsity coach in Glen Cove, the tennis program has grown both from an interest point of view and with successful winning seasons. Chris demonstrates an enthusiasm that is contagious to his players. He represents himself, Glen Cove HS, and his team by his actions on the court and the sportsmanship example he sets for his players. Pictured above, Glen Cove’s Chris McDonald (left) accepts the Boys High School Coach of the Year Award from Shai Fisher.

rl’s High School Recap South Side Girls Tennis Battles Breast Cancer By Hannah Ditchik & Chris Colesanti

Rockville Centre’s South Side High School Varsity Girls Tennis Team recently hosted a breast cancer research fundraising event. Coordinated by South Side Coach Chris Colesanti and his team, the event combined their love of tennis and their school to raise money and awareness for breast cancer, donating all proceeds to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The team organized a student-teacher doubles tournament, in which each player

on the team partnered with a member of the faculty at South Side. Despite the chilly weather, eleven doubles teams participated in the event and many spectators came to cheer on the players. Both players and spectators thoroughly enjoyed the event and all who attended had a great time, while raising money for a worthwhile cause. Both students and teachers commented on their experiences at the tournament. South Side teacher and tournament winner, Christopher Riccardi, said about the tournament, “It was nice to spend time with students outside the classroom while raising money for a good cause. Having that switch in roles where the student becomes the teacher made it that much more fun!” Student Hannah Ditchik, a co-coordinator and player in the event, said, “This

fundraiser was such an amazing experience for me. To be part of a team and school that is so supportive of an event like this, is unbelievable.” In total, the event raised more than $350 dollars and the team plans on raising more money with another doubles tournament in the near future. Overall, the fundraiser was a huge success and the team is thrilled that they were able to host such a wonderful event for students and staff. In regard to the tournament, Coach Colesanti, who has been coaching boys and girls varsity tennis for South Side since 2002, said, “It was a unique experience for students and teachers to play the game that they love, and raise money for a worthwhile cause. I was honored to help the girls run this event, and am looking forward to the next one.”

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Long Island 2014 Girl’s High School Recap Long Island Girls Raise Awareness for Breast Cancer Throughout the month of October, many of Long Island’s girls high school teams took to the court to “Think Pink” to raise awareness of breast cancer. Here are a few of our locals who took part in the “Think Pink” campaign to stamp out breast cancer. The Herricks Girls Varsity team

The North Shore High School Girls Tennis team

The Girls Varsity team from Great Neck South

The Oceanside Junior Varsity Girls Tennis team pauses for a photo The girls from the Syosset Varsity Tennis team gather for a team pic

The Hewlett Girls Varsity team

The girls from Malverne and East Rockaway show their support for breast cancer awareness

The girls from the Massapequa Chiefs

The Manhasset Varsity Girls tennis team

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

Game Changer:

What If the Mental Game Was Your Best Shot? By Rob Polishook, Mental Training Coach MA, CPC What are the first things we do when things are not going the way they should be? Let’s say in tennis tournaments you are not getting the results you would like. In fact, you just played in the quarterfinals of a tournament and lost in three hard-fought sets. However in the second set, you held three match points, but didn’t convert! Ugh! I bet you know the feeling … in fact, you can probably feel it now? So after a few days, you head back to the court. Time does amazing things in terms of healing the pain. Now you continue to train, doing the same things and again expect different results. Working on the forehand, tweaking it so it’s just right this time. Wasn’t it Einstein who suggested this is the definition of insanity? Mentally, the post-match refrain is similar … you “need to work harder.” If you had done this or that, the match would not have turned! In fact, some are telling you have not been working hard enough! Sure this is familiar … isn’t it always the case if we come up short, we didn’t work hard enough? Well, maybe you did work hard enough? Just maybe working harder isn’t the answer? I’d like to suggest five things you can do that will help you improve without picking up a racket. These things will not take much physical effort; however, they require you reading a few workouts from my book Tennis Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. The workouts in the book focus on the mental game and will help you relax, slow down, and play calmer under pressure. However, they will take some time. I’m going to suggest we take a step back, stop pushing or pulling. Now is the time to “let go” and untangle the

knots which are holding you back. This requires dedicated time to the mental game. First Workout: What does it take to win: Awareness and the five A’s. If I didn’t know better, Roger Federer has been reading this workout. He has reframed his game to be more aggressive and come to the net more both from the baseline, and serve and volleying. What would you change about your game if you looked at it more objectively? What is the number one thing that could help? Second Workout: How to play in the moment? It’s as easy as breathing! How many times have you played and become overwhelmed when your opponent made a questionable call? Or, you played someone you expected to beat? The list goes on and on. Playing in the moment and staying present is key. This only happens if you can stay calm rather than spiraling out of control. Mike Bryan once told me when he gets nervous, “he always focuses on his breath.” Third Workout: You cannot be serious! Seven steps to regaining your focus. It happens all the time. Can you remember a time that your focus was spot on and then something happened which we don’t expect and there goes the focus! The key with concentration is not maintaining it 100 percent, but knowing when you lost it and how to get it back quickly. Fourth Workout: I’m better! How could I lose? Who hasn’t said this before? But you still lost? Why? Usually your focus was in the wrong place. Another funny thing about concentration and tennis … it’s not enough to concentrate! You must concentrate on the right thing! Hint: What you can control.

Fifth Workout: Sweet victory: Seven questions to ask after a Win (or loss). Many people think once the match is over you forget about it and go to the next one. I believe that’s the time, whether you won or lost, that all of the learning can take place. In fact, that’s when the match starts with your postmatch analysis. This workout is a great tool to help you analyze the match in an objective manner, learn from it, and incorporate your areas of improvement going forward. Certainly over the previous year, you have put a lot of sweat and tears into your game, and you should be congratulated for that. Now, for 2015, let’s purposely incorporate the mental component. Much of this work can be done off the court with the key focus being on not necessarily working harder, rather working smarter! If you are looking for a great example on the professional tour … just look no further than Roger Federer. Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder and director of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group. He works with athletes in all sports at all levels helping them to break through mental barriers and be their best both as a person and an athlete. Rob has spoken to athletes, coaches, and parents both nationally at USTA, USPTA, ITA conferences, and internationally in India and Israel. Additionally, he is author of Tennis Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. His work was recently featured in ESPN’s latest 30 for 30 film called Fields of Fear. In prior years, Rob received the USPTA-Eastern Division High School Coach of the Year Award and coached USTA’s 16 and under Zonals. He may be reached by phone at (973) 723-0314, email rob@insidethezone.com or visit www.insidethezone.com.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

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The EXCEL Pathway is designed for players who want to make tennis an integral part of their lives and who are ready to commit to doing so, with the goal of playing competitive tennis at the high school and/or collegiate levels, as well as playing USTA tournament tennis. The EXCEL pathway is provided at all SPORTIME tennis locations where JMTA is not offered.

SPORTIME‘s trademarked junior development program, dedicated to meeting the instructional and recreational needs of our junior members by providing an excellent learning environment, creating important social interactions, and offering challenging and fun competitive opportunities. Junior TK is available at select SPORTIME and John McEnroe Tennis Academy locations.

REGISTER FOR OUR FALL/WINTER PROGRAMS TODAY! Call 888/NY Tennis (888/698-3664) or go to www.SportimeNY.com or www.JohnMcEnroeTennisAcademy.com to find out more! LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

TENNIS MEDICINE

By Dr. Kenneth Kearns ateral epicondylitis, better known around the courts as tennis elbow, is a common cause of pain on the outside of the elbow. There

Tennis Elbow: Diagnosis and Treatment

is a wide range of dysfunction, from purely an annoyance with your forehand, to disabling all aspects of life. Men and women are equally affected and usually have symptoms in their dominant extremity. Although most do not recall a specific injury, it is usually the result of over exer-

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tion and repetitive motion. While the name implies otherwise, you don’t have to play tennis to suffer from tennis elbow. It is usually the result of repetitive wrist extension, and alternating forearm rotation that can occur from a weekend of matches, but just as easily from a day in the garden or strenuous workout. The groups of muscles responsible for these motions originate from the bone on the outside of the elbow known as the lateral epicondyle. A microinjury can occur and the resulting inflammation becomes painful. Most often, the body is able to recover on its own but with lateral epicondylitis, repetitive injury and failed healing attempts leads to a dull ache that becomes sharp and is exacerbated with activity. Tennis elbow is symptomatic with any motion that involves wrist extension or passive wrist flexion with an extended elbow. Most complain of pain with simple tasks, such as opening a door or the inability to hold a cup of coffee. When one finds themselves in this predica-

ment, it is safe to start a home treatment regimen. The first step to recovery is rest. By resting, the body is able to heal the injury without repeated damage. Second, one should try to avoid all activities that elicit pain. This entails trying to use the non-affected extremity more frequently or picking up objects with your palm facing up, rather than down, in an attempt to not use your wrist and finger extensor muscles. Third, is a home exercise program which should start with stretching. Wrist stretching should first be done with the elbow bent. Once this is pain-free, progress to stretching with the elbow straight. When one is able to fully stretch without pain, progress to a light forearmstrengthening program. In addition, over the counter anti-inflammatory medicines and compression wraps can be helpful but their benefits are mixed. When these home remedies fail, it is time to seek professional guidance from an orthopedist. The non-operative treatment options consist of formal physical therapy, prescription anti-inflammatory

can take up to a year to fully improve, with patience and adherence to a treatment plan, one can avoid surgery and most importantly, return to pain-free activities and tennis.

pills or creams, injections such as cortisone or Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and bracing. After these have been extensively exhausted, either arthroscopic or open surgery is a good option that provides relief to most. The good news is that up to 90 percent of individuals who suffer from tennis elbow improve without surgery. While it

Dr. Kenneth Kearns is a board-certified, fellowship-trained shoulder and elbow surgeon at Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Group, who specializes in arthroscopic surgery, minimally invasive surgery, joint replacement and fracture care. Dr. Kearns is an awardwinning researcher who has published and presented extensively in the areas of shoulder and elbow as well as adult reconstruction. An avid athlete who played varsity ice hockey throughout his undergraduate years, Dr. Kearns brings a special affinity to patients who are counting on his expertise to help them return to their active lives. For more information on Dr. Kearns scan the QR Code, call (516) 536-2800 or visit www.orlincohen.com.

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LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

USTA Eastern Lo Kids’ Tennis Spans the Seasons

The USTA Long Island Region takes seriously its commitment to introducing tennis, the lifetime sport, to children. To accomplish the goal of reaching kids throughout the community, Regional Board members and other volunteers were busy this past summer and fall bringing fun tennis learning events to kids across Long Island. July featured the Annual LI Kids’ Rally Day in cooperation with the Baldwin Tennis Club, while August was highlighted by a Kids’ Tennis Festival coordinated with the members of the Inwood Country Club on the Club’s beautiful grounds. As summer turned to autumn, Regional volunteers brought tennis to community

events across Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Freeport PAL Kids’ Day saw many new tennis players visit the courts at Cow Meadow Park. Joining the fun was Nassau County Legislator Laura Curran (D-Baldwin). Additional events included the Merrick Street Fair, MacArthur High School Play Day, Bellmore Family Street Festival and the Lido Beach Family Festival by the Sea.

Many kids’ events including Play Days, fairs, festivals and more are held throughout the year. For information on upcoming programs, please visit www.longisland.usta.com and click on “Calendar.” Volunteers are always appreciated and welcome at these events. To help, please e-mail your name and phone number to ustaonlongisland@gmail.com.

Manhasset Teens Spread Joy of Tennis

Manhasset High School students donated tennis equipment to a Brooklyn community group 44

A group of Manhasset High School tennis players collected gently used equipment and launched a free tennis clinic for kids 10 and under this summer. They also donated equipment to a needy tennis program in Brooklyn. Matt Holweger says he heard about the Kings County Tennis League last fall and wanted to help the Bedford Stuyvesantbased group while also learning from that organization’s example and creating a tennis clinic in his own neighborhood. Holweger, a senior, says the Brooklyn group inspired him to launch his own

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

equipment collection program and start a clinic to benefit the non-profit Adventures in Learning/the Manhasset/Great Neck EOC summer program. His online research led him to Kids Serving Kids, a nationwide organization that collects and recycles tennis rackets for under-served youth. He founded the group’s Long Island chapter, enlisted some friends and began collecting rackets and planning for a summer program. “We have collected over 120 rackets and $1,300 in donations to date,” Matt said.

ng Island Region The cash was used to purchase additional rackets, USTA 10 & Under nets and other equipment for the Kings County Tennis League. “We are Manhasset High School tennis

players and USTA tennis players looking to spread the joy of tennis to children in need on Long Island and the New York tristate area,” Matt said. “Our goal is to provide local children with the ability to

experience and benefit from the skills learned through the game of tennis. By collecting and recycling gently used tennis rackets, we can provide the tools needed on a cost free basis.”

Breast Cancer Awareness This past October, many of the Nassau County Girls High School Tennis Teams participated in Breast Cancer Awareness Month by wearing pink during their matches.

The Hicksville High School Girls Tennis team

The girls from Hicksville and Mepham rally for breast cancer awareness

The Baldwin High School Girls Tennis team wear pink bandanas for breast cancer awareness during the month of October

USTA League Teams Advance to Nationals Congratulations to the following Long Island USTA League Teams who will be representing the Region and the Eastern Section at their respective National Tournaments later this year. Good luck to all!!!

l 18 & Over Women’s 3.0, Eastern Athletic Blue Point (Captain Jennifer McCormack) l Women’s 4.0, Sportime Kings Park (Captain Michelle Stoerback)

l 55 & Over Women’s 6.0, Sportime Massapequa (Captain Lori DeCostanzo) l Women’s 7.0, Point Set (Captain Ann McGrath)

Save the date! Save the date of Wednesday, May 6, 2105, for the 25th Annual LI Region Awards Dinner! The silver anniversary of our awards program promises to be the best yet, featuring fabulous annual award winners and some surprises. Nominations are open on our Web site; www.longisland.usta.com, and click on “Awards Dinner” and then “Nominate” to select the deserving tennis players, volunteers and organizations. LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Taking Stock in the Pros for 2015 Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rising and w h o â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s f a l l i n g in t h e p r o r a n k s

BY ANDREW EICHENHOLZ head of the 2015 season on the ATP World Tour, many will wonder what to expect out of the familiar faces of the sport. Inevitably, there will be some surprises, as the rankings the way they stand today will not be the same. Here are some reasons to believe that certain players will continue to shine, others will maintain their ground, while some of the best players today may not keep up their level of performance.

Stock up Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Widely regarded as the most entertaining player in the sport, Gael Monfils brings a lot more to the

table than pure amusement. The Parisborn Monfils has a huge game, that when his mindset is right, could absolutely put him smack in the middle of the top 10 in the world for the foreseeable future. Yes, he will make the splitsecond decision to hit shots that are in ways unprofessional and have no clear purpose to winning a point, but that does not take away from his talent. There are few who can run down as many balls as Monfils, and even fewer who can generate the same power that he can at the same time, many examples of which come on the full stretch. The Frenchman has taken sets off of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal this season, showing that he has what it takes to compete against the very best.

Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

It is hard to break onto the scene and become a top contender all in one season, but Eugenie Bouchard has done just that. After reaching the second round twice in her first year of Grand Slam action in 2013, Bouchard let the world know that she was somebody to be reckoned with on the WTA Tour. She surprised many by making the semifinals of the 2014 Australian Open, before backing it up with a run to the same stage of the French Open on the terre battue.

Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

It seems that with his recurring wrist issues, that many have forgotten about Juan Martin del Potro. He has quietly been recovering, trying to get to 100 percent ahead of the 2015 season. Once he gets back, nobody will want a piece of his running forehand, one of the most dangerous weapons in the sport. For the first time in a while, there is not a whole lot of consistency at the top of the game, so look for del Potro to challenge the top-10 with a vengeance. Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Many made a big deal over Caroline Wozniacki’s media-friendly breakup with golfer Rory McIlroy, but it seemingly changed her career around for the better. Unbelievably only 24-years old, she is still entering the prime of her career, and with the form that she displayed from the summer until now, including reaching the U.S. Open final, the lead-end of the top-10 is looking closer and closer to Wozniacki. Hold that stock Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Since 2010, Tomas Berdych has spent pretty much every week ranked somewhere between fifth and eighth in the ATP World Rankings. The master of consistency, Berdych usually only has one blip a year in the Grand Slams, otherwise taking care of business until he is “supposed” to lose. Now, the big man from the Czech Repub-

lic has the talent and overwhelming baseline game to swarm and beat anybody in the world on any given day, but he has not shown the consistency of performing that way against the top guys match in and match out to make a believer in his chances of breaking firmly into the top five. Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Agnieszka Radwanska is as close to a female equivalent of Fabrice Santoro that we have in this era, using her guile and variety to earn wins over her opponent. Although 2014 has been an odd year for her, the Polish sensation rarely loses matches that she should not, and typically wins those in a commanding fashion. Radwanska does not have the firepower to disturb the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, nor does she have quite enough guile to put them off their game, but do not expect her to leave the top10 anytime soon. Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

There is no question that there is a top-tier of servers in the men’s game, and it consists of two people: John Isner and Milos Raonic. There is nobody in the world who can serve quite as big as the Canadian point-in and point-out, but there is more to the sport than serving. In big matches against the handful of players ahead of him in the rankings, the big man’s serve has been neutralized to an extent, and Raonic has not proven that he can beat the top guys purely off of groundstroke rallies. He has plenty of time to improve and get better, but he is not quite at the top tier just yet.

Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

It is rare that you will find a Grand Slam winner take a major title, yet not make it past the third round at a Grand Slam the rest of the season. That is the roller coaster ride of Petra Kvitova, and it is nothing new. When the lefty is on her game, she is one of few players who can test Serena Williams, but when she is off, she is a totally different player. There are no doubts that she will have another big splash next season, whether it comes in a major or not, but will she challenge Serena’s throne? Probably not. Stock down Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Things have happened very quickly for the Japanese phenom Kei Nishikori. In a flash, he has moved from a constant top 20 player to solidly in the top 10, especially with his big performance at the U.S. Open, where he reached the finals. Already at a career high of number six in the world, Nishikori has joined the second tier of the men’s game, but can he stay there? With injury issues in the past, it will take a lot for the youngster to not only stay healthy, but keep up his level, which in the sport of tennis, is not the easiest to do. Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

When you look up inconsistency in the dictionary, Ana Ivanovic will not be far away. She has flashed brilliance this year, playing fantastic tennis at points, even taking Serena continued on page 48

taking stock in the pros for 2015 continued from page 47 Williams out in Australia. However, for a former number one in the world to have only reached seven Grand Slam quarterfinals in her 10-year career, there is something wrong. Ivanovic must find a way to play her best tennis, which is quite good when it comes around, in the biggest moments. Until then, it is hard to see her consistently stay in the top-10.

off of any shot at any time. After a huge moment in Stanislas Wawrinka’s career, when he won this season’s Australian Open, he has not quite been the same player. He played well for the clay season until Roland Garros, and has not been the same fiery competitor winning the big matches since. Can he maintain his spot in the game next year? Absolutely, but he will have to right the ship, and quickly.

Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Few had as good of a year on the ATP World Tour as “Stan the Man.” He is not one of the biggest guys on tour, yet he packs by far one of the biggest punches, capable of hitting a winner

Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Few had as consistent of a year as Simona Halep on the WTA tour, but the Romanian has yet to truly breakthrough. As the likes of Kvitova and Samantha Stosur walk

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

around with Grand Slam titles in their back pockets, Halep, arguably a better overall player than both of those still is empty handed. Any season in which a player is in the vicinity of 50 wins is going to be a tiring one, so the question remains, did Halep leave all she had out there in 2014? Andrew Eichenholz is a journalism student at Stony Brook University, where he currently is a staff writer for The Statesman, covering tennis amongst many sports. He grew up playing tennis at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where he learned to love the game, eventually becoming a part time tennis instructor, working for the most part with the QuickStart 10 & Under Program. Andrew has also served as a ballperson at the U.S. Open. He may be reached by e-mail at andrew.eichenholz@stonybrook.edu.

Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

HI DDEN SEC R E T S O F T H E G RE AT S

Serena Williams

The transcendent and the beautiful warrior queen of tennis

your tennis, and it will be your ticket out.” It seems to me that this unique combination of poverty, sibling rivalry and a father who was totally devoted and protective of her helped to create her winning career. And during the process, she not only escaped the violence and poverty of Compton, but managed to transform and transcend the world of tennis as well.

By Dr. Tom Ferraro This is the fifth column I’ve written on the “Hidden Secrets of the Greats.” We have found that Roger Federer owes much to his Swiss heritage with its sense of precision and attention to detail. We concluded that Rafael Nadal benefited from an unusually supportive family atmosphere. Novak Djokovic developed an extreme toughness by being raised in wartorn Serbia where it was not unusual to hide in cellars during bombing raids. Pete Sampras was a gifted child who enjoyed the solitude and isolation of endlessly hitting balls against his basement wall for hours at a time. Finally, Jimmy Connors was indebted to his mother who taught him to be as aggressive as possible. We now turn attention to Serena Williams. She has already won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, which matches her with both Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. The WTA has ranked her world number one on six different occasions. She is the only female player to have won more than $60 million in purses. She has also won 13 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister, Venus, and is credited with ushering in the era of power and athleticism in women’s tennis. In addition, she has six Gold Medals in the Olympics. Add this up, and you have a truly transcendent athlete who, like Tiger Woods and Mohammed Ali, is compelling in every way. Her beauty, sex appeal, power and ability to win have garnered her wealth, fame and global influence. She has diverse interests beyond tennis, which include business interests in fashion, entertainment, ownership of an NFL franchise and charity work. She is, in short, a superstar on the level of Tiger Woods. If she is

Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

not present at a tournament, the TV ratings and attendance drop sharply. She can move the needle as they say. Okay … we see why she is on the list of tennis greats, but what is her unique secret? Naturally, I met with tennis guru Steve Kaplan of Bethpage Park Tennis Center to get some answers. He told me that, “Serena is unique in her passion, drive and her defiance of convention. Serena is outspoken, unconventional and is a trend setter.” I liked that Steve used the world “defiant” in his description of Serena. By now, everyone knows her back story. Raised in Compton, Calif. in a world of poverty and violence, she and her sister were coached, protected and guided by their father. He would continually tell the girls, “Look around you. Do you want to wind up staying in this place forever? Of course you don’t … so stay focused on

What you can learn from Serena Williams? What I said about Novak Djokovic applies to this column as well. Anyone who gets to the top does so by using their past pain as a motivation. Remember what Mr. Williams said to his girls, “If you want to get out of this place it will take lots of hard work.” The burning motivation to escape from the past is the fuel that keeps the athlete focused over the years. It is far more powerful than any energy drink, drug or coffee you can buy. So if you have suffered with parental loss, sibling abuse, poverty or shame in your past you certainly want to realize all that pain can be rectified with some hard work and diligence and patience. And like all sports, tennis gives you the public forum to finally show the world that you are not in any way lacking or bad or weak or small. Holding up that trophy is often a symbol of having arrived at a special place of selfworth. This is why they all kiss the trophy for the camera. What they are doing unconsciously is kissing the reflection of their new and better self that they see in their silver trophy. For consultations, treatment or on-site visits, contact Dr. Tom Ferraro Ph.D., sport psychologist, by phone at (516) 248-7189, e-mail drtferraro@aol.com or visit www.drtomferraro.com.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

2014 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion he Long Island tennis community has some of the sport’s best facilities, both indoor and outdoor, and best coaches in the world. With this wealth of talent available right in our own backyard, Long Island Tennis Magazine recently took the opportunity to pick the brains of some of these top coaches. What you will find below are some of the sport’s top instructors sharing their ideas and strategies from coaching those new to the game to skilled juniors, the state of tennis on Long Island, the role of the parent in a player’s development, and much more. Even the best coach can always learn an extra tip or two, and the following article will provide all players and coaches with a chance to learn from the cream of the area’s crop.

Meet the participants … Afzal Ali Deer Park Tennis & Fitness Afzal Ali is director of Deer Park Tennis & Fitness and comes from a famous tennis family in India. He has been teaching tennis for 30 years and has produced many top players such as, Leander Paes and Zeeshan Ali, as well as many top juniors from Long Island. Afzal has had the privilege to work under Harry Hopman and Dennis Van Der Meer. Howie Arons Great Neck Estates Tennis Center Howie Arons is the owner/director of Great Neck Estates Tennis Center as well as the Boys Tennis Coach of BN Cardozo High School in Bayside, N.Y. Howie has coached Cardozo for 36 years, and has the most tennis wins in New York State history with 584 wins. He was USTA Coach of the Year in 1988 and USPTA Coach of the Year in 2007. Carl Barnett Glen Head Racquet Club, Home of the Early Hit Training Center This is the 12th season of Carl Barnett’s Early Hit Training Center at Glen Head Racquet Club. Early Hit is dedicated to providing lessons, groups and 50

training in its comprehensive ALPS program. Pat Etcheberry has worked with Carl as an advisor with the ALPS training program. Carl has concluded that students learn faster when they have core fitness, flexibility and explosive strength. Early Hit not only serves juniors as the program features nationally-ranked players in the USTA Open, 40s, 60s and 70s divisions. Ricky Becker JuniorTennisConsulting LLC Ricky Becker is the founder of JuniorTennisConsulting LLC, director of tennis at Pine Hollow Country Club and independently coaches high-performance juniors year-round. Ricky was named the Most Valuable Player for the 1996 NCAA Championship Stanford Tennis Team and was a top-five nationally-ranked junior. Ron D’Alessandro Carefree Racquet Club Ron D’Alessandro is the head pro and director of tennis at Carefree Racquet Club. Ron has more than 20 years of teaching experience, and is USPTA/USPTR Certified, specializing in teaching Cardio Tennis.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

Jay Harris Sportime Jay Harris is the regional manager of Sportime Syosset and Bethpage. Jay was the head men’s coach at Brown University for eight years prior to moving to New York. He left Brown in 2010 as the most successful coach in the 100-plus year history of that school’s program, having led the team to its highest national ranking ever (33), to two straight Ivy League Titles, and to seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2005, Harris was named the Northeast Region Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the National Coach of the Year Award. Jay coached five singles players and 15 different doubles teams to the national rankings, including one All-American team. One of his players recently advanced to his second consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance, having been ranked in the top 50 on the ATP Tour. Before Brown, Harris coached at Bowling Green State University, where one of his players was Sportime’s own Regional Director of Tennis Mike Kossoff. At Bowling Green, Harris was named the 2002 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year after leading his squad to MAC Titles in 2000 and 2002. A former successful collegiate player at the University of Cincinnati, Jay moved to Miami University where he was an assistant women’s tennis coach, while earning his master’s degree in 1996 with a concentration

2014 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion in sports psychology. In addition to coaching many of the nation’s top tennis players, Jay has also worked with many athletes as a Peak Performance Consultant to enhance psychological skills, such as visual imagery, anxiety regulation, selftalk and goal-setting. Steve Kaplan Bethpage Park Tennis Center Steven Kaplan is the owner of Bethpage Park Tennis Center, as well as the director of Lacoste Academy for New York City Parks Foundation. Over the last 35 years, Steve has been the long-time coach of more than 600 nationally-ranked junior players, 16 state high school champions,

two NCAA Division I Singles Champions, and numerous touring professionals and prominent coaches. Steve’s students have been awarded in excess of $8 million in college scholarship money. Whitney Kraft USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Since 2007, Whitney Kraft has been the director of tennis at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. and director of player operations for the U.S. Open. Previously, he was director of tennis for the City of Fort Lauderdale Park & Recreation Department (1998-2007). He was a 1983 Singles All-

American for Florida Atlantic University, and inducted into their inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame class in 2006. He is a National 10 & Under Trainer, a USPPTA Platform Tennis instructor, as well as a member of the National Cardio Tennis Speakers Team. A USPTA member since 1983, Whitney served as district director for Broward County, Florida and as president of the local CTA, Broward Tennis Association. Whitney has been the tournament director for many prestigious events, including the National Public Parks Tennis Championships (2007), ITF World Championships (2002), the inaugural U.S. Open National Sectional Playoffs (2010), USTA Boys 14 National Clay Court Championships (2000-2007) and the USTA National Open Clay Court and

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

2014 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion Ed Krass College Tennis Exposure Camps Ed Krass coached the Harvard Women’s Tennis Team to four consecutive Ivy League titles from 1986-1990. Ed is the founder and director of the Annual College Tennis Exposure Camps, which are taught exclusively by all Head College Coaches for high school-aged players (15-18). Ed is also the founder of One-On-One Doubles tournaments, which have been played at USTA, ATP, ITA and USPTA national events. Rob Polishook, MA, CPC Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder and director of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group. He works with athletes in all sports and levels, helping them to break through mental barriers and be their best both as

a person and an athlete. Rob has spoken to athletes, coaches, and parents both nationally at USTA, USPTA and ITA conferences, and internationally in India and Israel. Additionally, he is author of Tennis Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. His work was recently featured in ESPN’s latest 30 for 30 film called “Fields of Fear.” In prior years, Rob received the USPTA-Eastern Division High School Coach of the Year Award and coached USTA’s 16 and under Zonals. Butch Seewagen CATS—Children’s Athletic Training School/Butch Seewagen Tennis Academy Butch Seewagen is owner of CATS—Children’s Athletic Training School and Butch Seewagen Tennis Academy in Rockville Centre, N.Y. He is a former U.S. Amateur Champion, coach of Ivy League Champion Columbia University, and a top 70 in the world competitor, having played the U.S. Open 13X reaching the semifi-

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nals of doubles and was among the last 32 in singles. Tonny van de Pieterman Point Set Tennis Tonny van de Pieterman is director of tennis operations for Point Set Tennis. He has been at Point Set for three years and is the coordinator of Point Set’s flagship competitive junior program, TTP. He has been coaching top juniors and adult players alike on Long Island’s south shore for the past 10 years. Previously, he coached at the famous Harry Hopman Tennis Academy in Saddlebrook, Fla. before taking residence in Long Beach, N.Y. Jay Wass Sportime Kings Park Jason Wass is a USPTA Professional Certified Instructor, with experience coaching all ages and levels. A graduate of the USTA High Performance Player Development program, Jay’s strengths lie in working with players in developmental stages of the game, building player’s technique and strategy from the ground up. Jason’s versatility as a tennis coach is demonstrated by his list of students that range from total beginner to nationally-ranked. Named the 2010 USTA Long Island Tennis Professional of the Year, Jay is the director of tennis at Sportime Kings Park.

2014 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion The roundtable ...

What are the biggest positives and negatives about the current state of tennis on Long Island and how can we continue to grow participation in the sport? Afzal Ali: To grow tennis participation on Long Island, we have to make private and group lessons more affordable. Every three months or so, the Island’s tennis clubs should give a free clinic to non-club members, only for an hour or two, and the general public will appreciate it. Howie Arons: Tennis is absolutely growing on Long Island. As an owner and director of a tennis club, our growth continues to improve. With the addition of 10 & Under initiatives throughout Long Island, many new families are experiencing the sport of tennis. Many juniors are playing middle school, junior varsity and high school tennis as well. This becomes a great base for private tennis clubs to focus on. Scholastic tennis, in my opinion, is the way to grow the game. Having a goal of playing varsity tennis will grow our game among junior players. When I hear some coaches tell their players to simply come to their program and skip the high school experience, it saddens me because these coaches simply don’t get it. Playing high school tennis is fun, it builds friendships that last a lifetime, and it truly makes juniors love tennis even more. Businesses and organizations should

take advantage of Long Island Tennis Magazine as I do. They have the largest voice in the tennis world on Long Island, and we as businesses and organizations should not take for granted how their expos, events and publication can help us all grow participation. Ricky Becker: I think the biggest positive is that there are more good coaches coming to the Long Island area than leaving the area. It’s great for everyone. I think the biggest negative though is that too many people now have multiple coaches, which limits player development.

Steven Kaplan: I’m cautiously optimistic about the state of tennis on Long Island. On the positive side, tennis is ingrained in Long Island culture, as people love and appreciate the value of the sport. Tennis is a part of the overall educational experience for many children and a strong core of adults see the health and fitness benefits. We have a high concentration of facilities, top programs and dedicated players. The spotlight of the tennis universe is nearby at the U.S. Open for two weeks every year, and that is an incredible opportunity for Long Islanders. Long Island

www.CosmeticDentistryOfLongIsland.com LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

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Coaches Roundtable Discussion Tennis Magazine and New York Tennis Magazine have presented the New York Tennis Expo with an unprecedented attendance for two consecutive years now, and events like this helps drive increased interest in the sport. QuickStart programs are giving very young players the chance to see tennis as fun at an early age, and that is important for the sport to grow. On the negative side, the economic crunch has impacted tennis participation on much of Long Island. Unemployment, rising healthcare costs and ridiculously inflated college tuition costs, have reduced Long Islander’s discretionary incomes. While many indoor facilities deliver great value with top programs, operational costs are rising quickly. It’s a challenging economy for everyone. New York City has extensive programs like City Parks Foundation and NYJTL, which address the need to create opportunities for players based first, on economic need. Many Long Island clubs provide scholarships to players based primarily on ability as a marketing tool. This is terrific for the players and their families, but it shifts resources more than it creates needed

new opportunities to grow the game. Jason Wass: Long Island has amazing tennis pros, talented young athletes and a wealth of resources. These are the some of the biggest positives about Long Island tennis and why I believe that we get our players off to such a great start in this game. However, heightened competition can lead to greater burnout, and the cold weather months means less accessible court time, which can derail players from being on-court as much as they would normally want to. Long Island Tennis Magazine has brought a new level of excitement to the Long Island tennis community. They have shined a light on many of the great programs and stories that before, would have gone untold or unseen. What qualities would you look for in the person chosen as the USTA’s new head of player development, and is there a specific candidate you have in mind? Ricky Becker: Without knowing people’s specific philosophies on how to develop a whole nation of tennis players, it is difficult to endorse a specific person. The

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major quality I would look for in the candidate is someone who can cede control, and convince the USTA board that it’s okay, and not insist that the USTA only provide funding if the USTA is the “team leader.” Steven Kaplan: The new head of USTA player development has a daunting task ahead of them as the current state of U.S. tennis is not great. Clearly, the system needs to progress and the new director will need several important qualities. First, they will need the courage to stand up to the current system’s politics to lead change. Next, they will need the vision to champion progress and innovation. They will need to be independent thinkers, well-acquainted with tennis in this country, as well as with worldwide practices. A strong playing background will provide a keen understanding of what it takes to succeed and will give the new director both insight and credibility. They will need to be dedicated, hard-working and nonelitist. Finally, they will need to be an inspirational leader who is fully committed to the job. Two potential former tennis greats come to mind. Both of these potential candidates are intelligent, independent and articulate, and have exhibited the qualities that the job requires. Martina Navratatilova and Jim Courier would both be great choices. Butch Seewagen: There is no doubt that there is much to do and improve upon for the next head of USTA player development. Like everyone else, I am disappointed by the lack of success the U.S. has had over the last few years. One problem has been a lack of communication and sharing of ideas with past players and elite coaches. The new director must have strong organizational skills and be willing to be more communicative with other tennis experts to come up with a new agenda. Rather than having one di-

2014 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion rector, each of the 17 USTA Sections should have a head of development. These Sectional heads should be willing to reach out to the best tennis minds in their area to come up with suggestions for the national director to be implemented locally and evaluated for possible national expansion. These sectional leaders should meet periodically with the national director for an idea sharing summit. No one person has all the answers. I would venture to bet success will come from an idea from a new source that, up to now, has not been asked. The challenge I have for the new USTA director of player development is how to improve regional levels of competition so that top players do not have to leave home to go to an academy for better competition. I personally believe that the local level of coaching is equal and, at times, superior to the national academies. I am sure I am one of many who would be willing to give suggestions, if only there was someone who asked. The person I would recommend for the position of national head of player development is Howard Endelman of Columbia University.

