Long Island Tennis Magazine - March / April 2010

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


The Responsibilities of a Coach By Steven Kaplan

As a tennis instructor, my role is to give my students information and organizational structure to provide clarity and focus. The most serious players require more than a tennis instructor, however, they need a coach. While coaches provide instruction, they assume other, more ambitious tasks as well. Tennis coaches are often second only to family members in time spent with students, and as a result, have a profound impact on the socialization and development of these young people. This is an enormous responsibility and should be treated as such. In my role as a coach, I have come to recognize the following, as responsibilities of my job: 1. Learn how each student learns best Some students are visual learners, since

they emulate what they see. Other students are auditory learners who understand by listening. Some are kinesthetic learners, in that they need to perform a movement to understand it best. One of the first things a competent instructor or coach will do is make an assessment of the students’ learning style and adjust the message accordingly. A prerequisite to this undertaking is, of course, that you are adept at utilizing each style as a teacher. 2. Find out the values and outlook of students and parents and reinforce them It is not the job of the coach to impose their personal values on young students. Rather, coaches should reinforce the values of the players’ parents to students. If a parents’ values conflict with the core beliefs of the coach, conflict is inevitable. If the relationship between coaches and parents are not

philosophically harmonious, it will not work in the long term. 3. Put the needs of the student first The experience of coaching is first and foremost about providing a secure, productive, healthy and motivating environment for players to learn, develop and grow. It is not about satisfying the coaches or parents’ needs. Andre Agassi talked about how he used Nick Bolleterri, and how he was exploited by him in a mutually beneficial arrangement. I don’t find their parting of the ways to be a demonstration of disloyalty, as I have heard it referred to, since the relationship was based on business expediency and not loyalty in the first place. In the adult business world, this objectification is fine, however, such relationships are dysfunctional at best when they involve children, who thrive with consistency, care and continuity. continued on page 4

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March/April 2010 Volume 2, Number 2

Cover story 22 Serena, Venus, Kuznetsova and Clijsters Set to Headline the Second Annual BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup

Long Island Tennis Magazine

The female stars of the sport gear up for the Second Annual BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean Cup exhibition event, Monday, March 1, 2010 at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202 Phone: (516) 409-4444 • Fax: (516) 409-4600 Web site: www.litennismag.com

Staff David Sickmen National Director of Business Development (516) 409-4444, ext. 309 david@litennismag.com Emilie Katz Marketing and Editorial Coordinator (516) 409-4444, ext. 309 emilie@litennismag.com Andrew T. Berman Vice President/Sales (516) 409-4444, ext. 333 Karen Krizman Senior Account Executive (516) 409-4444, ext. 326 Jon Blake Advertising Coordinator (516) 409-4444, ext. 301 Jennifer Moeller Billing Coordinator (516) 409-4444, ext. 324 Eric C. Peck Editor-in-Chief Domenica Trafficanda Managing Art Director

Advertising To receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines, and requirements, contact David Sickmen at (516) 4094444, ext. 309 or e-mail david@longislandtennismag.com.

Article Submissions/Press Releases To submit any material, including articles and press releases, please contact David Sickmen at (516) 409-4444, ext. 309 or e-mail david@litennismag.com. The deadline for submissions is the first of the month preceding the target issue.

Subscriptions To receive subscription information, contact David Sickmen at (516) 409-4444, ext. 309 or e-mail david@longislandtennismag.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. Long Island Tennis Magazine reserves the right to edit, reject and/or postpone the publication of any articles, information or data.

Cover photo credit: MSG Photo Services

14 College Tennis Spotlight: Mythbusters II… More

Features 1 The Responsibilities of a Coach By Steven Kaplan Steven Kaplan details the importance of the role of the tennis instructor, both on the court and off, as a mentor who instills values to their pupils.

6 USTA Creates U.S. Open National Playoffs to Provide the Opportunity for All Players to Compete for Berth in U.S. Open USTA explains their new system that gives everyone a shot at playing in Flushing Meadows through the 2010 U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament.

Misguided College Tennis Advice By Ricky Becker Ricky Becker takes a second look at how advice from the wrong people in choosing that ideal college may put your child’s education and tennis career in jeopardy.

16 My Opinion: What’s the Story With 9,360 Hours? By Eric Meditz Eric Meditz takes a look at the investment in time by the average tennis pro and what it takes to attain “star level” success.

18 USTA/Eastern/Long Island Region 8 Getting Back into the Swing of Things By Eric Dietsche Eric Dietsche, a collegiate player for Williams College, discusses ways in which to shake off the rust of the offseason and get ready for tennis play in the 2010 season.

A message from the board, a look ahead at upcoming events in 2010 and notes from members of the USTA/Eastern/Long Island board.

26 Tips From the Tennis Pro: Tennis Tips You Can Take to the Bank! By Rick Liebman

12 Exhibitions: A Story in Two Acts By Alan Fleischman Alan Fleischman takes a look at the sort and the charitable reasons behind tennis exhibition matches.

Rick Liebman shares his tips spanning 35-plus years of tennis experience on how to better your game.

28 Court Six: Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Gossip Column 20 Junior Player Spotlight: Noah Rubin Fresh off international action in France, Long Island’s Noah Rubin discusses his experience overseas and his path to the finals of the prestigious Les Petit As event.

24 Poise and Control By Lonnie Mitchel Lonnie Mitchel looks at the grueling mental aspects of the sport of tennis.

30 Where I Lost That Tennis Match? By Salomon Levy Bromet Salomon Levy Bromet takes a look at the three types of players in the sport of tennis, “The Loser,” “The Average: and “The Champion.”

37 Long Island Tennis Magazine 2010 Summer Camp Guide, Sponsored by Denny’s Childrenswear

By Emilie Katz Emilie Katz delves into the off-court lives of the sport’s top stars.

34 Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Literary Corner By Brent Shearer Brent Shearer takes a look at the book by Caroline Seebohm, Little Pancho: The Life of Tennis Legend Pancho Segura.

46 Fitness and Nutrition Chris Ostling, PT, DPT discusses the average tennis stroke and issues that may arise though improper form in his article, “Are You Serving Up a Shoulder Problem?”

59 Long Island Tennis Club Directory

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Long Island Tennis Magazine takes a look at the area’s top summer camps.

49 The Great Teacher in Us All … By Ed Wolfarth

Ed Wolfarth explains the life lessons taught by a tennis instructor.

50 Player Spotlight: Cory Parr of Jericho, N.Y.

Long Island Tennis Magazine catches up with former Jericho High School and Wake Forest Demon Deacon standout Cory Parr.

52 Sports Science Overview By Branislav Grujic

Author Branislav Grujic takes a look at the connection between science, the body and physiological development.

60 Long Island Rankings

63 USTA/Long Island Region 2010 Tournament Schedule

News Briefs

9 Federer and Williams Crowned Champs in Australia!

10 The Sand Pit: Beach Tennis USA Adopts Paddle as Official Tournament Equipment

15 USTA Eastern Presents Long Island Tennis Magazine With

54 Long Island Tennis Magazine Writer Chokes, Other Players Party Down at One-on-One Event By Brent Shearer Columnist Brent Shearer recaps his experience at the Tennis and Rockin’ Blues One-on-One Doubles tournament at the National Tennis Center.

the 2009 Press Service Award

26 O’Rourke Named Volunteer of the Year 31 Nassau County Loves Tennis

Long Island Tennis Magazine is published bi-monthly by United Sports Publications Ltd. Copyright © 2010 United Sports Publications Ltd.

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Columns

3 Adult League Wrap-Up

Kathy Miller preps for the upcoming USTA Adult, Senior and Super Senior 2010 seasons.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

36 USTA Training Center-East Begins Programming

56 USTA Suffolk County District Preps for Successful Year


By Kathy Miller

rganizing for the upcoming USTA Adult, Senior and Super Senior season is underway! If you have a team, you must let me know by e-mail ASAP (kathym65@aol.com) and have players registered by Thursday, April 1 in order to be included in the schedule. If you are looking to be placed on a team, e-mail me your name, level and the town you live in, and I will let you know teams that are looking for players. Those of you new to USTA league play … it is a team format which plays from mid-May to August at the different NTRP levels. The 2.5 and 5.0 Levels in the Adult League (18-plus years of age) play one court of singles and two courts of doubles, while the 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5 Levels play two courts of singles and three courts of doubles. Senior teams (50-plus years of age) play three courts of doubles at the 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5

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Levels. Super Seniors (60-plus years of age) are combined levels of 6.0 (a 2.5 player playing with a 3.5 player or two 3.0 players), 7.0 (a 3.0 playing with a 4.0 or two 3.5 players) and an 8.0 (a 3.5 player playing with a 4.5 or two 4.0 players) and also play three courts of doubles. After playing a local season of play (usually 10-12 matches), most divisions have a local playoff with the winning team advancing to a regional playoff and then a sectional playoff before possibly making it all the way to nationals! Regional playoffs are played on Long Island with sectionals being played in Syracuse, N.Y. in August. The national event is usually held in Arizona or California in October. Exact dates and locations for each level can be found on the USTA site, www.usta.com. Last season, Long Island had a total of 256 teams and had the winning Men’s 4.0