With girls, confirm often when finding new techniques and only raise your voice in praise. Girls are no doubt some of my toughest players, but an even voice providing lots of support to their efforts is what I have found works best. Ron D’Alessandro: For me, there is relatively no difference. I feel that I need to find a connection with the student, whether a boy or girl, and try to understand how they tick. What I mean by this is you must determine their skill assets, their mental capabilities, and their level of focus. The pro in certain respects needs to adjust to the student, as much as the student needs to listen to the pro. The biggest difference for me is generally whether they want to tell you about One Direction or how lousy the Jets are playing. Ed Krass: I think it is a good idea to tell the girls a few things they are doing well, before telling them what they are doing “wrong.” This may hold true with some boys, as well. I have found the direct approach works better with the boys, but not all the time. Each person is different,

so your approach to coaching men and women should differ a bit. The women should both like their coach and respect their coach. The men need to mainly respect their coach and can actually not like their coach and still produce winning results. I’ve seen plenty of this type of scenario over the years! At what age level, if any, does home schooling become necessary for the serious tennis player? Ricky Becker: If a serious player is considered to be a Division I caliber level or lower, it is absolutely not necessary. If someone wants to put all their eggs in one basket and try to be a legitimate pro player, I do think the younger the child is home-schooled, the better it is for them. Rob Polishook: There is not a one-sizefits-all answer for this question. It’s based on the personal development of the player. Recent studies in both the men’s and woman’s game has shown that the top players now are older than in previous years. Hopefully, this will put the focus back on the players’ individual process and eliminate time constraints. All kids are

Jason Wass: Personally, I think that whomever is selected head USTA player development should be focused on player and program development, rather than be focused on the highest level players. Top coaches can be hired to work with top players, but the position, in my opinion will require someone who understands player development on a more overall stage and at a younger age. Is there a difference between coaching girls and boys? Carl Barnett: Boys need and want to be pushed. You should know where their buttons are, but don’t go overboard. The need for “less is more” is common. Girls are more mindful and present in practice.

www.solowsports.com LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

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Coaches Roundtable Discussion different and may thrive in different settings. Homeschooling is an option to develop a serious tennis player, however there are other options. Tonny van de Pieterman: I would strongly advise against any homeschooling for junior tennis players. A successful tennis player is a great manager of time and problem solver, and should be able to combine both school and tennis training. Perhaps if a junior shows great success at the age of 15, nationally and internationally, a decision based on the chance of a professional career would make an exception to my advice. If a player is lacking confidence, what is the best thing to do on court to get them to relax and gain their confidence back again? Howie Arons: As a high school coach for the past 36 years, I have had numerous occasions to help players regain their confidence and a positive attitude. When able to coach on-court during a match, I try to get my player to simply not get too far ahead of himself. If he is losing big, I would get the player to not think about

the match or losing. Just win the next point and the next game. Seriously, every good tennis player knows that one game can turn a whole match around. Think in the moment, do not think of winning or losing … just focus on the next point. At Boys 14s Zonals about 10 years ago, I was coaching an ETA player who was down 6-1, 5-0. At the change, he said, “Sorry coach, I suck.” I said to him, “Just win this next game and you will put pressure on your opponent to close the match.” He won that game and won the match 6-1 in the third. Never judge yourself during the match, focus on the next point, as it may be the difference. Rob Polishook: The key is to slow things down and shift the focus to what the player can control. This might be their breathing, strategy and staying positive. Confidence is a process that begins when a player focuses on what they can control. When a player focuses on what they can control, they will be more inclined to relax, be in control, and play their game. Tonny van de Pieterman: Tournament players can lose their confidence if their

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

expectations are not met. As a coach, I try and keep the big picture in mind. The players will lose this sometimes because of all the emotions that match play will bring up as a result. If I can help my players focus on the things they can control, they will soon relax and rebuild their confidence. Do you think tennis players should take an offseason to rest? Afzal Ali: No, the reason for taking time off during the offseason is to rest, but a tennis player must always be “matchready.” Professional tennis players will lose the feel of the ball, timing and pressure shots on the run if they have too much down-time. The tennis player should take a week or two and train their body; core, legs and upper body strength, as well as yoga for mental training and flexibility. Jay Harris: This is a question that I have heard asked for years. And I just don’t get it. The stars of the tennis tour need an offseason? Aren’t they able to make their own schedule to suit their own needs with no worry of pre-season training camps to report to or making team meetings during the season on time so that the guys at ESPN don’t spend days and days making fun of them for the devastation they are causing to their teams and cities? Can’t these tennis players essentially schedule vacations at any time in between the 1420 tournament weeks that they play in a year? Doesn’t that give them at least 32 weeks a year to find time for their very own “off-season?” Now don’t get me wrong … playing tennis on the Pro Tour can be grueling. Traveling all over the world, making last minute reservations and jumping in and out of planes, and waking up in random cities from Tashkent, Uzbekistan to Springfield, Ill. can leave one a little confused when trying to figure out what con-

2014 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion tinent they just woke up in. But that is not who this question usually targeted for. Instead of worrying about these top players needing an offseason, let’s worry about the depth of this sport! Let’s worry about the players who may actually need an offseason just to survive and let’s figure out how to share the wealth a little more so they don’t have to kill themselves all year long! Former Brown University player and top 50 ATP player (yes they play tennis in the Ivy league too!), Jamie Cerretani, once played 45 tournaments in a year! Yes that’s right … 45 tournaments! There are 52 weeks in a year. So he was off for seven of them? Well, not exactly. He had to also play for a German professional club team to make enough money to travel. Jamie, a Boston native, actually

didn’t even venture back into the states for a two-and-a-half-year span while he worked his way up to the main ATP draws. Let’s find a way to help these types of players because there are some pretty darn good ones out there just trying to survive long enough to make a splash! By the way, I’m proud to say that Jamie made his splash by advancing to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon two years in a row! Steven Kaplan: Although tennis players don’t need an offseason to rest, they can phase their training routines to optimize skill improvement, injury avoidance and peak performance. While a focus on selfawareness is necessary for maximum im-

provement on the practice court, it is a poor mindset for great competitive performances which require a relaxed mindset. Players should consider taking periodic competitive tournament breaks to prioritize on and off the court progress without the limitations of tournaments preparation. Of course, it’s not easy to convince an ambitious young player to take a rest from accumulating ranking points, but in any career, there’s a time to build achievement wealth and a time to invest in skill equity. How important is a physical size advantage on the junior and pro levels? Afzal Ali: At the junior level, it doesn’t matter that much, but physical size is significant because movement, reach, power

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

2014 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion and skill plays a very big role at the professional level. Steven Kaplan: One of the wonderful things about tennis is that the heart and head of a player can be so strong that they can overcome physical disadvantages and achieve greatness. This uphill battle against nature is getting more difficult in the modern game however. Tennis, like any sport, has body types that are favorable for excellence. As the sport becomes more about explosive power, long lean frames often have an edge. The average height of the top 100 men on the professional tour has increased about an amazing 1.5 inches in the last five years to almost 6 feet, 2 inches. The top 100 women have seen similar increases to a current average of 5 foot, 10 inches. The average weight of the top men and women have also increased as well, likely as the result of the need for developing greater muscle mass. Since tennis is also about power endurance, shorter compactly built athletes also achieve top levels, but clearly, in pro tennis, size matters. Greater size, strength as well as physical maturity are also im-

portant in juniors, but these advantages are often very fluid since children’s bodies can develop rapidly. Whitney Kraft: Having a size advantage is beneficial at certain ages of in the junior ranks, and disadvantageous at other times if an awkward growth spurt accompanies the size increase as it takes time for youth players to adjust. At the pro level, it becomes more evident as people like Marin Cilic demonstrated at this year’s U.S. Open, combining both his height/strength to dominate his service games and nimble movement to gain his first U.S. Open and Grand Slam title. Who are the greatest players of all-time on each surface? Carl Barnett: On clay, it would have to be Rafael Nadal. On hard courts, I would say Roger Federer, and on grass, I would say Pete Sampras. Jay Harris: On clay, most today would think this is a slam dunk question and would immediately anoint Rafael Nadal as the greatest clay courter ever, having won seven French Open Championships in

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seven trips to the finals. But let’s not forget Bjorn Borg. He won six French Opens in six trips to the finals, and we will never know how many more he would have won had he not retired at the age of 26. He was 49-2 at the French Open, and at one point, actually won 41 straight sets on the red clay—not even Rafa has done that. But two facts remain; Borg did retire early, and Rafa still has more years to come. Nadal is now 52-1 at the French and also essentially dominates every other clay court event as well. On grass, many will be quick to choose the easy route and go with Roger Federer, but we have to dig a little deeper and make sure that we look on the women’s side here for the greatest grass court performers, and there we will find a great debate. Martina Navratilova and her record nine Wimbledon Titles is impressive, but what may be more impressive are Steffi Graf’s seven titles in nine years over the likes of Navratilova, Chris Evert and Monica Seles. Having said that, I have to go with my heart and still pick Pete Sampras and his seven titles and 57-1 record in a nine-year span as the greatest grass court player ever. On hard courts, if you ask me who is most fun to watch on the hard courts, I would have to go with John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. But looking at the overall results, I have to give it to Roger Federer. He has won nine Grand Slam titles on hard courts and has dominated many summers of hard court tennis. How important do you think it is for a junior to participate in doubles as well as singles? Afzal Ali: Absolutely! It is very important for juniors to participate in doubles. It teaches them to move forward and develop their angles, return of serve, volleys and overheads, which many juniors lack. Jay Harris: It is a common thought that

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

2014 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion our American players do not play enough doubles. I personally feel that not only is consistent doubles exposure and training important to develop doubles skills, but also that these doubles skills are highly important in the overall development of a singles player. Many players have earned their way on a college team based on their doubles ability. I have had three of my Brown graduates earn their way on the professional tour via doubles success, and I had plenty of doubles successes with teams at Brown, so I may be a little biased, but I am of course not in the minority when it comes to preaching about the importance of doubles. But what is being done about it? Are there junior coaches out there truly main-

taining a consistent level of doubles skill training? It is all good for our junior players to be playing more doubles in tournaments than possibly they have in the recent past, but the training is where a majority of the true progression is going to take place. If players only really play doubles in tournaments, then they are really just becoming singles players playing doubles in tournaments. It isn’t hard for college coaches to see who has trained to develop doubles and attacking skills. Those players who do it will undoubtedly keep finding ways on to great college teams, and I truly believe that those players will also be set up to produce the all-important word: Potential. Tonny van de Pieterman: Unfortunately,

it seems there are increasingly less opportunities for juniors to play doubles. I find doubles a great addition to the overall learning path of a junior. It is so much less stressful, great practice, and it is at least a somewhat social event. Is it better for a junior to play up or down in ability level and why? Ron D’Alessandro: For the most part, it is always more beneficial for a junior to play up in ability level. Reasons being that when you play more skilled players, your focus level seems to increase, thus giving you the ability to raise the level of your play. If you are playing better players, you may be more inclined to take more risk by going for shots that you may not normally hit. You have to play outside your comfort

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Coaches Roundtable Discussion zone at times in order to boost the level of your play. If the junior is just starting to compete at a lower level, I wouldn’t want to always play better players. You want them to have some level of success, so that they can build confidence in their game. Ed Krass: Juniors need to control their own level/age bracket before playing up. Championship-level college players learn how to become “pressure” players at the junior level. One feels the most pressure playing in their own age division, as they feel they have more to lose in that scenario. Whereas, playing up gives the players the feeling that they have nothing to lose, hence not enough pressure to truly develop into a champion. There are a few exceptions to this. For example, if a player wins 80 to 90 percent of their matches, all the time, in their age division, then it is a good idea to challenge them by entering them into an age level up. Jason Wass: A simple formula for me is 25 percent of the time, play up; 25 percent of the time, play down; and 50 percent of the time, play on or about your

own level. More importantly, I think that players should train with players of similar intensity levels and common goals, otherwise the level of focus and concentration can be difficult to maintain. What is the most ignored aspect of footwork today and how could it be improved? Carl Barnett: Core strength and foot speed. Core strength is what allows one to float as they move, and foot speed can be increased in everyone. Footwork drills on the court and the second half of resistance drills, where bungie cords make the player work at a level they are not accustomed to, are ways in which footwork can be improved. Butch Seewagen: With the disappearance of the net game, two consequences have developed: Rarity of one-handed backhands and the closed stance. To be able to have the option to move forward quickly necessitates a closed or sideways stance. Moving forward to the net from a closed stance enables a player to get three to five steps closer to the net. Roger Federer is the most prominent player to

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play varying his stances from closed to open. This ability makes him the poster boy for the all-court game. The simplest way to practice the closed stance is to catch a ball out in front of a player’s lead foot (forehand or backhand) with the non-racket hand and then put it into play with a closed or squared position. For a righty to do a one- or twohanded backhand requires the left arm to be over the right to catch the ball. Then, simply lift and hit with one or two hands as if feeding a ball to rally. By practicing putting the ball into play from a square or closed position to start every rally will make this position become natural. Whitney Kraft: There is so much within this question … however, players learning to take and give space at appropriate times is one area, service returns for example, when to approach, etc. As well, a greater focus on feet “alertness” immediately after the serve is crucial to mitigate the deep aggressive return hit directly back at the server. What traits must a top player possess mentally and physically to set them apart? Carl Barnett: What I feel is essential to be instilled in teaching juniors is the importance of simplifying of their training, both mentally and physically. In addition, we must provide a systematic approach that motivates and inspires kids to achieve their desired goals. Our commitment is to “their success” and they must know it. Rob Polishook: Mentally, top players must be able manage and release their emotion. This doesn’t mean ignoring nerves, but rather, knowing what they need to do to in order to deal with pressure and bring themselves back to a state of calm. During Novak Djokovic’s serve routine, he bounces the ball until he is

2014 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion calm. Only then does he begin the point. Physically, top players must be able to play a grueling point, then recover so their heart rate is in their ideal zone. And then be able to play another grueling point. Then continue this cycle throughout the match. Butch Seewagen: Physically, the obvious traits are speed, agility, flexibility, strength and stamina. My father, legendary Eastern Coach George Seewagen, once answered this question by pointing to his heart and stomach. A player must have the stomach for battle and the heart of a champion, a love for competition, and 100 percent effort with no excuses. The players I admire most for these qualities are Rafael Nadal and Jimmy Connors. Mentally, the traits most important for a top player to possess is persistence and determination. When I was younger, before competing, my father always gave me two words of encouragement, “Be determined,” before stepping onto the court. My favorite quote is by Calvin Coolidge: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” How can we get more people watching college tennis both live in-person and on TV? Ricky Becker: I would focus on the inperson experience, not the TV viewership. Futile efforts to get television numbers for college tennis are ruining the experience for players and fans by changing scoring, rules, etc. What I learned from playing at Stanford and against Georgia, UCLA, USC and other big name schools is crowds begin to form when the team members recruit their friends to watch

the matches, who then recruit their friends, and so-on. And if they tailgate first with food and beverages first, all the better! Before you know it, the matches have a “buzz” to them and it becomes a happening. Jay Harris: I was a college coach for 16 years, and am now in the private sector of the tennis business, running clubs and getting involved in different community tennis programs across Long Island. From my experiences in these areas, I am just amazed at the disconnect between all three!! I grew up with a high school basketball and football-coaching father. Do you know what I remember? I remember college coaches like Bobby Knight and Bob Huggins walking in to high school and junior high gyms all over their states. These coaches walked in to these gyms sometimes to talk to fifth and sixth graders! They weren’t there to recruit these kids of course. They were there partially because they wanted to help the youth of America, but also to create raving fans! I loved Bobby Knight after hearing him stand up and give a speech laced with profanity to a bunch of us 13-year olds! It was awesome! (Ok, maybe not to the parents, but to a group of giggling 13 yearold boys it was! Ha) And even though I lived in Ohio, I had to root for Indiana too! How many college coaches have gone and even stepped foot on a high school campus? How many have even gone into local clubs to inspire young tennis players by directly giving them an experience by being in the presence of the head coach that player should be striving to play for one day? Now, on the other hand, how many high school coaches even know who the college tennis coaches are in their area? They do have the Internet, right? How many of these coaches, or club pros,

have invited a college coach to come and see a group of their kids practice and possibly speak to them for 15 minutes? College tennis can change their rules and create a format that is better for TV, and then they can squeeze on TV here and there, but the only way to really make headway with this issue, is to create meaningful and lasting relationships in the communities. At Texas A&M, for example, they sell season tickets for their home tennis matches! Can you imagine? Do you think the current coach and past coaches put some time into community relationships? Of course they did. But that’s an anomaly. We need every college coach working to create these relationships and we need loads of tennis coaches at high schools and clubs to buy into the idea that the kids they are coaching, want to play college tennis one day, and that maybe it’s a good idea to give them a glimpse of what they are apparently striving to get involved in. Ed Krass: We can get folks to college matches if we play the matches after work, say around 6:00 p.m. or on the weekend in the afternoon. These events need to be very fan-friendly, and include music, concessions and announcers with an exciting atmosphere. The format needs to be shorter in length and not last for five hours! I like the no-ad scoring to speed up the matches and showcase more pressure points for the audience. Music could be played low throughout the matches, but certainly in the background. The racquet companies could give away a free racquet, and there could be speed serve contests at halftime, along with other contests to entice folks to participate. College matches would be cool to watch on TV if it was easy to understand and follow. All of the singles and doubles matches may be best served by showing the highlights of each match. The TV pro-

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

2014 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion ducers will need to do an excellent editing job with this part to build in a 30-minute or 60-minute show. If college tennis is seen more on TV, the game will grow fast with bigger crowds attending the college tennis matches in the future! Jason Wass: I read an article recently that the Penn State tennis program has had hundreds more spectators at their home matches than in previous years. Whatever they are doing, it should be copied. Personally, at the collegiate level, it needs to start with the team members, their families and friends, and then move out from there. In addition, college teams interacting with local tennis programs would do a lot to increase their fan base. Young players would love to get behind collegiate athletes and the atmosphere for the matches is both energetic and fun which is a great recipe for increased fan participation.