team and the second place Women’s 5.0 team at nationals! The leagues are a great way to meet new people and to enjoy friendly competition. To join a team, email me at kathym65@aol.com. Something new to think about … I have had many requests for a senior mixed-doubles league. I would like to get a league together and have the matches play during the month of August. If you are interested, please let me know so we can get this new program going. I look forward to hearing from you soon and to seeing the team captains at the Captains Cocktail Party on Thursday, May 6 at 7:00 p.m. at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, N.Y. G 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.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S O F A C O A C H continued from page 1 4. Be a role model It is important that as a coach, you emphasis the importance of hard work, perseverance attentiveness, determination health and fitness. The greatest impact however, is when you personally embody and repeatedly display these attributes. “Do as I say” is not as powerful a message as “Do as I do!” 5. Do not commercialize or exploit your students Coaches make their living from coaching, and often, the best promotion for coaches are the successes of there students. Of course, if Roger Federer were ranked 100th in the world, his coach could brag about this achievement and some people, not realizing what Federer would have otherwise achieved, would be highly impressed. While it is natural for coaches to be proud of the achievements of their students, great caution must be taken to reinforce that players achieve by their own efforts. To do otherwise is to take power away from players and to fail to recognize that as coaches, and parents, we are nothing more than motivators and facilitators to the players’ success. On a personal note, I believe that coaches should be neither seen nor heard at tournaments. I find it disingenuous that some coaches pretend to go to simply watch, learn and morally support at tour-

naments when their covert agenda is to recruit new students and subvert what should be an experience that is just about the players into their own. 6. Be a team player A coach is one part of a successful player’s team. Players may want to win every match and there is no denying the great value to learning the process of match success, which is about having the ability to make those compromises and compensations necessary to get the job done. It is therefore up to the coach to provide a long-term view that balances a players’ desire for immediate gains with the outlook of safe and ultimate development. 7. Be a mentor first and then a friend While positive long-term coaching relationships necessitate mutual respect, trust and interest in the well-being of the other, they exist in an environment of unequal power. Coaches need to be leaders and mentors of students, first and foremost. 8. Focus on the means to success rather than the ends As a coach, I try to discipline myself to focus on the manner in which the players I coach compete. As a person, I cannot help but root for them to win. I reconcile this conflict by reminding myself of rule number three, put the needs

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

of the students first. Players can control how well they prepare for a match. They can control how they conduct themselves. They cannot always control outcomes. In my desire to demonstrate professionalism, I try to emphasize those areas that can be managed, and I trust that by doing so, the best outcomes will take care of themselves. 9. Be a student of coaching Every year or so, I reflect on how I have changed as a coach. I ask myself, do I emphasize the same areas of skill development in the same way? Have I learned and evolved as a professional? If I answer “yes,” then I try to balance my confidence and omniscience as a coach, with the humility of knowing that I can always improve. 10. Stay relevant Each time a player competes, they are making themselves subject to a definitive moment of success or failure and the judgments that ensue as a result. Can we judge performance fairly and accurately as coaches if we put ourselves above such judgments? We call improvement a process, but we do remember what it is like to be a participant in that process, or do we find it easier and safer to sit back and just pass judgments on our students? Coaching requires empathy since it is a shared experience. As coaches, to be relevant, we must be athletes as well as educators. G Steven Kaplan has guided many touring professionals in the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, and has coached more than 350 nationally-ranked junior players. Steve’s background combines a rare blend of competitive and scholastic achievement. In 1979, Steve won the Big East Conference Singles Championship. In 1983, he received his Master’s Degree in Physiology. Steve developed the games of both Keith Kambourian and two-time NCAA Singles Champion Sandra Birch, from the 12-year olds through the pro tour. Most recently, Steve’s longtime student, Bryan Koniecko has achieved the number one ranking in Men’s NCAA tennis.


Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Coming to New York’s USTA BJK National Tennis Center, April 20-26 he USTA has announced the launch of the U.S. Open National Playoffs, which will expand the footprint of the U.S. Open and provide the opportunity for all players, 14 years of age and older, to earn a wild card into the 2010 U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament. The U.S. Open National Playoffs begins with 16 sectional qualifying tournaments held throughout the country from April through June. The men’s and women’s champions from each of the sectional qualifying tournaments advance to the U.S. Open National Playoffs—Men’s and Women’s Championships, which will be held in conjunction with Olympus U.S. Open Series tournaments this summer. “The US Open National Playoffs makes the U.S. Open ‘open,’ where one woman and one man will earn a wild card into the U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament and a chance to advance to the main draw,” said Lucy Garvin, chairman of the board and president, USTA. “The fact that the U.S. Open National Playoffs are supported by qualifying tournaments run by our sections makes this event even more unique, extending the reach of the U.S. Open across the country.” With the goal of connecting more people to the U.S. Open and expanding the tournament’s reach to communities throughout the United States, players will compete in sectional qualifying tournaments hosted by 16 of the 17 USTA Sections nationwide. The entry fee for each of the sectional qualifying tournaments is $125 for USTA members and $150 for non-members, which