If you had to choose one player on the pro tour to serve as a role model for your students, who would it be and why? Howie Arons: It is very tough to choose one role model for our juniors today, because there are so many. But if I had to pick one, it would have to be Roger Federer … no doubt. He plays so hard, is not afraid to lose and respects the game and his opponents. To care so much and work this hard at this point in his career is amazing. He is a life role model, not just a tennis player. He plays for passion and love; he certainly does not need the money. The way he handles himself before, during and after a match can teach all of us about life and tennis. Ron D’Alessandro: I would choose Novak Djokovic, and not only because he’s one of the top players in the world, but because of the way he interacts with

other players and the fans. You can go on YouTube and see many videos of Novak having a great time, joking around on and off the court, dancing, singing, mimicking other players, and all in good fun. It makes him a very likeable person, not only for his tennis skills, and his success as a player, but because he seems like a regular guy that most people can relate to. Whitney Kraft: It would have to be David Ferrer. He is hard-working, steady emotionally, selfless, humble, and respectful of his opponents. For example, this year after receiving a walkover at the U.S. Open, he proceeded immediately to the practice courts to not only hit, but also work with his strength and conditioning coach, doing ball chase downs, sprints and other taxing and exasperating exercises to prepare for his next match. Impressive work ethic!

Tennis for Teens at Rikers Island Correction Center Members of the USTA Long Island Region Board, along with athree tennis instructors from Sportime’s John McEnroe Tennis Academy, recently joined together to put on the first ever tennis clinic at the Rikers Island Correction Center juvenile jail. This was a very successful day, where many boys participated. Every player was given a copy of New York Tennis Magazine, and new racquets balls were also gifted to the facility. Rikers Island Corrections Deputy Chief Greg McLaughlin and Warden James Perrino coordinated this effort with USTA Eastern LI Board Member Bob Coburn. It took many months in order to clear the way for this event to take place. “This was a wish for a long time and only came about because of our terrific volunteers and the great leaders at Rikers who realized the benefits of offering tennis to their inmates,” said Coburn. USTA volunteers included Marian Morris, Akiko Tohmatsu, Danny Burgess and Kevin Tuohy. Jamie Moore, Sportime’s director of community outreach, and John McEnroe Tennis Academy pros Michael Moore and Chidi Gabriel represented JMTA. Discussions are already planned to develop an ongoing tennis program at Rikers Island.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

Bill Mountford, American Collegiate Invitational Tournament director; Julia Elbaba from Oyster Bay, N.Y.; Ossining, N.Y.’s Jamie Loeb, winner of the inaugural American Collegiate Invitational; and Dave Haggerty, chairman, CEO and president of the USTA

New Yorker Jamie Loeb Captures American Collegiate Invitational Women’s Singles Title Inspired by seeing her hero Roger Federer earlier in the morning eating breakfast, North Carolina’s Jamie Loeb of Ossining, N.Y. beat fellow New Yorker, Oyster Bay’s Julia Elbaba, 7-5, 6-1 of Virginia to capture the first American Collegiate Invitational women’s singles title played on-site during the U.S. Open. With the win, Loeb receives at least a qualifying wild card into next year’s U.S. Open. “I think I started off pretty slow,” said Loeb, who trains at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) at Sportime Randall’s Island. “It was pretty hot out there, and it took me awhile to adjust to that. But as I got into the match I was able to get more serves in.” Loeb said the key to the day was a break in a close second game of the second set. “Jamie is a great girl and a hard worker,” said Claude Okin, Sportime CEO. “JMTA is proud to be a part of her development. She

Credit photos to USTA

Jamie Loeb en route to her victory over Oyster Bay’s Julia Elbaba at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is the perfect example of a scholar athlete.” “Getting that break was huge,” Loeb said, adding she felt a little nervous at the start and that might have attributed to her slow start. “I think I’m pretty mentally tough, and I’m always going to fight to the last point.”

Besides being in the presence of her favorite player Federer before her match, her favorite memory of the week was “all the support of my family and friends.” Felix Alvarado, Loeb’s personal coach from JMTA, said, “I think Jamie was a little nervous at first, but she played better as the match went on and took control in the second set. She played great not just today, but great throughout the whole tournament.” Elbaba was disappointed with the loss. “I felt I left everything out there on the court,” Elbaba said. “I thought we put on a great match for all the supporters. Tennis is a big game on momentum, and I thought she just gained confidence throughout the match.” Elbaba said her best memory was, “playing some of my best tennis in front of some of the biggest crowds I’ve played in front of.”

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

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charitabl Sportime Tennis Pro Scores Love for Kent Animal Shelter Sportime Quogue tennis pro Dave Herman organized a doubles tennis tournament on Labor Day weekend to benefit Kent Animal Shelter, with sponsorship of Douglas Elliman Real Estate, and raised $4,200 for homeless pets. “We’re very grateful to Dave Herman, Sportime Quogue, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Quality Metal Stamping LLC, and all of the players who participated,” said Pamela Green, executive director of Kent

Animal Shelter, a private no-kill shelter that has been based in Calverton since 1968. “The funds donated will do a lot of good for homeless, abandoned, abused and neglected pets.” Kent Animal Shelter is a 501(C)3 notfor-profit organization established as a no-kill haven for abandoned, neglected or abused animals. For more information about Kent Animal Shelter, visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.

Dave Herman, tennis pro at Sportime Quogue, with Pamela Green of Kent Animal Shelter

Shelter Rock Raises Record $53,000 for Play for P.I.N.K. Organization BY LEE RAISFELD Credit photo to Reuben Kleiner

The Shelter Rock Tennis Club and Country Club family gathered recently for a funfilled afternoon of great tennis and charity, raising a grand total of $53,000 for the Play for P.I.N.K. (Prevention, Immediate diagnosis, New technology, Knowledge) organization. For the second consecutive year, Shelter Rock hosted a Play for P.I.N.K. tennis tournament to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 64

Robin Deitch Nogrady, host of the event, is a breast cancer survivor and the driving force behind Shelter Rock’s Play for P.I.N.K. day. Shelter Rock Tennis club is proud to have raised the highest amount of money of any tennis only club in the country. Nearly 160 tennis members, family and friends participated in men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed-doubles events throughout the day. The doubles

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

teams were divided by skill and played four 30-minute sessions. Winners of each flight were awarded prizes donated by the Play for P.I.N.K. organization. Taking place throughout the day were local vendors, raffles and a silent auction where proceeds helped raise funds for the charity. After the afternoon of tennis, a buffet dinner was served to more than 225 attendees.

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le initiatives The success of the event was attributed to the hard work and dedication of a group of individuals, including the dedicated staff of Shelter Rock Tennis Club, including Director of Tennis Rick Liebman, his wife Monica, Head Pro Robin Deitch Nogrady, Alex Zarek and Dean Nogrady (from Engineers Country Club). The first and second place finishers received awards from Play for P.I.N.K. Many thanks also to the outstanding efforts from the ladies of Shelter Rock, under the leadership of Co-Chairs Ellen Fuller and

Laura Genova, the backbone of the day’s events. The women sold banners, gathered raffle prizes, wrapped gifts and decorated Shelter Rock to make it look and feel festive. This is the second year that Ellen and Laura have extended themselves with outstanding results. Play for P.I.N.K. has been informally adopted by country clubs across Long Island to raise money through golf, tennis and card party events (Shelter Rock added canasta to this year’s activities schedule). All of the money donated to

Play for P.I.N.K. is given to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to support life saving research grants to help save lives. The Bloomberg Organization supports the charity, Wilson Sporting Goods supplied the pink tennis balls and Estee Lauder provided each player with a goodie bag filled with products. Lee Raisfeld is executive board member of Shelter Rock Tennis Club & Country Club. Lee may be reached by e-mail at lee.raisfeld@ferguson.com.

Lawrence Yacht and Country Club Tennis Event Raises $30,000-Plus for Wounded Warriors Project

The Lawrence Yacht and Country Club recently hosted a charity event at its club benefiting the Wounded Warriors Project. The inaugural event was a day filled with activities, such as tennis tournaments, a golf outing and an afternoon of fishing. The tennis tournament consisted of 40 people playing mixed-doubles, along with more than 120 golfers, as many others were out on the water enjoying a day of fishing. Mark Harrison, Lawrence CC’s head tennis professional, gave free lessons

prior to the mixed-doubles tournament to all members of the Wounded Warriors who were interested in participating. Following that, a member of the Country Club paired up with a Wounded Warrior in the tournament. All in all, more than $30,000 was raised for the Wounded Warriors Project. The money was raised through the participants, as well as many members of the Five Towns community donating money and prizes. The day culminated with a dinner and

cocktail reception, with 300-plus attendees. In addition to the donated money, businesses and companies from around the Five Towns community contributed gift cards, prizes, sports tickets and many other things that were part of a silent auction, live auction and a raffle. More than 150 prizes were available, with all of the proceeds benefiting the Wounded Warriors Project. The event was in its first year, but its success ensured that the Wounded Warriors will be back at Lawrence next year.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

: e v r Se e

k c a B e k a T e h t f o o p m e T e h T By Lisa Dodson

he tempo of the take-back is the first and most critical phase in the timing of the serve. It doesn’t matter whether you use a classic, abbreviated or somewhere in between motion. Remember you have to organize your feet, legs, hips, torso, shoulders, arms, hands and head in a continuous chain event to get to one specific moment in time: Contact point. It only makes sense that you must begin in a specific and detailed manner in order to keep coordination of the body parts moving throughout the chainlike

s s e c c u S e v r e S o t l a c i t i r C is

event that is the serve. In other words, there is a lot to do before you can effectively strike a serve consistently. In my experience, most players are far too lax in their routine and first phase of the serve. We’re all in too much of rush to hit the ball instead of sitting the ball toss in a predictable racket path. Taking time to check the essentials before serving and centering your thoughts (your routine) and beginning the take back in a slow and deliberate manner create a successful recipe for high percentage serving. Service motion technique should be identical every time whether you are hitting a first or second serve or hitting various serve types (flat, slice, kick, etc.). This is the secret to success for world-class players. The best players in the world strive to make their process of

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hitting the serve the same all of the time. We need to embrace the importance of this. Focusing on repetitive sameness ensures great timing, a perfect contact point and a high rate of successful serving. So, how do we hit various serves using the same form or technique? We vary the grip and ball toss placement. These factors will determine how the racket edge and face approach the ball and will give you potential to hit many types of serves. Once this is understood serving becomes a much easier task. Regardless of what type of serve you are hitting, consistency in tempo is critical. The main focus of this article is to help you understand how to begin your takeback consistently and efficiently. To do this, we need to look at the events that precede and therefore contribute to an effective take-back. So, here we go: Begin each serve with a deliberate routine When walking up to the service line, typically we go through a routine for serve preparation. No matter what the score or how you feel you need to stick to this routine. The purpose of the routine is to physically begin your serve the same each time. If we do things successfully and correctly in an unconscious manner through repetition, this calms the mind and the body so that we can produce these same movements under all circumstances. Before stepping up to the line we have decided what type of serve we are hitting and where we want the ball to land. Swing speed is not in question, because it will basically be the same every time. Check the grip, set your feet, bounce the ball, hold the racket and ball still for a long count, take a last look at your opponent and let it fly.

Why is routine so important to the tempo of the take-back? The simplest explanation is that if you are still and deliberate at the start you will be able to determine your tempo. Many players rush through this part by dropping and raising the toss and hit arms quickly, starting the serve fast rather than slow. You need to feel what you are doing rather than just starting to whirl the racket. The legs and hips initiate the take-back. Holding the racket hand and toss hand in a fixed start position lets the legs activate first. The tempo on the serve is “slow and go” The serve is basically two speeds: (1) Slow and deliberate through rotation of the hips, toss extension and racket arm bend in back, and (2) Faster acceleration up to the ball using leg drive, toss arm pull and racket throw (pronation). Without this slow and organized start, we cannot get our legs involved. The serve just becomes dropping the hands, tossing the ball and hitting it with the racket. Remember that all of the body is involved in the serve. We need to start it with great timing. A typical example of poor tempo is the “Three-speed” serve. This player swings fast/slow (or stop)/fast. You’ll see a fast drop and release of the ball, a stop in the back and then an attempt at acceleration. These players have no natural

rhythm or timing for the serve and lose power by swinging harder. They also have uncontrolled tossing skills. Also, the fast release of the toss and abrupt use of the racket arm doesn’t allow the legs to become involved. The tempo of one arm dictates the tempo of the other arm Let’s just say that our hands and arms like to move the same speed and act the same on either side of our bodies. They balance us out, and it is difficult to make them do very different things at the same time. This is one of the reasons tossing with a straight arm and bending the hit arm is so difficult. When the hit arm is supposed to bend to drop the racket down the back, the toss arm thinks it is supposed to bend as well. On the other hand, when the toss arm stays straight in front as it’s supposed to do, the racket arm thinks it is also supposed to stay straight. We intellectually know that the two arms have different physical functions. Getting the arms to understand their two different jobs is another matter. The only way to control and feel the specific movements of each arm is to initiate the take-back slowly and evenly. If one arm moves slowly, then the other will follow, therefore allowing better control of movement. A typical problem and solution Most of us are focused on hitting the ball

on the serve (as opposed to creating a service motion and putting the ball in the way of the moving racket head), so naturally, we unconsciously place more importance on the racket arm and hand. This arm and hand often wrongly move fast (the three-speed serve) which dictates that the toss arm moves fast. By slowing the racket arm and engaging the legs your toss arm will move slower. This will make the toss more controllable and accurate. It will also explain the need to extend the toss hand to full extension in order for the ball to get high enough. The serve begins with an idea not an action. The idea is the type of serve and landing location of the ball. We go through a routine, so that we can unconsciously produce successful, similar motions under all conditions. We initiate the serve with the legs and hips and slow tempo of both arms. All of this is done to produce a two-speed serve with a slower-start moving, on to faster and more powerful acceleration. If you begin to examine and feel the initial movements of your serve, you will open yourself up to tremendous improvement. Lisa Dodson is owner of ServeMaster at The Total Serve, a USPTA Elite Pro, a formerly world ranked player and radio show host. She may be reached by e-mail at lisa@thetotalserve.com or visit www.thetotalserve.com.

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Four Years Come and Go By Lonnie Mitchel have written articles for Long Island Tennis Magazine and New York Tennis Magazine for the past five years. During that time, I have come in contact with many parents and juniors who read this publication with questions about the collegiate tennis experience. They can ask everything from how do I market myself as a potential student tennis player, to what can I expect from the academic collegiate athletic experience? The junior tennis academies across New York State and the country specialize in getting aspiring collegiate players ready for the collegiate experience in the skills department. As a collegiate coach, I want to give you another perspective that should really resonate far more. You might be one of the better players on your high school team and a highly ranked USTA

junior player. However, on most collegiate tennis teams, athletes with a similar resume also hope to make an impact. You will be competing with and against not only the new incoming players, but experienced upper classmen. You are a good player and your record in high school and in tournaments backs that fact up. However, there is a good chance you will not be the best player on the team. You will have to leave your ego at the door and start preparing yourself for the next level. If you can do that, something bigger and better comes along. Just this season, I had a young 18-yearold male player come to the college where I coach. He came to us after a year of exchanged dialogue and a very good tennis resume that gave him a chance of being a very respectable collegiate tennis player. With hard work and commitment, to time management and academics, he would have blossomed into a fine addition to our

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

program. He resigned after the first official practice. Apparently, the commitment to a collegiate tennis program was overwhelming after only a week into his educational experience. I failed to make the student understand the opportunity being presented to him and that the athletic experience could have had a highly weighted variable for him to stand out amongst his peers. I tried to impress upon him and other athletes that coming to college to play tennis is much more. Thank goodness I have had more successes than failures. This is the reality of what you are getting and the message parents, high school and academy coaches should be conveying. 1. Support from the coaching staff and fellow team members adds to the cooperation from professors Coaches are “there” for their team members on many levels, from helping them through emotional slumps to encouraging their academic aspirations. The synergy between the locker room and the classroom is particularly effective on a small campus. A tennis player’s GPA on the average is significantly better than the average student body. 2. Easier socialization Some studies have shown that the transition from high school to college is easier for student-athletes. Being part of a “team” as soon as you arrive on campus can jumpstart the adjustment process. 3. Better fitness Participating in athletics affords not only the benefits of regular physical activity, but a motivation to learn about and practice good nutritional habits as well.