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includes a $25 USTA membership. All players competing must have a current USTA membership valid through Aug. 30, 2010. Competitors can enter any of the 16 sectional qualifying tournaments, but they can only enter and compete in one sectional qualifying tournament. Each sectional qualifying tournament is limited to 256 players, and players will not be seeded by any means. Participants can be of any playing level, from aspiring novice to seasoned professional, giving everyone an equal opportunity to advance. “While professionals are eligible to play, we expect the draws to be filled with top junior players, collegians, teaching professionals and even recreational players who will now have a chance to play themselves into the U.S. Open for the first time,” said Jim Curley, chief professional tournaments officer and U.S. Open tournament director. Skier Bode Miller, a two-time overall World Cup Champion, two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time world champion, will compete in one of the sectional qualifying tournaments. “Tennis has always been a part of my life,” said Miller, who won the 1996 Maine state singles title for Carrabassett Valley Academy and whose family owns the Tamarack Tennis Camp in Easton, N.H., which was founded by his grandparents. “The U.S. Open National Playoffs is a great concept and I look forward to playing in one of the sectional qualifying tournaments this spring. It will give me an outlet to focus my competitiveness after the Olympics and World Cup season.”

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

What they’re saying about the U.S. Open National Playoff … “The U.S. Open National Playoff gets to the very core of what’s great about tennis. It’s a sport for anyone and everyone. I grew up playing on public courts in California, dreaming one day I’d get a chance to play at the U.S. Open. Now another player will have a chance to live that dream.” —Billie Jean King “It sounds really cool … I’ll definitely stay tuned.” —Venus Williams

“The U.S. Open National Playoff is a great opportunity for young, up-andcoming players to get a taste of what it’s like to participate in a Grand Slam environment. It really is the opportunity of a lifetime—a chance to compete with some of the very best players in the world and to learn lessons from those experiences that you can use throughout the rest of your life.” —Nick Bollettieri


“I think the USTA is doing a great thing by having a true Open competition. I have utilized open qualifying to play numerous U.S. Opens in golf and I’ve seen amateurs advance alongside me. You never know, Sybi and I might give it our best shot in the near future.” —Pro Golfer Matt Kuchar, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour who has earned a spot in the last three U.S. Open Golf Championships thru open qualifying. Matt and his wife Sybi won the consolation title at the USTA Husband-Wife Championships in October and Matt was runner-up at the USTA National Men’s Grass Court Doubles Championships with brotherin-law, Drew Parker, six years ago.

“This is such a great opportunity for me and so many of the top college players. Because much of our year is devoted to the college tennis season, we don’t always have the rankings to get directly into U.S. Open qualifying. But now we have a chance to win the U.S. Open National Playoff and show that we have what it takes to succeed at the highest level.” —Irina Falconi, a sophomore at Georgia Tech, is the number one-ranked player in the Campbell’s ITA College Tennis Rankings, and was a member of the championship winning U.S. team at the Master’U BNP Paribas international collegiate team championships in December.

“I’m really psyched just to have the chance to play for a spot in the U.S. Open. It is a dream come true. It won’t be easy, but playing in the U.S. Open National Playoff will let me see where my game is and how close—or far—I am to being a pro right now. Either way, the possibility of playing in the U.S. Open seems a lot closer now.” —Nathan Pasha, a 17-year-old from Atlanta, resides and trains full-time at the USTA Player Development Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla.

Entry information and a schedule of U.S. Open National Playoffs Sectional Qualifying Tournaments are available online at www.usopen.org. Registration is now open. The U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament will be held Aug. 24-27 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Getting Back into the Swing of Things By Eric Dietsche As the college offseason comes to a close and the professionals finish up their first major of the year, we all start heading back to the courts en masse. However, playing in college and trying to get your game to its optimal level is not your only challenge this time of year, especially when you are at a school located in the northwest area of rural Massachusetts, in the middle of the Berkshires. Perhaps an even more formidable challenge to us would be vying for time in the field house. At this time, every team needs to try to get time in there to get their teams ready for competition. We have the track and field team, community programs, junior lacrosse programs and other children’s programs that have time reserved in the only indoor athletic location on campus. Although we have some challenges to

deal with during our training, Williams College offers a Winter Study program, in which students take only one class for a month. Usually, this class will be taught by either a visiting professor, a community member that would be considered an expert in a certain field (for example, we have pottery and glassblowing classes that are taught by community members who own businesses in the area), or a professor from the college who will teach a class that is not within their normal field. We have had a history professor teaching a class on the history of rock and roll, a math professor teaching a class on atheism, and various other professors who are able to pursue some of their other interests and spread that interest to the students during this month-long class. Given the fact that you, the student, are only taking one class for a month, you have much

more free time than you normally would during the regular semester. This time gives us the opportunity to do whatever we would like, which would usually be one of the workouts that we received at the beginning of the offseason (but, of course, there were some other activities thrown in as well, such as extensive Super Smash Brothers tournaments, sledding, skiing, and occasionally, some real work). In short, Winter Study at Williams College offers students a chance to pursue other interests, while not allowing them to completely lose touch with the idea of doing work altogether. Since we have started training again, we look forward to our spring break trip, which is the opening of the season’s competitive play. The season will officially start again on Feb. 15, at which point, the courts up here will most definitely still be covered by a thick sheet of continued on page 11

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


Federer and Williams Crowned Champs in Australia! Roger Federer and Serena Williams, the number one seeds of their respective draws, were able to once again overcome obstacles and play at an elite level to win another title in the year’s first Grand Slam in Australia. Serena defeated unseeded, and the recently unretired, Justine Henin, for her fifth Australian Open Title, making her the most decorated women’s Aussie Open champ in history. Roger Federer claimed his record 16th Grand Slam Title by defeating Andy Murray in the men’s final in straight sets. In doubles, the Americans made us proud as the Bryan brothers (Mike and Bob) and the Williams sisters (Serena and Venus) were crowned Grand Slam Champions. Americans Bob and Mike Bryan won their fourth Australian Open doubles title, beating Daniel Nestor of Canada and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3. The U.S. pair have won the title four of the past five years. They now have eight Grand Slam Men’s Doubles Titles. The Williams Sisters dominated the women’s draw and won their fourth Australian Open Women’s Doubles Title, beating Cara Black and Liezel Huber in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in the finals. The event attracted a record crowd of 653,860 people through the gates, smashing the previous record set in 2008 by 50,000 fans. The tournament twice posted the world’s highest-ever Grand Slam combined day/night attendance (on the first Wednesday and middle Saturday) with Saturday’s matches attended by 77,043 fans, 11,000 more than the previous record.

Results: 2010 champions

O Women’s singles: Serena Williams (United States) O Men’s singles: Roger Federer (Switzerland) O Women’s doubles: Serena and Venus Williams (United States) O Men’s doubles: Bob and Mike Bryan (United States) O Mixed doubles: Cara Black (Zimbabwe)/Leander Paes (India)

problems served as the recipe for the Cilic upset win. Tsonga vs. Djokovic: A match featuring incredible baseline play as Djokovic, who was sick during the match, still fought exceptionally hard in the latter part of the fourth set and early in the fifth, before Tsonga took control late in the fifth set on his way to victory.

2010 Australian Open highlights Roddick vs. Gonzalez: Roddick comes back from two sets to one down in a tremendous baseline battle.

Li vs. Serena: Li was in top form against Serena and pushed her to the brink of elimination, only she couldn’t close her out and eventually fell in three sets. Serena always seems to be at her best in the biggest spots in a match.

Dementieva vs. Henin: A hard-fought, early round match that was setup by Henin coming in to the tournament unseeded. A tough break for Dementieva as Henin took the match in straight sets.

Serena vs. Henin: The women’s final brought out the best in both competitors. Despite her loss, it looks like Justine is back and will be a force in 2010.

Del Potro vs. Cilic: Cilic playing his best tennis to date and Del Potro having injury

For more information, visit www.australianopen.com.

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The Sand Pit

Beach Tennis USA Adopts Paddle as Official Tournament Equipment each Tennis USA (BTUSA), the organization responsible for launching the pro sport of beach tennis in North America, has announced that it has adopted the use of the paddle, currently used in international competition, as the official equipment for regulation tournament play. BTUSA, who formerly promoted the use of a standard, regulation tennis racquet for use at its events, stated that the move to paddles was primarily to facilitate the unification of the many international beach tennis associations throughout Europe, South America and Asia. “By converting to the paddle, Beach Tennis USA will be able to work more closely with

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our international partners to grow the sport, both on the pro and recreational level,� said Marc Altheim, BTUSA’s founder and commissioner. Altheim added he believes the use of the paddle would help introduce the sport

to more “non-tennisâ€? players, allowing for beach tennis to become a more mainstream common activity for casual beachgoers. To further its efforts in unifying the sport on a global level, BTUSA will also adopt the international court dimensions of 8 X 8 meters, and a net height of 170 cm (5’ 6 žâ€?). Beach Tennis USA recently completed its fifth National Tour at the 2009 National Beach Tennis Championship, in Long Beach, N.Y., and plans to announce dates for its 2010 season in February. G For more information, visit www.beachtennisusa.net.

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THE SWING OF THINGS continued from page 8 snow and ice, which means that our first month or so of practice will be a delightful combination of squash court sprints, jump rope and other assorted cardio workouts, such as the new addition of donut runs. This workout, done on a track, involves only 15 min. of running, but it is some of the hardest 15 min. that one has experienced. The 15 min. span is divided up into 30 sec. of all-out sprinting, alternating with 30 sec. of jogging. This gets very difficult very quickly, especially since the first couple of times you do it, you don’t really know how to budget your energy properly, so by about the middle of the workout, you are just dead and cannot seem to summon anything else from your legs or stop the wheezing noise coming from the constricted airway that seems to be telling you that you are just insane for doing this to yourself. However, by the end of all of this, you know that you will feel that sense of accomplishment that no other feeling in the world can match. You hope that all of this hard work and effort will pay off in the end and make you play like the newly revised version of Roger Federer who showed up this year at the Australian Open and managed to decimate some of world’s best players as if he was playing opening round matches. However, we all know that it is not necessarily how you start the season that will make people remember you, but, most of all, it is how you finish it that will separate you from the rest. All of this hard work is not training for the very beginning, but will instead provide you with the stamina necessary to make it through a physically and emotionally long and grueling few months. After all, the NESCACs (New England Small College Athletic Conference) are in early May … approximately four months after the official opening day. G Eric Dietsche is a senior and valedictorian of the Class of 2009 at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip, N.Y. As a five-time varsity letter winner in tennis, he is also a twotime All-League Player. He also won the title of Most Valuable Player in the New York Catholic High School Athletic Association in 2009. He plans to attend Williams College in Massachusetts in the fall where he’ll play tennis. He may be reached by e-mail at edietsche@gmail.com.