4. Academic motivation We often think of athletics and academics as two totally separate things. But in most colleges, students who play sports are required to keep up their grades. For some students, being required to stay on top of their studies so that they can stay on the team makes the difference between success and failure, not only in college but later in life, as well. 5. Professional opportunities Only a very small fraction of collegiate athletes go on to play professional sports. But the social networks they develop through athletics and the teambuilding skills they learn on the court can give young athletes a head-start in the business world in establishing their professional career. Having been a team leader or a good team player in college not only prepares a student for the real world, it also speaks volumes to potential employers and graduate schools about a student’s readiness for the professional community. What is written below is from an

anonymous college athlete which I would like to share to help you understand a how quickly four years of college goes and the importance of the experience: “Four years come and go in what seems like a moment’s time. You will look back and finally understand the full extent of the opportunity that I had. You will remember the times you killed yourself alongside your teammates. You will be PROUD of the moments you did it for THEM. As you re-live every suicide drill, every ounce of sweat you left on that court, you’ll find yourself half-smiling almost in disbelief of what you once put yourself through. You will know that, even if you describe every detail in every drill you ever did, no other person will fully understand the amount of yourself you sacrificed each day for four years. You sit half-smiling because this is something you share with only your teammates, and something that not one person can ever take away from you. This pain, this secret and this bond will be what you remember. Once it’s over, there will be no way

to replace that void … that part of yourself you once gave to your teammates and your team. Once it’s over, the physical pain becomes only a memory, and you’ll find yourself asking for more.” So, take it from me … sacrifice all of yourself for as long as you’ve got left. Four years is too short to hold back for even a second. I have heard from several graduating students in the past several years who share a common theme. That theme is “now that the working world has come I now know what these four years of college tennis meant both spiritually and athletically.” The experience paid high dividends in my post collegiate life. Lonnie Mitchel is head men’s and women’s tennis coach at SUNY Oneonta. Lonnie was named an assistant coach to Team USA for the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel for the Grand Master Tennis Division. Lonnie may be reached by phone at (516) 414-7202 or e-mail lonniemitchel@yahoo.com.

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LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Credit all photos to Matthew Cohen

Inwood Country Club Hosts Inaugural Kid’s Tennis Festival B Y M AT T H E W C O H E N nwood Country Club opened up its 10 Har-Tru tennis courts to members of the Inwood community for a recent charity event, as 300 children, parents and volunteers flocked to the Country Club for the first ever Kid’s Tennis Festival, hosted by The Inwood Charities Fund Inc. with the USTA Eastern/Long Island Region. Volunteers and guests included the Baldwin High School Girls Varsity Tennis Team, Lynbrook High School Girls Varsity Tennis Team, and tennis professionals from the Inwood Country Club. “This is hopefully the first of what will become an annual event,” said Lionel Goldberg, tennis chairman and board member of the Inwood Country Club. “It’s a way to give back, help the local community, and support local youth programs.” Jonathan Klee, a board member of the USTA Eastern/Long Island Region and Inwood Country Club, said, “The support today is overwhelming. I cannot thank the Inwood Charities Fund and the people of the local tennis communities enough for their support.”

The day began with QuickStart drills for the children ages 12 and under, coached by players of the Baldwin and Lynbrook High School Girls Varsity Tennis Team, along with volunteer tennis pros. “We feel so lucky to be here to help and expose children to tennis,” said Shari Bowes, coach of the Lynbrook High School Girls Varsity Tennis Team. “Bringing my varsity athletes here enables them to show their talents and to serve as role models for these young children.” In addition to the events specifically for kids, there were adult strength training programs and tennis instruction taking place on Courts 7-10. After a few hours of tennis drills, it was time for lunch. Burgers, hot dogs, salads and snacks were served during the BBQ. Lunch was followed by the undisputed favorite game of every young tennis player– jail. “What we are focused on is participation, and we want more kids to play, get more racquets in kids’ hands, and more kids having a good time … it’s all about the grassroots,” said Bill Mecca of the USTA

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

Eastern/Long Island Region. After a round of games, everyone had a chance to win prizes, including U.S. Open shirts, towels and stickers, thermoses, bracelets, wrist bands and key chains. “The whole event was really fun,” said Yosef Eouth, holding a keychain he won. “This is my second time playing tennis, I like just being on the court in the sun and hitting with my friends.” The Inwood Charities Fund Inc. was started 15 years ago by members of Inwood Country Club to support local charities and employee scholarships. “Through the sport of tennis, we hope kids understand there are alternatives out there and find a respect, integrity and love for the game of tennis,” said Andy Shevins, president of the Inwood Charities Fund Inc. Matthew Cohen is director of business development for Long Island Tennis Magazine. He may be reached by phone at (516) 409-4444, ext. 306 or e-mail matt@usptennis.com.

USTA Eastern Honors Top Area Juniors USTA Eastern hosted its 2014 Junior Awards Gala to honor the top juniors in the Eastern Section. Former professional tennis player and First Vice President of the USTA Katrina Adams was a guest speaker at the event. Adams is the current executive director of the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program in New

York City. In addition, former professional tennis player and Tennis Channel broadcaster Justin Gimelstob spoke at the event. Gimelstob is a member of the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame. The USTA Eastern Junior Awards Gala has recognized exceptional players for over 15 years. The full list of award winners is below:

Credit all photos to Calvin Rhoden

Jill Fonte, USTA Eastern executive director, recognizes the accomplishments of some of the area’s juniors over the past year

Mark McIntyre, executive director at Riverside Clay Tennis Association (RCTA)

Former pro and current Tennis Channel broadcaster Justin Gimelstob

USTA First Vice President Katrina Adams addresses the crowd and recognizes the accomplishments of the area’s top junior players

Jeffrey Fradkin from New York City, Billy Suarez from Huntington, N.Y. and Ronan Jachuck from Slingerlands, N.Y. are congratulated by Mark McIntyre (right) and Jill Fonte (left)

Boys 10s 1. Ty Switzer (New York, N.Y.) 2. Evan Wen (Morristown, N.J.) 3. Julian Wu (Tenafly, N.J.)

Girls 14s 1. Rachel Lim (Braircliff Manor, N.Y.) 2. Lea Ma (Dix Hills, N.Y.) 3. Anna Brylin (Short Hills, N.J.)

Girls’ 10s 1. Stephanie Yakoff (Fort Lee, N.J.) 2. Amaya Goulbourne (Pelham, N.Y.) 3. Hailey Stoerback (Saint James, N.Y.)

Boys 16s 1. Matthew Gamble (Webster, N.Y.) 2. Brenden Volk (Dix Hills, N.Y.) 3. Jordan Benjamin (Fairport, N.Y.)

Boys 12s 1. Billy Suarez (Huntington, N.Y.) 2. Jeffrey Fradkin (New York, N.Y.) 3. Ronan Jachuck (Slingerlands, N.Y.)

Girls 16s 1. Stephanie Schrage (Millburn, N.J.) 2. Rachel Lim (Braircliff Manor, N.Y.) 3. Sabrina Xiong (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.)

Girls 12s 1. Rosie Garcia Gross (New York, N.Y.) 2. Gabriella Price (Montebello, N.Y.) 3. Alexa Noel (Summit, N.J.)

Boys 18s 1. Daniel Grunberger (Great Neck, N.Y.) 2. Daniel Kerznerman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 3. Matthew Gamble (Webster, N.Y.)

Boys 14s 1. Sean Wei (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) 2. Ronan Jachuck (Slingerlands, N.Y.) 3. Michael Sun (Livingston, N.J.)

Girls 18s 1. Katharine Fahey (Fair Haven, N.J.) 2. Sabrina Xiong (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) 3. Rima Asatrian (Tenafly, N.J.)

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

Gadgets and Gizmos Aplenty 72

Long Island Tennis Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ LITennisMag.com

By Miguel Cervantes III Tennis is an old game, not the oldest of games, but certainly an old one. Part of what gives tennis an even older feel is the fact that it has been so resistant to change, but whether welcome or not, technology has played a large part in the changes in the sport of tennis over the years. The timeline of “Technology in Tennis” spans from wooden rackets to the wearables coming in the immediate future. Every facet of tennis has been affected, not just our tools. Technology has been applied to surfaces, officiating, fitness and even to the spectators watching the sport. We are, at this moment, living in a time that might be privy to the greatest technological influence in tennis ever. Although tennis has been hesitant to accept the changes brought about by technology, we are living in more enlightened times and the future looks very bright. All the changes coming on the horizon are primed to revolutionize the sport by making tennis more accessible and easier than ever to see improvements.

Tennis is resistant to change Let’s think about how the game used to be played. We don’t have to start at the very beginning … let us begin in the humble time of long pants and wooden rackets. The game saw a much different style of athletic wear and equipment. It was not as typical to see your casual game being played outside of a club atmosphere. It’s somewhat comical to think about the game being played in long khaki pants. The wooden racket might have been the height of technology in those days, but we soon moved to our recent past and into a dichotomous change—short shorts and metal rackets. The advantages are obvious, and anything that makes a player more competitive on the court is going to be deemed valuable, regardless of convention. Today, we see the racket companies promoting new rackets made of new material every year. Clothing in ten-

nis has become big business, with moisture wicking and stay-dry technology making their way into our sport’s lexicon. On the court, we see new, computerized methods of officiating with the advent of shot-spot technology, a technology not wholly approved by one Roger Federer. The sport has also become more accessible to a broader audience, thanks to advances in technology. The best, and most recent, example is the low compression balls being used in USTAs 10 & Under program. Will this produce more champions for the United States? Only time will tell, but one thing for certain is that kids enjoy playing the game more when they use these special balls.

Fast-forward to present day Today, you can book court time at clubs online. We also have the blessing of camera systems invented specifically for stroke analysis, and soon on the horizon, we will have tennis wearables. Wearables is one category that I am most excited about. A wearable is a fairly new classification of gadget that blends an old functionality into a new physical product through digital means. One example is the new wearable watches that have the capability to function as a heart monitor, pedometer, sleep analyzer, as well as tell time. Booking a court at a club used to be an exercise in frustration. You don’t know what availability the club has, and so you go back and forth with a surly front desk person. You throw out dates and times, hoping to find the right combination and for them to pencil you in for an hour. Hopefully that will all be over soon as some clubs have moved to a system that puts their court time and schedule available online. The system also gives users the ability to book courts online, so there’s never an issue. Oh future … you are looking so bright. Booking courts online is nice, but what we’d really like is to get better. Enter high-speed video playback. Systems have been created to record players, even at the amateur level to analyze their

game. Although not widely available, it does exist. It’s important because there are several things happening when you play tennis and execute your strokes. A great coach can see more than top players because they have experience at critical tennis analysis and because they know what they are looking for. No two forehands are identical, but there are good rules of thumb to tennis strokes. The rules of thumb allow a player to get the maximum result with the least amount of effort, this is good technique. An example would be to make contact in front of your body for maximum energy transfer on forehands. High-speed footage allows both players and coaches to make changes that can help a player move the needle of improvement faster. Sure, you can see what’s going on with high-speed footage, but can we quantify that; yes … yes we can. Tools have been created to quantify stroke metrics, such as a ball’s spin (rpms), speed, (mph), your distance traveled (miles), and stroke volume (number of backhands hit, etc.). This technology is small enough to put into a wearable (on your body) or on your racket. It syncs with a mobile app that you and/or your coach can then use to analyze. It gives you an accurate quantitative representation of where your game is so that you can take these metrics and data points and bend them in a positive way towards where you want to be. Living in the 21st Century has been a story of digital disruption. The “Digital Age” has come to tennis though not to disrupt it, but rather to supplement it. We should embrace these changes rather than resist them, as the sport has in the past. Accepting these advances and taking advantage of them will make for better players, and reduce friction in regard to getting into the sport and playing it. I, for one, am very much looking forward to what else is on the horizon for us. Miguel Cervantes III now teaches at Carefree Racquet Club and privately outdoors. Miguel specializes in teaching beginners, training juniors and coaching doubles. He may be reached by e-mail at understandingtennis@gmail.com.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

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Metropolitan Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine, LLC 74

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

LITennisMag.com â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ Long Island Tennis Magazine

LONG ISLAND TENNIS CLUB

directory

Bethpage Park Tennis Center Andrea Pappas—Manager 99 Quaker Meeting House Road #1 Farmingdale, NY 11735 (516) 777-1358 • bptcenter@aol.com Butch Seewagen Tennis Academy @ Rockville Centre CATS Jami Madison—Director 188 Maple Avenue Rockville Centre, NY 11570 (516) 763-1299, ext. 10 • catsrvc@gmail.com Carefree Racquet Club Kathy Miller—Manager 1414 Jerusalem Avenue Merrick, NY 11566 (516) 489-9005 • carefreetennis@aol.com Deer Park Tennis Club Afzal Ali—Director of Tennis 30 Burt Drive Deer Park, NY 11729 (631) 667-3476 • www.deerparktennis.com Eastern Athletic Club Betsy Johnson—Manager 854 Jericho Turnpike Huntington Station, NY 11746 (631) 271-6616 • www.easternathleticclubs.com Eastern Athletic Club 9A Montauk Highway Blue Point, NY 11715 (631) 363-2882 • www.easternathleticclubs.com Eastern Athletic Club 100 Ruland Road Melville, NY 11747 (631) 420-1310 • www.easternathleticclubs.com

Point Set Indoor Tennis Tonny vandePieterman—Director of Tennis 3065 New Street Oceanside, NY 11572 (516) 536-2323 • tonny@pointsettennis.com www.pointsettennis.com Port Washington Tennis Academy Manny Iqbal—Director of Tennis 100 Harbor Road Port Washington, NY 11050 (516) 883-6425 • tennis@pwta.com www.pwta.com Robbie Wagner’s Tournament Training Center at Glen Cove Stephen Alcala—Managing Partner 60 Sea Cliff Avenue Glen Cove, NY 11542 (516) 759-0505 • www.rwtt.com Robbie Wagner’s Tournament Training Center at Glenwood Landing Adrian Chirici—Director of Tennis 142 Glenwood Landing Road Glenwood Landing, NY 11547 (516) 676-9107 • www.rwtt.com Ross School Holly Li—Manager 18 Goodfriend Drive East Hampton, NY 11937 (631) 907-5162 • hli@ross.org www.ross.org/tennis Shinnecock Tennis Club 125 Sandy Hollow Road Southhampton, NY 11968 (631) 283-3422 • www.shinnecocktennisclub.com

Early Hit Training Center at Glen Head Racquet Club 95 Glen Head Road Glen Head, NY 11545 Carl Barnett: (516) 455-1225 earlyhit@optonline.net

SPORTIME Amagansett Sue de Lara—General Manager 320 Abrahams Path • Amagansett, NY 11930 (631) 267-3460 • amagansett@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/amagansett Eric Scoppetta—Camp Director (631) 267-2267 • ehsc@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/ehsc

Glen Head Racquet Club 95 Glen Head Road Glen Head, NY 11545 Stephanie Leo: (516) 676-9849 glenheadrc@verizon.net

SPORTIME Amagansett Multi-Sport Mike Ritsi—General Manager 385 Abrahams Path • Amagansett, NY 11930 (631) 267-3460 • mritsi@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/amagansett-multi-sport

Huntington Indoor Tennis Club Richard Rottkamp—Manager/Owner 100 Broadway Huntington Station, NY 11746 (631) 421-0040 • hitennis@myway.com

SPORTIME Bethpage Tennis Joe Siegel—General Manager 101 Norcross Avenue • Bethpage, NY 11714 (516) 933-8500 • jsiegel@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/bethpage-tennis

New York Tennis Academy at Great Neck Estates Howie Arons—Director of Junior Tennis Program 12 Shore Drive Great Neck, NY 11021 (516) 233-2790 • bightennis@aol.com

SPORTIME Bethpage Multi-Sport Randy Louie—General Manager 4105 Hempstead Turnpike • Bethpage, NY 11714 (516) 731-4432 • rlouie@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/bethpage-multi-sport

SPORTIME Kings Park Bea Bielik—General Manager Jeff Morys—Co-Director of Tennis Jason Wass–Co-Director of Tennis 275 Old Indian Head Road • Kings Park, NY 11754 (631) 269-6300 • bbielik@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/kings-park SPORTIME Lynbrook Bea Bielik–General Manager Danny Casesa—Director of Tennis 175 Merrick Road • Lynbrook, NY 11563 (516) 887-1330 • dcasesa@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/lynbrook SPORTIME Massapequa Chris Leahy—General Manager Emanuel Ponce—Director of Tennis 5600 Old Sunrise Highway • Massapequa, NY 11758 (516) 799-3550 • cleahy@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/massapequa SPORTIME Quogue Rene Bond—General Manager Greg Meyer—Director of Tennis 2571 Quogue-Riverhead Road • East Quogue, NY 11942 (631) 653-6767 • rbond@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/quogue SPORTIME Randall’s Island Flagship Home of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy Allison Hodgkins—Assistant General Manager Jared Karlebach—Assistant General Manager One Randall’s Island • New York, NY 10035 (212) 427-6150 • ahodgkins@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/manhattan SPORTIME Roslyn Jay Harris—General Manager Jordan Dolberg—Director of Tennis 1 Landing Road • Roslyn, NY 11576 (516) 484-9222 • jharris@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/roslyn SPORTIME Syosset Tennis & Multi-Sport Long Island Annex of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy Joe Siegel—General Manager Mike Kossoff—Director of Tennis JMTA 75 Haskett Drive • Syosset, NY 11791 (516) 364-2727 • mkossoff@sportimeny.com www.sportimeny.com/syosset-tennis USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Whitney Kraft—Director of Tennis Flushing Meadows Corona Park • Flushing, NY 11568 (718) 760-6200 • www.usta.com World Gym Bay Shore Tracie Forsythe—Director of Tennis 225 Howells Road • Bay Shore, NY 11706 (631) 456-0994 • tracieforsythe@yahoo.com www.worldgymbayshore.com

LONG Boys & Girls Long Island Rankings (as of 09/15/14)

BOYS Long Island Boys 12 Singles Rank Name ......................................City 1 ......Peter Anastasakis ..............East Norwich, N.Y. 2 ......Adrian Kristofer Tsui............Roslyn Heights, N. Y. 3 ......Brandon Lee........................Valley Stream, N.Y 4 ......Justin Shen..........................Glen Head, N.Y. 5 ......Mark Ryan Taranov ............Valley Stream, N.Y. 6 ......Gunnar S. Overstrom..........Locust Valley, N.Y. 7 ......Peter Albert Bukary ............Jericho, N.Y. 8 ......Sujay Alluri ..........................Old Westbury, N.Y. 9 ......Aryan Kumar Sethi..............Dix Hills, N.Y. 10 ....Joseph Monticciolo ............Coram, N.Y. 11 ....Brandon Lin ........................Great Neck, N.Y 12 ....Luke Karniewich..................Glen Head, N.Y. 13 ....Joshua Elenowitz................Syosset, N.Y. 14 ....Brandon Zhu ......................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 15 ....Max Daniel Safir..................Old Westbury, N.Y. 16 ....Cameron Levchuck ............Greenlawn, N.Y. 17 ....Alex Eli Vinsky ....................Westbury, N.Y. 18 ....Valentine LeGoupil-Maier ..Oceanside, N.Y. 19 ....Zachary David Gruber ........Port Washington, N.Y. 20 ....Michael Koscinski ..............Center Moriches, N.Y. 21 ....Arin Siriamonthep ..............Greenvale, N.Y. 22 ....Rushikesh Patel ..................Albertson, N.Y. 23 ....Amani Siddiqui....................West Babylon, N.Y. 24 ....Aaron Marcos Vinsky..........Westbury, N.Y. 25 ....Justin McMackin ................North Baldwin, N.Y. 26 ....Adam Lammers ..................Central Islip, N.Y. 27 ....Maximillian Wreidt ..............Locust Valley, N.Y. 28 ....Ian Kaish..............................Northport, N.Y. 29 ....Alexander Hom ..................Manhasset, N.Y. 30 ....Ian Schunk ..........................Westhampton Beach, N.Y. 31 ....Martin Gonzalez-Zurro........Huntington, N.Y. 32 ....Ethan Sims ..........................Roslyn, N.Y. 33 ....Matthew Strogach ..............Commack, N.Y. 34 ....Dylan D’agate......................Melville, N.Y. 35 ....Matthew Zeifman................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 36 ....Ryan Shayani ......................Old Westbury, N.Y. 37 ....Blake Brown........................Glen Head, N.Y. 38 ....Peter Lau ............................Great Neck, N.Y. 39 ....Vincent Sze..........................Port Washington, N.Y. 40 ....Michael Hayden Singer ......Greenlawn, N.Y.