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Exhibitions: A Story in Two Acts By Alan Fleischman iving in Florida allows the dedicated tennis player (or fanatic—depending on who is doing the defining) to play outdoors all year round. Actually, I live right across the way from the Evert Academy. When we bought our home, the agent said we might hear the sound of tennis balls late at night, which was music to my ears. Needless to say, there are many fine teaching pros in the area. Some, like Aaron Krickstein and our own community professional, Geoffrey Moore, have played on the professional circuit. Other USPTA professionals have become master instructors, capable of teaching old style or new, child or adult, serious players or weekenders who want to look like serious players. This leads me to the purpose of this column. I was fortunate enough to observe our sport on two levels this past week. Both made me pleased to play tennis and proud of those who have made a career of our sport. On Dec. 11, our pro invited three of his friends to play as part of our tennis pro-

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gram. I think that every player who loves the game secretly harbors the hope that, if he or she could just put all of their best shots of a lifetime together for one brief moment, they could be out there holding his own. Forget it. Aside from Geoff, who played for Australia, we had a New Zealander, Chris, who had played on the tour, Gabriel, a very talented shot-maker originally from Romania, and Dick Stockton, originally from Garden City, and well known to all of us who played in the 70s. The intensity of the past (as well as the winner’s check) may have been lacking, but the skills and competitive nature of the past were still apparent amid the jokes and camaraderie. What struck me most was the beauty of “old school” strokes. These men honed their styles back in the days of wooden racquets, and serve and volley. As we watched, Stockton and Moore got into a forehand cross-court duel. Each stroke was the mirror image of the one that it preceded or followed. Each shot looked balanced and “natural” and each shot said to me “Not on the best day of your life could

you repeat what you just witnessed.” It won’t stop me from trying or dreaming, but reality can be a stern teacher. The pros patiently answered questions from the crowd, listened to our “war stories” and left us all eager to see a return match some day. A few days later, I got to see it all over, only this time, on a higher level. For the third time, I was a volunteer at the Andy Roddick Foundation’s charity event. As a volunteer, I was responsible for people finding their seats, expediting crowd flow and paving over the inevitable “discussions” about seat placement and special needs. There are “war stories” here also, but by and large, the spectators were tolerant of delays and happy to be a part of the fundraising that went for a good cause. We were rewarded for our efforts by some excellent seats reserved for volunteers, vendors and those who devoted time instead of money. The cast of characters at this exhibition were headliners. Aside from the host, Andy Roddick … Andy Murray, Sebastien Grosjean,

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


Jesse Levine, Justin Gimelstob, Brenda Shultz McCarthy and Alla Kudryavetseva, a young Russian who recently defeated Maria Sharapova, participated. Ms. Kudryavetseva tolerated the repeated mangling of her name with grace. Andy made a point of announcing that all the players were appearing for free, with no fees paid. All of the money raised would go toward his Foundation. This was the ninth year of the event, and Brenda Shultz McCarthy had participated in every one. Before the exhibition began, Roddick was presented with a Humanitarian Award from the Jewish Federation. Rather than defend his title in the United Arab Emirates, he boycotted the tournament because Shahar Peer, an Israeli player, was not granted a visa to play. I should add that the Tennis Channel, taking a similar stand, did not televise the event. Values are only values when they are tested, and though Mr. Roddick stands at around 6-ft. tall, he was even taller in everyone’s eyes. As with the first exhibition, skill and good

humor went hand-in-hand. If I thought I could never match the teaching pros, imagine watching Roddick play Murray or Grosjean with hands as soft as croissants deftly hit an impossibly-angled touch shot. Murray and Roddick especially made it look so easy. Their timing is so fine that it seems as if the ball rockets off their strings with no effort. Sitting directly behind them, watching as the serves clip the corner or the center line apparently with the exact same and unreadable motion, it is understandable why they are among the best; here they are in the hot Florida sun, playing for charity. Then there was Justin Gimelstob. The butt of more than a few jokes about his skinny legs and non-existent calf muscles, Justin took it upon himself to be the spokesperson for the Jewish half of the men’s doubles, as he and Jesse Levine played the Andys (Roddick and Murray). He tried invoking Hanukah and the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days, but I guess there is only one miracle per holiday

season and the Andys won. Believe me, it was all in good fun and Justin gave as good as he got. At the conclusion of the day, reflecting on the levels of the game and the nobility of those who give their time in teaching or competitive playing, I walked away proud to be a part of a sport that I play for fun and exercise that has a noble side as well. G Alan Fleishman has been a devoted fan of tennis since 1969. He won the Town of Hempstead tennis tournament at Newbridge Road Park in 1972 and was runner-up in 1974. He worked as an assistant to the tennis professional in the summer program at Lutheran High School in the early 1970s. While teaching social studies at John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, N.Y., he was fortunate to have coached some talented players, but more importantly, some wonderful young men and women during his last seven years at the school. He may be reached by e-mail at gamesetmatch76@aol.com.

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Mythbusters II: More Misguided College Tennis Advice By Ricky Becker In the last issue of Long Island Tennis Magazine, we discussed three myths: 1. Going to a school that you would want to attend if you ever stopped playing tennis. 2. The importance of liking your coach during recruiting. 3. Asking kids on the team about the coach and school is worthless. In this issue, I’d like to discuss three more bits of misguided college tennis advice. 1. “Even though you may not start right away, you should have no problem starting after a couple of years.” Anyone who tells you this has either never played college tennis themselves or wants you to buy into his or her agenda. You will quit or transfer before you start. Now, picture someone telling you that you need to maintain your level of tennis without playing a tournament for the next two years. You will start to hate tennis … no? Add college life into the equation and you will ask, “Why am I really doing this anyway?” In my 20 years of college tennis experience, the ratio of quitting/transferring to starting after two years is 10:1, especially at places that do not offer scholarships. If playing college tennis is important to you, go to a place where you expect to start right away. In my four years at Stanford, I played number six singles for four years. This is the last starter’s spot. Incoming freshman came in and either started in front of me permanently or sat on the bench permanently. 14

2. “You may not be strong enough to play Division I, but you are strong enough to play Division II or Division III.” Simply put, there is an overlap. The top Division I teams are better than any Division II or III schools, but it is not as clear after that. There are probably 25 Division III teams that would beat 25 Division I teams and 60 Division II (33 percent) teams. If you are looking for a scholarship and your ranking is weaker than 300th, then you better look at Division II. As some people know, Division III does not offer athletic scholarships. 3. “You should find out ahead of time how your coach chooses the lineup.” Your college choice should not be determined on the sales pitch of your college coach. The fact is, the lineup will be whatever the coach wants it to be! Coaches will point to challenge matches, individual tour-

nament matches, head-to-head matchups, who is playing better at the time, etc. What the coach is really doing is going with his/her gut and using the evidence they feel supports it. You won’t be told this during recruiting though because it doesn’t sound organized enough. Conventional college coaching wisdom says that the steadier player goes lower in the lineup and the player who has more upside/downside goes higher in the lineup. A college tennis guidance counselor who played college tennis and is involved in college/junior tennis today could help you sort through the fluff and help you in putting your best foot forward! G Ricky Becker is the founder of JuniorTennisConsulting LLC, which offers off-court college guidance services to junior tennis players. He can be reached by phone at (516) 605-0420, e-mail rbecker06@yahoo.com or visit www.JuniorTennisConsulting.com.

Corrections … On page 51 of the January/February 2010 edition of Long Island Tennis Magazine, we ran an incorrect list of winners of the New York State Girls High School Tennis Championships (Nov. 7, 2009-Nov. 11, 2009). The correct winners are as follows: O Blair Seideman (Jericho) won the singles title and Hannah Camhi (Syosset) finished in third place. O The team of Brooke Pottish and Lindsay Kantor (Westhampton) finished second in doubles, and the doubles team of Missy Edelbaum and Paige Mintz (Roslyn) won first place in the consolation round. O The New York State Sportsmanship Award went to Paige Mintz (Roslyn).

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


USTA Eastern Presents Long Island Tennis Magazine With the 2009 Press Service Award he United States Tennis Association’s Eastern Section presented 24 awards at its Annual Awards Dinner on Jan. 30, recognizing the ways its members have helped grow tennis—from developing instructional programs for young children, to revitalizing recreational tennis in public housing. Among the awards presented, USTA Eastern honored Long Island Tennis Magazine with its 2009 Press Service Award. The Awards Dinner was held at The Renaissance Westchester Hotel in White Plains, N.Y. “It is with great pride that we work in conjunction with associations such as USTA Eastern and the entire local tennis community to promote the growth of ten-

more popular,” said D.A. Abrams, executive director of USTA Eastern. “But we don’t always realize how hard people work every day to provide opportunities to learn and play the sport. The Awards Dinner is our opportunity to recognize those who have made 2009 a great year for tennis in our section.” Andrew T. Berman, vice president/sales for Long Island Tennis Magazine, said “To receive an honor such as this is an added bonus to our work. Long Island Tennis Magazine thanks the entire USTA Eastern Section again for this prestigious honor, and we look forward to working on developing the sport of tennis on Long Island in 2010 and beyond.” G