Long Island Boys 14 Singles Rank Name ......................................City 1 ......Adrian Kristofer Tsui............Roslyn Heights, N. Y. 2 ......Josh Gelfond ......................Port Jefferson, N.Y. 3 ......Sol Yoon ..............................Commack, N.Y. 4 ......Griffin Schlesinger ..............Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 5 ......Avi Anand ............................Dix Hills, N.Y. 6 ......David Ammendola ..............Massapequa, N.Y. 7 ......Michael Kaydin....................Valley Stream, N.Y. 8 ......Nicholas Mark Newell ........Huntington Station, N.Y. 9 ......Varun Gaddam Reddy........Glen Head, N.Y. 10 ....Adam M. Canarick..............Woodbury, N.Y. 11 ....Tyler London........................Dix Hills, N.Y. 12 ....Jagger Gillman ....................Glen Head, N.Y. 13 ....Christopher Grisham ..........Huntington, N.Y. 14 ....Justin Ullman ......................Huntington Station, N.Y. 15 ....Yash Samantaray................Syosset, N.Y. 16 ....Andrew Marc Nakhjavan....Dix Hills, N.Y. 17 ....Jonathan E. Brill ..................Roslyn Heights, N.Y.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

ISLAND

....Luke Karniewich..................Glen Head, N.Y. ....Samir Singh ........................Syosset, N.Y. ....Aryan Kumar Sethi..............Dix Hills, N.Y. ....Evan Brady..........................Glen Head, N.Y. ....Jacob Buchbinder ..............Roslyn, N.Y. ....Alexander Benanti ..............East Setauket, N.Y. ....Brandon Lee........................Valley Stream, N.Y. ....Tommy George Srisuro ......Garden City, N.Y. ....Christopher Kokkinos ........Manhasset, N.Y. ....Alexander Hazarian ............Garden City, N.Y. ....Alexander Rzehak ..............Centerport, N.Y. ....Aaron Marcos Vinsky..........Westbury, N.Y. ....Matthew T. Roberts ............Setauket, N.Y. ....Rohan Mathur ....................Dix Hills, N.Y. ....Valentine LeGoupil-Maier ..Oceanside, N.Y. ....Richard James Kelly ..........Manhasset, N.Y. ....Niles Ghaffar........................Massapequa, N.Y. ....Ruskikesh Patel ..................Albertson, N.Y. ....George Rettaliata ................Bay Shore, N.Y. ....Alex Childs ..........................East Setauket, N.Y. ....Michael Wexler....................Old Westbury, N.Y. ....Ryan Ng ..............................Roslyn, N.Y. ....Jonah Mikhael Khorrami ....Old Westbury, N.Y.

RANKINGS

Long Island Boys 18 Singles

Long Island Girls 14 Singles

Rank Name ......................................City

1 ......Christopher McGorty..........Bellmore, N.Y. 2 ......Evan Kober..........................Wantagh, N.Y. 3 ......Steven Kucharczyk ............Rocky Point, N.Y. 4 ......Marco Ammirati ..................Halesite, N.Y. 5 ......Nicholas Gajda....................Smithtown, N.Y. 6 ......Jordan Diamond ................Mt. Sinai, N.Y. 7 ......James George Blatchly ......Locust Valley, N.Y. 8 ......Jason Gerber ......................Commack, N.Y. 9 ......Luke Douglas Johnston......Port Washington, N.Y. 10 ....Roberto Sangirardi..............Lynbrook, N.Y. 11 ....Kenneth Michael Wang ......Manhasset, N.Y. 12 ....Faran Nazir ..........................Deer Park, N.Y. 13 ....Evan Lowitt..........................Syosset, N.Y. 14 ....David Henry Reinharz ........Rockville Centre, N.Y. 15 ....Ankur Kejriwal ....................Hewlett, N.Y. 16 ....Robert Mattia ......................Farmingdale, N.Y. 17 ....Jonathan Matros ................East Islip, N.Y. 18 ....Rishav Mukherjee ..............Syosset, N.Y.

1 ......Hannah Vinod Abraham ....Syosset, N.Y. 2 ......Julia Kielan ..........................Valley Stream, N.Y. 3 ......Jill Olga Lawrence ..............Hauppague, N.Y. 4 ......Michelle Roitgarts ..............Roslyn, N.Y. 5 ......Kaitlyn Schwarz ..................Oceanside, N.Y. 6 ......Janae Fouche......................Freeport, N.Y. 7 ......Ivanna Nikolic......................Glen Head, N.Y. 8 ......Gina LaRusso......................Melville, N.Y. 9 ......Brooke Ann Fernandez ......Shirley, N.Y. 10 ....Denise Lai............................Setauket, N.Y. 11 ....Kristen D. Cassidy ..............Wantagh, N.Y. 12 ....Jillian Rebecca Shulder ......Setauket, N.Y. 13 ....Christina Lorraine Jud ........Glen Head, N.Y. 14 ....Sofia Walzer ........................Port Washington, N.Y. 15 ....Ashley Yu ............................Great Neck, N.Y. 16 ....Haley Raphael ....................Great Neck, N.Y. 17 ....Kaitlyn Byrnes ....................Massapequa, N.Y. 18 ....Madeline Lane ....................Port Washington, N.Y. 19 ....Elena Artemis Vlamakis ......Garden City, N.Y. 20 ....Carly Menker ......................Great Neck, N.Y. 21 ....Lauren Ann Bishop ............Woodbury, N.Y. 22 ....Soraya Koblence ................Jericho, N.Y. 23 ....Ariana Malik ........................Melville, N.Y. 24 ....Jade Fixon-Owoo ..............Lynbrook, N.Y. 25 ....Cecilia H. Scheuer ..............Southampton, N.Y. 26 ....Jean Woon ..........................Commack, N.Y. 27 ....Rose B. Hayes ....................East Moriches, N.Y. 28 ....Madeline A. Clinton ............Manhasset, N.Y. 29 ....Natalia Caroline Krol ..........Greenvale, N.Y. 30 ....Madelyn Kay Germano ......Islip, N.Y. 31 ....Bryn Schlussler ..................Bay Shore, N.Y. 32 ....Lucia Hu ..............................Roslyn, N.Y. 33 ....Morgan A. Wilkins ..............Huntington, N.Y. 34 ....Riley Elizabeth Katzman ....Halesite, N.Y. 35 ....Rachel Bernstein ................Plainview, N.Y. 36 ....Julia Kinalis..........................Amity Harbor, N.Y. 37 ....Anastasia Hoffman..............North Massapequa, N.Y. 38 ....Cara Becker ........................Great Neck, N.Y. 39 ....Fallon Berger ......................Syosset, N.Y. 40 ....Evangelina Maria Frankis ..Manhasset, N.Y.

GIRLS Long Island Boys 16 Singles Rank Name ......................................City 1 ......Marco Ammirati ..................Halesite, N.Y. 2 ......Matthew Kolkhorst..............Sea Cliff, N.Y. 3 ......Matthew G. Levine..............Dix Hills, N.Y. 4 ......Nicholas Gajda....................Smithtown, N.Y. 5 ......Evan Lander ........................Old Bethpage, N.Y. 6 ......Christopher McGorty..........Bellmore, N.Y. 7 ......Shane Darius Terry..............Southampton, N.Y. 8 ......Faran Nazir ..........................Deer Park, N.Y. 9 ......Jagger Gillman ....................Glen Head, N.Y. 10 ....Adrian Kristofer Tsui............Roslyn Heights, N. Y. 11 ....Jonathan E. Brill ..................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 12 ....Varun Gaddam Reddy........Glen Head, N.Y. 13 ....Patrick Sean Lombardi ......Halesite, N.Y. 14 ....Joshua Samuel Simoncic ..Glen Head, N.Y. 15 ....Mark Julian Baker ..............North Baldwin, N.Y. 16 ....Jason Gerber ......................Commack, N.Y. 17 ....Alexander Hazarian ............Garden City, N.Y. 18 ....Brandon Nomberg..............Deer Park, N.Y. 19 ....Jordan Diamond ................Mount Sinai, N.Y. 20 ....Connor Wright ....................Commack, N.Y. 21 ....Aaron Askowitz ..................Great Neck, N.Y. 22 ....David Seth Zuckerman ......Valley Stream, N.Y. 23 ....James Kyrkanides ..............East Setauket, N.Y. 24 ....Nicholas M. Sica ................Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 25 ....Christopher Kokkinos ........Manhasset, N.Y. 26 ....Saiteja Damineni ................Albertson, N.Y. 27 ....Andrew Thomas Wood ......Garden City, N.Y. 28 ....Jordan Michael Bennett ....Valley Stream, N.Y. 29 ....Evan Lowitt..........................Syosset, N.Y. 30 ....Jake Landsberg ..................Huntington, N.Y. 31 ....Ian Bank ..............................Old Westbury, N.Y. 32 ....Spencer Kirschman ............Dix Hills, N.Y. 33 ....Yash Samantaray................Syosset, N.Y. 34 ....Nicholas Mark Newell ........Huntington Station, N.Y. 35 ....Jacob Bauman....................Merrick, N.Y. 36 ....Vivek Lam............................Melville, N.Y. 37 ....Kenneth Michael Wang ......Manhasset, N.Y. 38 ....Julian Thomas MacGurn....Amagansett, N.Y. 39 ....Derek Menker......................Great Neck, N.Y. 40 ....Jack Cameron Goldman ....Old Westbury, N.Y.

Long Island Girls 12 Singles Rank Name ......................................City 1 ......Rose B. Hayes ....................East Moriches, N.Y. 2 ......Alexis Madison Huber ........Melville, N.Y. 3 ......Madelyn Kay Germano ......Islip, N.Y. 4 ......Janelle Chen........................Dix Hills, N.Y. 5 ......Janae Fouche......................Freeport, N.Y. 6 ......Julianna Marie Romeo........Massapequa, N.Y. 7 ......Sydney Simmons................East Northport, N.Y. 8 ......Julia Gentile ........................Rockville Centre, N.Y. 9 ......Lauren Zola..........................Rockville Centre, N.Y. 10 ....Sofia Rose Anzalone ..........Center Moriches, N.Y. 11 ....Anna Vanessa Malin ..........Oceanside, N.Y. 12 ....Emily Tannenbaum ............Commack, N.Y. 13 ....Isabella Sha ........................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 14 ....Nicole Kyrkanides ..............East Setauket, N.Y. 15 ....Ida Nicole Poulos................Manhasset, N.Y. 16 ....Anastasia Hoffman..............North Massapequa, N.Y. 17 ....Jean Woon ..........................Commack, N.Y. 18 ....Olivia Broder........................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 19 ....Gabriela Sciarrotta ..............Woodmere, N.Y. 20 ....Andrea Irta Brazyte ............Ronkonkoma, N.Y. 21 ....Annaliese Zola ....................Rockville Centre, N.Y. 22 ....Gabriela Glickstein..............Commack, N.Y. 23 ....Olivia N. Fermo....................Smithtown, N.Y. 24 ....Madeline Richmond............Syosset, N.Y. 25 ....Ariana Pursoo......................Westbury, N.Y. 26 ....Kaitlyn Gerstin ....................Hewlett, N.Y. 27 ....Jade Eggleston ..................Stony Brook, N.Y. 28 ....Sarah Gabrielle Faber ........Roslyn, N.Y. 29 ....Jessica Wang......................Albertson, N.Y. 30 ....Lauren Jordana Druz ..........Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 31 ....Ally Friedman ......................East Hampton, N.Y. 32 ....Jolie Nemshin......................Syosset, N.Y. 33 ....Bianca Rose Lorich ............Southampton, N.Y. 34 ....Michaela Liz Ben-Sorek ....Great Neck, N.Y. 35 ....Lauren Hutton ....................Huntington, N.Y. 36 ....Daniella Victoria Paikin........Valley Stream, N.Y. 37 ....Sophia Elizabeth Schutte ..Great Neck, N.Y. 38 ....Kavina Amin ........................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 39 ....Shoshanna Leah Tokar ......Great Neck, N.Y. 40 ....Remi Berlent........................Huntington, N.Y.

Long Island Girls 16 Singles Rank Name ......................................City 1 ......Alexandra Waldman............East Hampton, N.Y. 2 ......Rebecca Elizabeth Stern....Dix Hills, N.Y. 3 ......Hannah Vimod Abraham....Syosset, N.Y. 4 ......Emily Kate Shutman ..........Huntington, N.Y. 5 ......Nicole Kielan........................Valley Stream, N.Y. 6 ......Samantha Lena Galu..........Jericho, N.Y. 7 ......Montaine LeGoupil-Maier ..Oceanside, N.Y. 8 ......Grace Graham ....................Rockville Centre, N.Y. 9 ......Janae Fouche......................Freeport, N.Y. 10 ....Olivia Rose Scordo ............Glen Head, N.Y. 11 ....Elena Nastasi ......................Bayville, N.Y. 12 ....Julia Kielan ..........................Valley Stream, N.Y. 13 ....Ann Sophia Kogosov..........Syosset, N.Y. 14 ....Elinor Simek ........................Glen Head, N.Y. 15 ....Christina Lorraine Jud ........Glen Head, N.Y. 16 ....Nicole Lin Chin....................Selden, N.Y. 17 ....Michelle Roitgarts ..............Roslyn, N.Y. 18 ....Jessica Schwarz ................Oceanside, N.Y. 19 ....Amanda Ress-Liere ............Yaphank, N.Y. 20 ....Emily Rose Fernandez........Shirley, N.Y. 21 ....Mina Sarcevic......................Dix Hills, N.Y. 22 ....Lakshmi Babureddy............Dix Hills, N.Y. 23 ....Sabrina Ferretti....................Setauket, N.Y. 24 ....Juliana Shenker ..................Rockville Centre, N.Y.

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LONG 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

....Emily Davidow ....................Glen Head, N.Y. ....Madelyn Kay Germano ......Islip, N.Y. ....Gabrielle Raziel....................Melville, N.Y. ....Emma Kate Rosenberg ......Port Washington, N.Y. ....Morgan A. Wilkins ..............Huntington, N.Y. ....Courtney Connors ..............Manhasset, N.Y. ....Brooke Emily Digia..............Manhasset, N.Y. ....Rose LaCorte ......................Merrick, N.Y. ....Isabella Diane Dusanenko..Massapequa, N.Y. ....Jennifer Rose Cox ..............West Islip, N.Y.

Long Island Girls 18 Singles Rank Name ......................................City 1 ......Rebecca Elizabeth Stern....Dix Hills, N.Y. 2 ......Ellen Huhulea ......................Rockville Centre, N.Y. 3 ......Bridget Connors..................East Quogue, N.Y. 4 ......Grace Graham ....................Rockville Centre, N.Y. 5 ......Julia Khan............................Port Washington, N.Y. 6 ......Elena Nastasi ......................Bayville, N.Y. 7 ......Larissa Danovitch ..............Sagaponack, N.Y. 8 ......Claudia Ruiz ........................Glen Head, N.Y. 9 ......Victoria Evelyn Villalba ........Oyster Bay, N.Y. 10 ....Alexandra Waldman............East Hampton, N.Y. 11 ....Nicole Lin Chin....................Selden, N.Y. 12 ....Montaine Le Goupil-Maier..Oceanside, N.Y. 13 ....Tayler Bradford....................Sea Cliff, N.Y. 14 ....Cameron Leigh Moskol ......Wantagh, N.Y. 15 ....Juliana Shenker ..................Rockville Centre, N.Y.

Boys & Girls Sectional Rankings (as of 10/06/14)

ISLAND

146 ..Michael Hayden Singer ......Greenlawn, N.Y. 148 ..Cameron Levchuck ............Greenlawn, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 14 Singles— Long Island Region Rank Name ......................................City 3 ......Daniel Eric Pellerito ............Syosset, N.Y. 5 ......Patrick Maloney ..................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 6 ......Ryan Goetz..........................Greenlawn, N.Y. 7 ......Cannon Kingsley ................Northport, N.Y. 9 ......Ronald Hohmann................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 12 ....Pete Siozios ........................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 13 ....Neel Raj ..............................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 18 ....Spencer Brachman ............Commack, N.Y. 21 ....Brian Shi ..............................Jericho, N.Y. 31 ....Michael Medvedev ............Oceanside, N.Y. 39 ....Alan Delman........................Great Neck, N.Y. 43 ....Kabir Rajpal ........................Syosset, N.Y. 45 ....Karan Amin..........................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 50 ....Abinhav Srivastava ............Melville, N.Y. 61 ....Sujay Sharma......................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 63 ....Jack Flores ..........................Huntington, N.Y. 65 ....Gardner Howe ....................Locust Valley, N.Y. 71 ....Zachary Ian Khazzam ........Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 90 ....Maxwell Moadel..................Brookville, N.Y. 91 ....Avi Anand ............................Dix Hills, N.Y. 92 ....Lazar Ivan Markovic............Lattingtown, N.Y. 94 ....Billy G. Suarez ....................Huntington, N.Y. 100 ..Matthew Terlovsky..............Merrick, N.Y. 118 ..Niles Ghaffar........................Massapequa, N.Y. 120 ..Luke Karniewich..................Glen Head, N.Y. 121 ..Alexander Roti ....................Locust Valley, N.Y. 130 ..Adrian Krisofer Tsui ............Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 132 ..Sol Yoon ..............................Commack, N.Y. 133 ..Logan Paik Chang ..............Old Westbury, N.Y.

BOYS Sectional Boys 12 Singles— Long Island Region

Sectional Boys 16 Singles— Long Island Region

Rank Name ......................................City

1 ......Spencer Brachman ............Commack, N.Y. 2 ......Billy G. Suarez ....................Huntington, N.Y. 9 ......Sujay Sharma......................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 12 ....Maxwell Moadel..................Brookville, N.Y. 13 ....Logan Paik Chang ..............Old Westbury, N.Y. 17 ....Kabir Rajpal ........................Syosset, N.Y. 19 ....Sam Reichbach ..................Syosset, N.Y. 24 ....Oliver Worth ........................Locust Valley, N.Y. 26 ....Isaac Smith..........................Glen Cove, N.Y. 28 ....Rohan Gaddam Reddy ......Glen Head, N.Y. 33 ....Aman K. Sharma ................Glen Head, N.Y. 43 ....Alexander Karman ..............Port Washington, N.Y. 45 ....Brandon Zhu ......................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 55 ....Ian Schunk ..........................Westhampton Beach, N.Y. 65 ....Justin Benjamin Oresky......Syosset, N.Y. 69 ....George Scribner Bader ......Water Mill, N.Y. 74 ....Peter Anastasakis ..............East Norwich, N.Y. 76 ....Sean Pesin ..........................Woodmere, N.Y. 81 ....Jared M Phillips ..................Plainview, N.Y. 82 ....Aryan Kumar Sethi..............Dix Hills, N.Y. 86 ....Michael Weitz ......................Roslyn, N.Y. 93 ....Adam Lammers ..................Central Islip, N.Y. 96 ....Gunner Overstrom ..............Locust Valley, N.Y. 99 ....Brandon Lee........................Valley Stream, N.Y. 108 ..Alex Eli Vinsky ....................Westbury, N.Y. 113 ..Sujay Alluri ..........................Old Westbury, N.Y. 115 ..Anthony Casale ..................Old Bethpage, N.Y. 119 ..Brandon J Lin......................Great Neck, N.Y. 121 ..Justin Y. Shen......................Glen Head, N.Y. 124 ..Benjamin Reichbach ..........Syosset, N.Y. 130 ..Peter Albert Blukary............Jericho, N.Y. 142 ..Mark Ryan Taranov ............Valley Stream, N.Y.

3 ......Brenden Volk ......................Dix Hills, N.Y. 7 ......Athell Patrick Bennett ........Valley Stream, N.Y. 12 ....Sean Mullins........................Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. 13 ....Yuval Solomon ....................Plainview, N.Y. 22 ....Colin Francis Sacco............Brightwaters, N.Y. 29 ....Daniel Shleimovich ............Syosset, N.Y. 33 ....Sean Patrick ........................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 35 ....Brian Shi ..............................Jericho, N.Y. 36 ....Finbar Talcott ......................Sea Cliff, N.Y. 39 ....Alan Delman........................Great Neck, N.Y. 40 ....Chris Kuhnle........................Shoreham, N.Y. 41 ....Ryan Goetz..........................Greenlawn, N.Y. 45 ....Kyle Hudson Gower............Oceanside, N.Y. 49 ....Mark Julian Baker ..............North Baldwin, N.Y. 55 ....Aziz Rashidzada..................Dix Hills, N.Y. 57 ....Rajan Vohra ........................Glen Head, N.Y. 60 ....Michael Medvedev ............Albertson, N.Y. 67 ....Pete Siozios ........................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 73 ....Daniel Weitz ........................Roslyn, N.Y. 75 ....Patrick Maloney ..................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 77 ....Nasser Abdel Ghaffar ........Massapequa, N.Y. 78 ....Andy Zhou ..........................Commack, N.Y. 82 ....Keegan James Morris ........Franklin Square, N.Y. 98 ....Del Schunk ..........................Westhampton Beach, N.Y. 101 ..Nicholas Braden Gunther ..East Hampton, N.Y. 115 ..Timothy Hayden Nacca......Garden City, N.Y. 117 ..Marco Ammirati ..................Halesite, N.Y. 119 ..Xin Eric Yu............................Manhasset, N.Y. 125 ..Gardner Howe ....................Locust Valley, N.Y. 128 ..Garrett Malave ....................Laurel, N.Y. 132 ..Brady Berman ....................Glen Head, N.Y. 134 ..Daniel Hyunjae Chang........Manhasset, N.Y.

138 142 144 146

RANKINGS ..Daniel Eric Pellerito ............Syosset, N.Y. ..Matthew Kolkhorst..............Sea Cliff, N.Y. ..Julian Thomas MacGurn....Amagansett, N.Y. ..Nicholas Gajda....................Smithtown, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 18 Singles— Long Island Region Rank Name ......................................City 2 ......Daniel Grunberger ..............Great Neck, N.Y. 10 ....Noah B. Rubin ....................Rockville Centre, N.Y. 12 ....Josh Silverstein ..................Great Neck, N.Y. 13 ....Lubomir Cuba ....................Massapequa Park, N.Y. 17 ....Brenden Volk ......................Dix Hills, N.Y. 25 ....Bryant J. Born ....................Manhasset, N.Y. 28 ....Eric Wagner ........................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 31 ....Jesse M. Levitin ..................Manhasset, N.Y. 41 ....Brian Shi ..............................Jericho, N.Y. 44 ....Dylan Appel ........................Locust Valley, N.Y. 51 ....Alexander Lebedev ............Island Park, N.Y. 52 ....Sean Mullins........................Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. 54 ....Kyle Alper ............................Dix Hills, N.Y. 56 ....Brian Hoffarth ......................Fort Salonga, N.Y. 65 ....Athell Bennett......................Valley Stream, N.Y. 72 ....Michael James DeNigris ....Islip, N.Y. 77 ....Pete Siozios ........................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 78 ....Julian Zlobinsky ..................Greenvale, N.Y. 80 ....Justin Park ..........................Huntington, N.Y. 92 ....William Bader ......................Water Mill, N.Y. 94 ....Palmer T. Clare....................North Bellmore, N.Y. 96 ....Benjamin Rosen..................Port Washington, N.Y. 103 ..Mark Julian Baker ..............North Baldwin, N.Y. 109 ..Fernando de Paiva Filho ....East Hampton, N.Y. 110 ..Jake Sandler........................Lynbrook, N.Y. 112 ..Joseph James D’Orazio ....Saint James, N.Y. 119 ..Daniel Khodosh ..................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 123 ..Florimond Le Goupil-Maier..Oceanside, N.Y. 125 ..Cooper Francis Lacertera ..Speonk, N.Y. 126 ..Duane Davis ........................Dix Hills, N.Y. 128 ..Cory Seltman ......................Dix Hills, N.Y. 131 ..Stephen Gruppuso ............Bayport, N.Y. 135 ..Ross Reiffman ....................Melville, N.Y. 137 ..Zain Ali ................................Dix Hills, N.Y. 143 ..Andy Zhou ..........................Commack, N.Y. 147 ..Dylan Granat ......................Woodbury, N.Y. 149 ..Luke Douglas Johnston......Port Washington, N.Y.

GIRLS Sectional Girls 12 Singles— Long Island Region Rank Name ......................................City 4 ......Rachel Arbitman ................Hewlett, N.Y. 6 ......Maryam Beshir Ahmad ......Albertson, N.Y. 21 ....Madison Jane Williams ......Glen Cove, N.Y. 22 ....Amy Delman........................Great Neck, N.Y. 38 ....Ivanna Nikolic......................Glen Head, N.Y. 47 ....Janae Fouche......................Freeport, N.Y. 50 ....Kimberly Liao ......................Commack, N.Y. 54 ....Soraya Koblence ................Jericho, N.Y. 56 ....Rose Hayes ........................East Moriches, N.Y. 58 ....Ally Friedman ......................East Hampton, N.Y. 59 ....Kavina Amin ........................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 64 ....Sofia Rose Anzalone ..........Center Moriches, N.Y. 66 ....Alina Rebeca Lyakhov ........Great Neck, N.Y. 70 ....Kaya Amin ..........................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 82 ....Madeline Richmond............Syosset, N.Y. 88 ....Madison Smith....................Glen Cove, N.Y. 98 ....Alexis Madison Huber ........Melville, N.Y. 104 ..Madelyn Kay Germano ......Islip, N.Y. 106 ..Janelle Chen........................Dix Hills, N.Y. 114 ..Ida Nicole Poulos................Manhasset, N.Y.

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123 124 132 133 140 145

..Anna Vanessa Malin ..........Oceanside, N.Y. ..Emily Tannenbaum ............Commack, N.Y. ..Sydney Simmons................East Northport, N.Y. ..Julianna Romeo ..................Massapequa, N.Y. ..Rebecca Suarez..................Huntington, N.Y. ..Lauren Zola..........................Rockville Centre, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 14 Singles— Long Island Region Rank Name ......................................City 3 ......Lea Ma ................................Dix Hills, N.Y. 17 ....Merri Kelly............................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 18 ....Jacqueline Rae Bukzin ......Manorville, N.Y. 35 ....Francesca Karman..............Port Washington, N.Y. 38 ....Olivia Rose Scordo ............Glen Head, N.Y. 65 ....Alexa Susan Goetz ............Greenlawn, N.Y. 68 ....Julia Kielan ..........................Valley Stream, N.Y. 70 ....Maryam Beshir Ahmad ......Albertson, N.Y. 72 ....Denise Lai............................Setauket, N.Y. 82 ....Amy Delman........................Great Neck, N.Y. 83 ....Madeline Clinton ................Manhasset, N.Y. 86 ....Kimberly Liao ......................Commack, N.Y. 90 ....Trinity Chow ........................Glen Cove, N.Y. 93 ....Ivanna Nikolic......................Glen Head, N.Y. 110 ..Lucia Hu ..............................Roslyn, N.Y. 113 ..Evangelina Maria Frankis ..Manhasset, N.Y. 122 ..Hannah Vinod Abraham ....Syosset, N.Y. 129 ..Rachel Arbitman ................Hewlett, N.Y. 143 ..Jill Lawrence........................Hauppauge, N.Y. 148 ..Kaitlyn Schwarz ..................Oceanside, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 16 Singles— Long Island Region Rank Name ......................................City 2 ......Madison Battaglia ..............Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 6 ......Alexa Graham......................Garden City, N.Y. 7 ......Taylor Cosme ......................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 15 ....Jasmine Olivia Abidi............Glen Head, N.Y. 16 ....Claire Handa........................Point Lookout, N.Y. 21 ....Jacqueline Rae Bukzin ......Manorville, N.Y. 24 ....Ashley Lessen ....................Old Westbury, N.Y. 28 ....Lea Ma ................................Dix Hills, N.Y. 29 ....Celeste Rose Matute ..........Oyster Bay, N.Y. 46 ....Esther Chikvashvili..............Melville, N.Y. 56 ....Courtney B. Kowalsky........Oyster Bay, N.Y. 63 ....Merri Kelly............................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 71 ....Amanda Allison Foo............Manhasset, N.Y. 74 ....Nicole Kielan........................Valley Stream, N.Y. 79 ....Courtney Provan ................Dix Hills, N.Y. 88 ....Oliva Rose Scordo..............Glen Head, N.Y. 91 ....Stephanie Nakash ..............Great Neck, N.Y. 96 ....Danielle Mirabella................Wantagh, N.Y. 106 ..Morgan Wilkins....................Huntington, N.Y. 113 ..Alexandra Waldman............East Hampton, N.Y. 114 ..Dominique Woinarowski ....Syosset, N.Y. 115 ..Rachel Weiss ......................Great Neck, N.Y. 118 ..Stephanie Chikvashvili........Melville, N.Y. 122 ..Francesca Karman..............Port Washington, N.Y. 123 ..Julia Kielan ..........................Valley Stream, N.Y. 127 ..Michelle Carnovale ............Massapequa, N.Y. 128 ..Emily Shutman....................Huntington, N.Y. 130 ..Michelle Roitgarts ..............Roslyn, N.Y. 138 ..Ellen Nicole Huhulea ..........Rockville Centre, N.Y. 141 ..Montaine Le Goupil-Maier..Oceanside, N.Y. 147 ..Theodora Brebenel ............Glen Head, N.Y. 150 ..Olivia Faulhaber ..................Saint James, N.Y.

LONG

ISLAND

Sectional Girls 18 Singles— Long Island Region

808 ..Abhinav Raj Srivastava ......Melville, N.Y. 870 ..Gardner Howe ....................Locust Valley, N.Y.

Rank Name ......................................City

National Boys 16 Singles— Long Island Players

2 ......Madison Battaglia ..............Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 6 ......Alexa Graham......................Garden City, N.Y. 10 ....Aleksandra Mally ................Franklin Square, N.Y. 18 ....Madison Courtney Appel ..Locust Valley, N.Y. 29 ....Mia M. Vecchio....................Manhasset, N.Y. 32 ....Taylor S. Cosme..................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 43 ....Nicole Koskovolis................Manhasset, N.Y. 50 ....Aimee Manfredo..................Shoreham, N.Y. 51 ....Eirini Margarita Kontaki ......West Islip, N.Y. 64 ....Lauren Ann Livingston........Sands Points, N.Y. 83 ....Ashley Lessen ....................Old Westbury, N.Y. 88 ....Katie Jane Cirella ................Woodbury, N.Y. 95 ....Claudia Ruiz ........................Glen Head, N.Y. 98 ....Nicole Kielan........................Valley Stream, N.Y. 100 ..Julia Khan............................Port Washington, N.Y. 105 ..Bridget Elaine Harding........Northport, N.Y. 107 ..Rebecca Elizabeth Stern....Dix Hills, N.Y. 109 ..Claire Handa........................Point Lookout, N.Y. 111 ..Sunaina Vohra ....................Glen Head, N.Y. 112 ..Stephanie Nakash ..............Great Neck, N.Y. 114 ..Vanessa Scott ....................Dix Hills, N.Y. 123 ..Dominique Woinarowski ....Syosset, N.Y. 125 ..Mara Danielle Stewart ........Oceanside, N.Y. 129 ..Montaine Le Goupil-Maier..Oceanside, N.Y. 130 ..Danielle Mirabella................Wantagh, N.Y. 138 ..Rachel Arbitman ................Hewlett, N.Y. 141 ..Larissa Danovitch ..............Sagaponack, N.Y. 142 ..Michele Sheila Lehat ..........Great Neck, N.Y.

Boys & Girls National Rankings (as of 10/23/14)

BOYS National Boys 12 Singles— Long Island Players Rank Name ............................City 4 ......Spencer Brachman ............Commack, N.Y. 9 ......Billy G. Suarez ....................Huntington, N.Y. 73 ....Sujay Sharma......................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 79 ....Logan Paik Chang ..............Old Westbury, N.Y. 103 ..Sam Reichbach ..................Syosset, N.Y. 126 ..Maxwell Moadel..................Brookville, N.Y. 141 ..Oliver Worth ........................Locust Valley, N.Y. 175 ..Isaac Smith..........................Glen Cove, N.Y. 233 ..Rohan Reddy ......................Glen Head, N.Y. 323 ..Kabir Rajpal ........................Syosset, N.Y. 497 ..Aman K. Sharma ................Glen Head, N.Y. 579 ..Alexander Karman ..............Port Washington, N.Y. 892 ..Ian Schunk ..........................Westhampton Beach, N.Y.

28 ....Brenden Andrew Volk ........Dix Hills, N.Y. 67 ....Patrick Athell Bennett ........Valley Stream, N.Y. 118 ..Sean Mullins........................Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. 227 ..Yuval Solomon ....................Plainview, N.Y. 270 ..Finbar Talcott ......................Sea Cliff, N.Y. 313 ..Brian Shi ..............................Jericho, N.Y. 337 ..Colin Francis Sacco............Brightwaters, N.Y. 342 ..Sean Patrick ........................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 373 ..Daniel Shleimovich ............Syosset, N.Y. 478 ..Ryan Goetz..........................Greenlawn, N.Y. 538 ..Alan Delman........................Great Neck, N.Y. 655 ..Chris Kuhnle........................Shoreham, N.Y. 672 ..Pete Siozios ........................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 679 ..Rajan Jai Vohra ..................Glen Head, N.Y. 855 ..Mark Julian Baker ..............North Baldwin, N.Y.

National Boys 18 Singles— Long Island Players 23 ....Noah B. Rubin ....................Rockville Centre, N.Y. 24 ....Daniel Grundberger ............Great Neck, N.Y. 39 ....Josh Silverstein ..................Great Neck, N.Y. 139 ..Alexander Lebedev ............Island Park, N.Y. 144 ..Brenden Volk ......................Dix Hills, N.Y. 160 ..Lubomir Cuba ....................Massapequa Park, N.Y. 242 ..Julian Zlobinski....................Greenvale, N.Y. 258 ..Eric Wagner ........................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 291 ..Bryant Born ........................Manhasset, N.Y. 309 ..Jesse Levitin........................Manhasset, N.Y. 459 ..Sean M. Mullins ..................Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. 514 ..Dylan Hobbs Appel ............Locust Valley, N.Y. 631 ..Brian Hoffarth ......................Fort Salonga, N.Y. 748 ..Brian Shi ..............................Jericho, N.Y. 818 ..Ryan Goetz..........................Greenlawn, N.Y. 849 ..Billy Suarez..........................Huntington, N.Y. 881 ..Zain Ali ................................Dix Hills, N.Y.

GIRLS

RANKINGS

National Girls 14 Singles— Long Island Players Rank Name ............................City 13 ....Lea Ma ................................Dix Hills, N.Y. 171 ..Merri Kelly............................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 343 ..Jacqueline Rae Bukzin ......Manorville, N.Y. 472 ..Olivia Rose Scordo ............Glen Head, N.Y. 550 ..Francesca Karman..............Port Washington, N.Y. 606 ..Maryam Beshir Ahmad ......Albertson, N.Y. 664 ..Rachel Arbitman ................Hewlett, N.Y. 827 ..Amy Delman........................Great Neck, N.Y. 873 ..Alexa Susan Goetz ............Greenlawn, N.Y.

National Girls 16 Singles— Long Island Players Rank Name ............................City 28 ....Madison Battaglia ..............Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 35 ....Alexa Graham......................Garden City, N.Y. 166 ..Taylor S. Cosme..................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 195 ..Claire Handa........................Point Lookout, N.Y. 254 ..Lea Ma ................................Dix Hills, N.Y. 276 ..Jasmine Abidi......................Glen Head, N.Y. 428 ..Celeste Rose Matute ..........Oyster Bay, N.Y. 438 ..Ashley Lessen ....................Old Westbury, N.Y. 642 ..Courtney Provan ................Dix Hills, N.Y. 719 ..Jacqueline Rae Buzkin ......Manorville, N.Y. 779 ..Courtney B. Kowalsky........Oyster Bay, N.Y.

National Girls 18 Singles— Long Island Players Rank Name ............................City 56 ....Alexa Graham......................Garden City, N.Y. 120 ..Madison Battaglia ..............Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 222 ..Madison Courtney Appel ..Locust Valley, N.Y. 241 ..Aleksandra Mally ................Franklin Square, N.Y. 523 ..Lea Ma ................................Dix Hills, N.Y. 659 ..Nicole Koskovolis................Manhasset, N.Y. 672 ..Rachel Arbitman ................Hewlett, N.Y. 704 ..Mia Vecchio ........................Manhasset Hills, N.Y. 816 ..Aimee Manfredo..................Shoreham, N.Y. 933 ..Maryam Beshir Ahmad ......Albertson, N.Y.

National Girls 12 Singles— Long Island Players Rank Name ............................City 26 ....Rachel Arbitman ................Hewlett, N.Y. 43 ....Maryam Beshir Ahmad ......Albertson, N.Y. 99 ....Amy Delman........................Great Neck, N.Y. 123 ..Madison Jane Williams ......Glen Cove, N.Y. 377 ..Ivanna Nikolic......................Glen Head, N.Y. 970 ..Rebecca Suarez..................Huntington, N.Y. 983 ..Janae Fouche......................Freeport, N.Y.

National Boys 14 Singles— Long Island Players 27 ....Ryan Goetz..........................Greenlawn, N.Y. 45 ....Cannon Kingsley ................Northport, N.Y. 65 ....Patrick Maloney ..................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 70 ....Daniel Eric Pellerito ............Syosset, N.Y. 80 ....Neel Raj ..............................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 87 ....Ronald P. Hohmann............Oyster Bay, N.Y. 142 ..Pete Siozios ........................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 168 ..Michael Medvedev ............Oceanside, N.Y. 178 ..Brian Shi ..............................Jericho, N.Y. 433 ..Alan Delman........................Great Neck, N.Y. 469 ..Spencer Brachman ............Commack, N.Y. 608 ..Billy Suarez..........................Huntington, N.Y. 661 ..Karan K. Amin ....................Roslyn Heights, N.Y.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

USTA/Long Island Region 2014

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments. NOVEMBER 2014 Friday-Sunday, November 14-16 L1B Sportime Lynbrook November Challenger Sportime Tennis Lynbrook • 175 Merrick Road • Lynbrook, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles: 16 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Nov. 10 at 9:00 a.m.) For more information, e-mail tournamentslyb@sportimeny.com or call (516) 887-1330.

Friday-Sunday, November 21-23 Eastern Super Six at Sportime Bethpage (National L4) Sportime Bethpage 101 Norcross Avenue • Bethpage, N.Y. Divisions: Grand Prix Girls Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 14 (FIC-R16) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $113.38 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail paitchison@sportimeny.com or call (516) 933-8500.

Friday-Sunday, November 14-16 L1B Sportime Kings Park November Challenger Sportime-Kings Park 275 Old Indianhead Road • Kings Park, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 12 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 9 at 9:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 269-6300.

Friday-Sunday, November 21-23 L1B RSTA November Challenger Ross School Tennis Academy 18 Goodfriend Drive • East Hampton, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 12-18 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 16 at 8:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail pstankevich@ross.org or call (631) 907-5162.

Friday-Sunday, November 14-16 L1B Bethpage State Park Fall Challenger Bethpage Park Tennis Center 99 Quaker Meeting House Road • Farmingdale, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 14 (SE) Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Nov. 7 at 7:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail rbecker06@yahoo.com or call (516) 359-4843. Friday-Sunday, November 14-16 L1B CMTC November Challenger Christopher Morley Tennis Center 500 Searingtown Road • Roslyn, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 18 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 9 at 5:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail ruiz.clark@yahoo.com or call (917) 991-0088. Friday-Sunday, November 14-16 L1 Huntington November Championships Huntington Indoor Tennis 100 Broadway Huntington Station, N.Y. Divisions: Championships Boys' Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 12 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 421-0040.

Friday-Sunday, November 21-23 Eastern Super Six at Point Set (National L4) Point Set Indoor Racquet 3065 New Street • Oceanside, N.Y. Divisions: Grand Prix Boys Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 16 (FIC-R16) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $129.50 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail superscoot@aol.com or call (516) 536-2323. Friday-Sunday, November 21-23 Eastern Super Six at RWTTC (National L4) Robbie Wagner Tournament Training at Glen Cove 60 Sea Cliff Avenue • Glen Cove, N.Y. Divisions: Grand Prix Boys Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 14 (FIC-R16) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $113.38 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail superscoot@aol.com or call (516) 759-0505. Friday-Sunday, November 21-23 L2O Lynbrook Sportime Open Sportime Tennis Lynbrook 175 Merrick Road Lynbrook, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 16-18 (SE); Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 12 (FMLC); and Intermediate Boys & Girls Doubles: 78' Yellow Ball 12,16-18 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

(deadline for entries is Monday, Nov. 17 at 9:00 a.m.) For more information, e-mail tournamentslyb@sportimeny.com or call (516) 887-1330. Friday-Sunday, November 21-23 L1B Sportime Kings Park November Challenger Sportime-Kings Park 275 Old Indianhead Road Kings Park, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls 10 and Under Singles: 78' Green Ball 10 (FMLC) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 16 at 9:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 269-6300. Friday-Sunday, November 21-23 L2O Bethpage State Park Open Bethpage Park Tennis Center 99 Quaker Meeting House Road Farmingdale, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles & Doubles: 78' Yellow Ball 14 (SE) Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles (deadline for entries is Friday, Nov. 14 at 9:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail rbecker06@yahoo.com or call (516) 359-4843. Saturday, November 22 L3 10U & 8U Sportime Syosset UPS Sportime Syosset 75 Haskett Drive Syosset, N.Y. Divisions: Entry Level Boys & Girls 10 and Under Singles 36' Red Ball 8 ,60' Orange Ball 10 (RR) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail tournamentssyt@sportimeny.com or call (516) 364-2727. Friday-Monday, November 28-December 1 USTA National Selection Tournament-November Robbie Wagner Tournament Training at Glen Cove 60 Sea Cliff Avenue Glen Cove, N.Y. Divisions: Girls Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 16 (FIC-R16) & Girls Doubles: 78' Yellow Ball 16 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $134.88 for one event; $135.38 for two events; additional fees may apply if registered in three or more events (deadline for entries is Thursday, Oct. 30 at 11:59 a.m.) For more information, e-mail superscoot@aol.com or call (516) 759-0505.

USTA/Long Island Region 2014

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments. Friday-Sunday, November 28-30 L1B CMTC Thanksgiving Challenger Christopher Morley Tennis Center 500 Searingtown Road Roslyn, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 12 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 23 at 5:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail ruiz.clark@yahoo.com or call (917) 991-0088.

Friday-Sunday, December 5-7 L2O Kings Park Sportime December Open Sportime-Kings Park 275 Old Indianhead Road Kings Park, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 14-18 (SE); Intermediate Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 12 (FMLC) & Intermediate Girls Doubles 78' Yellow Ball 12-18 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 30 at 9:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 269-6300.

Friday-Sunday, November 28-30 & December 5-7 L1B Huntington Winter Challenger Huntington Indoor Tennis 100 Broadway Huntington Station, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles & Doubles: 78' Yellow Ball 14 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles (deadline for entries is Friday, Nov. 21 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail rjal1@verizon.net or call (631) 421-0040.

Friday-Sunday, December 5-7 L1B Bethpage State Park Winter Challenger Bethpage Park Tennis Center 99 Quaker Meeting House Road Farmingdale, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls 10 and Under Singles 78' Green Ball 10 (FMLC) Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Nov. 28 at 6:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail rbecker06@yahoo.com or call (516) 359-4843.

Saturday, November 29 L3 Sportime Bethpage Eastern UPS Sportime Tennis Bethpage 101 Norcross Avenue Bethpage, N.Y. Divisions: Entry Level Boys & Girls Singles 78' Green Ball 12 ,78' Yellow Ball 14 (RR) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail tdbethpageten@sportimeny.com or call (516) 933-8500.

DECEMBER 2014 Friday-Sunday, December 5-7 L2R Sportime Bethpage December Regional Sportime Tennis Bethpage 101 Norcross Avenue Bethpage, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys Singles 78' Yellow Ball 14-18 (SE); Intermediate Boys Singles 78' Yellow Ball 12 (FMLC) & Intermediate Boys Doubles 78' Yellow Ball 12-18 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles (deadline for entries is Friday, Nov. 28 at 5:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail tdbethpageten@sportimeny.com or call (516) 933-8500.

Friday-Sunday, December 5-7 L1B CMTC Winter Challenger Christopher Morley Tennis Center 500 Searingtown Road Roslyn, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 14 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 30 at 5:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail ruiz.clark@yahoo.com or call (917) 991-0088. Friday-Sunday, December 5-7 L1B World Gym December Challenger World Gym Racquet & Sports Arena 384 Mark Tree Road East Setauket, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys' & Girls' Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 18 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 30 at 5:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail ruiz.clark@yahoo.com or call (917) 991-0088.

Saturday-Sunday, December 6-7 L3 RWTTC December UPS Robbie Wagner Tournament Training at Glen Cove 60 Sea Cliff Avenue • Glen Cove, N.Y. Divisions: Entry Level Boys & Girls Singles 78' Green Ball 12, 78' Yellow Ball 14-16 (RR) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 1 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail superscoot@aol.com or call (516) 759-0505. Friday-Sunday, December 12-14 & December 19-21 +L1 Eastern Grand Prix at Sportime Bethpage Sportime Bethpage • 101 Norcross Avenue • Bethpage, N.Y. Divisions: Grand Prix Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 12 (FICQ) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 1 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail paitchison@sportimeny.com or call (516) 933-8500. Friday-Sunday, December 12-14 & December 19-21 +L1 Eastern Grand Prix at RWTTC Robbie Wagner Tournament Training at Glen Cove 60 Sea Cliff Avenue • Glen Cove, N.Y. Divisions: Grand Prix Girls Singles: 78' Yellow Ball 16 (FICQ) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 1 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail superscoot@aol.com or call (516) 759-0505. Friday-Sunday, December 12-14 L2O Sportime Lynbrook December Open Sportime Tennis Lynbrook 175 Merrick Road • Lynbrook, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles & Doubles 78' Yellow Ball 14, 18 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 8 at 9:00 a.m.) For more information, e-mail tournamentslyb@sportimeny.com or call (516) 887-1330. Friday-Sunday, December 12-14 L2O Bethpage State Park Winter Open Bethpage Park Tennis Center 99 Quaker Meeting House Road • Farmingdale, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles & Doubles 78' Yellow Ball 16 (SE) Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles (deadline for entries is Friday, Dec. 5 at 9:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail rbecker06@yahoo.com or call (516) 359-4843.

LITennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • Long Island Tennis Magazine

USTA/Long Island Region 2014

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments. Friday-Sunday, December 12-14 L1B Sportime Bethpage Challenger Sportime Bethpage • 101 Norcross Avenue • Bethpage, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 14, 18 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail tournamentssyt@sportimeny.com or call (516) 933-8500. Friday-Sunday, December 12-14 L1B Kings Park December Challenger Sportime-Kings Park 275 Old Indianhead Road • Kings Park, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 12 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Dec. 7 at 9:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 269-6300. Friday-Sunday, December 12-14 L3 Sportime Massapequa Eastern UPS Sportime Massapequa 5600 Old Sunrise Highway • Massapequa, N.Y. Divisions: Entry Level Boys & Girls Singles 78' Green Ball 12, 78' Yellow Ball 14 (RR) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $43.50 per player For more information, e-mail lilbessa12@gmail.com or call (516) 799-3550. Saturday, December 13 L3 UPS & 8U Playday at Sportime Syosset Sportime Syosset 75 Haskett Drive • Syosset, N.Y. Divisions: Entry Level Boys & Girls 10 and Under Singles 36' Red Ball 8, 60' Orange Ball 10 (RR) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail tournamentssyt@sportimeny.com or call (516) 364-2727. Friday-Sunday, December 19-21 L1B RSTA December Challenger Ross School Tennis Academy 18 Goodfriend Drive • East Hampton, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 12-18 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Dec. 12 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail pstankevich@ross.org or call (631) 907-5162. 82

Friday-Sunday, December 19-21 L3 Sportime Kings Park Winter UPS Sportime-Kings Park 275 Old Indianhead Road Kings Park, N.Y. Divisions: Entry Level Boys & Girls Singles 78' Green Ball 12, 78' Yellow Ball 14-16 (RR) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Dec. 14 at 9:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 269-6300. Friday-Sunday, December 19-21 L2O Bethpage State Park Winter Open Bethpage Park Tennis Center 99 Quaker Meeting House Road Farmingdale, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 12 (FMLC) Surface Type: Indoor Clay Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles (deadline for entries is Friday, Dec. 12 at 6:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail rbecker06@yahoo.com or call (516) 359-4843. Friday-Sunday, December 19-21 L1B CMTC December Challenger Christopher Morley Tennis Center 500 Searingtown Road Roslyn, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 14, 18 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Dec. 14 at 5:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail ruiz.clark@yahoo.com or call (917) 991-0088. Friday-Monday, December 19-22 L2O Sportime Lynbrook December Open Sportime Tennis Lynbrook 175 Merrick Road Lynbrook, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles & Doubles 78' Yellow Ball 14, 18 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 8 at 9:00 a.m.) For more information, e-mail tournamentslyb@sportimeny.com or call (516) 887-1330.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • November/December 2014 • LITennisMag.com

Friday-Sunday, December 26-28 L1B Sportime Syosset December Challenger Sportime Syosset 75 Haskett Drive Syosset, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 14-16 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail tournamentssyt@sportimeny.com or call (516) 364-2727. Saturday-Monday, December 27-29 L1B Sportime Bethpage Challenger Sportime Bethpage 101 Norcross Avenue Bethpage, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 12, 18 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Dec. 19 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail tournamentssyt@sportimeny.com or call (516) 933-8500. Saturday-Monday, December 27-29 L2O RSTA December Open Ross School Tennis Academy 18 Goodfriend Drive East Hampton, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 14-18 (SE) & Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 12 (FMLC) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles (deadline for entries is Friday, Dec. 19 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail pstankevich@ross.org or call (631) 907-5162. Monday-Wednesday, December 29-31 L1B LBTC New Year's Resolution Challenger Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles & Doubles 78' Yellow Ball 14-16 (SE) & Challenger Mixed-Doubles 78' Yellow Ball 14-16 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $33 for first doubles; and $28 for additional doubles For more information, e-mail sid@longbeachtenniscenter.com or call (516) 432-6060.

LITennisMag.com â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ Long Island Tennis Magazine

Long Island Tennis Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ LITennisMag.com