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nis,” said David Sickmen, national director of business development for Long Island Tennis Magazine. The Awards Dinner marked the conclusion of the Eastern Section’s Annual Conference, which focused on volunteer recruitment and development. The awards were presented to individuals and groups in the New York and New Jersey area, as tennis participation continues to grow across the country. A recent study released by the USTA and the Tennis Industry Association showed that more than 30 million people are playing tennis in the United States, for the first time in more than two decades. “It’s no secret that tennis is becoming

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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my opinion BY ERIC MEDITZ

What’s the Story With 9,360 Hours? ast night, I was sitting on my futon, watching what my DVR recorded during the day. There was this show on the Discovery Channel about a guy who gets dropped off in the middle of the Amazon and has to survive and eventually, find a way out. This is my favorite show on television right now. Maybe the reason why I like this show so much, is because sometimes that’s how I feel my life is … caught in a jungle, trying to rub two wet sticks together. While I’m watching the show, I decide to let the commercials run without making an attempt to fast forward through them. I’d like to say that I did this because it’s the right thing to do and the sponsors paid a lot of money for my complete attention. But, in reality, the remote control was too far out of my reach, and I was too lazy to stretch my body out to get it. During one of the commercial breaks, I saw something that pained me severely. No, it wasn’t one of those commercials

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where they just show clips of pets that were never adopted. It was far worse then that. The people of the Discovery Channel aired a Grey Goose Vodka ad that made me very, very upset (do a YouTube search for “Grey Goose Vodka Oysters,” so you can be horrified as well). For those of you too lazy to search it, here’s the Cliff Notes version of what I saw. There’s this perfect sailboat cruising through some very calm body of water. And on the boat, there are all these good-looking people who appear to be in their early 30s … just like me. They are cracking open lobster claws and oysters, while the sun glistens against the perfect backdrop that is, “the good life.” Then, at the end of the commercial, we see them all sitting together toasting each other with ice cold drinks of Grey Goose Vodka. They all seem to be enjoying each others’ conversation and just living another perfect day in their perfect lives. After watching this commercial about 10 The SCJTL Mission Providing affordable tennis playing experiences for kids ages 4 to 18 year old. Supporting Suffolk County school tennis teams and USTA junior Competition programs. Growing family tennis in Suffolk County. Since 1997

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

more times, I get up and pace around my apartment. The question that repeats over and over in my head is a simple one … how come I’m not on that boat? I deserve to be on that boat, but, I’m not on that boat! Why aren’t I on that boat? I will bet anything that none of the people who are on that boat have sacrificed more of their youth, than I did. They shouldn’t be on that boat! I should be on that boat! I quickly take out a calculator and crunch some numbers. This is what I found. Okay, I started playing tennis at the age of six, here and there. But, for arguments sake, we’ll say I officially started playing seriously at 11 years old. I played religiously three hours a day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year, up until I played my last college tennis match against Northwestern University at the age of 21 (I lost that match, by the way, in case you were wondering). That’s a 10year career. So that’s 3 X 6 X 52 X 10 years. When I saw the number on the small digital calculator screen, I must say that I was in total and utter shock. I’ve spent 9,360 hours of the best years of my youth (ages 11-21), training to be a tennis player. During all those hours, I sacrificed, I cried, I bled and where has it gotten me? Certainly, not on that Grey Goose boat! I’m sitting here, in my small one bedroom apartment in Queens, typing away on an old laptop computer that still operates with Windows 95. My apartment floor is so cold, it actually hurts to walk on it barefoot. And I’m not 100 percent positive, but I think my next-door neighbor is one of those guys who has a fully-grown alligator as a pet in his bathtub. This is where all of those hours have gotten me. A far cry from that boat with those good-looking yuppies! I can pretty much guarantee you that nobody else on that boat, sacrificed more than


what I did during those years. I bet everyone else on that boat enjoyed family Thanksgivings, growing up with their friends and loved ones. Personally, I couldn’t tell you what that feeling was like, because I was having Chicken Marsala at 10:00 p.m. at a Ruby Tuesday somewhere in the outskirts of Boston because I was playing a tournament there. Or, I’m sure all those people who are on that boat can tell you how great it was waking up on Christmas morning and opening up their presents next to a nice, warm fire. I couldn’t tell how that was either, because I was somewhere in Arizona staring at a cactus, getting ready to play my 8:00 a.m. match. What if I had done other things during those 9,360 hours instead of tennis? What if I bowled during that time? I’d bet anything, that if I had bowled during those hours, I would be competing at 2:00 o’clock in the morning on ESPN2, pumping my fist to the camera as I knock down another 12 pins. Then, I would probably would be on that boat today! What if I learned how to cook during those hours instead of smacking around tennis balls? Again, I’d bet anything, that I would be a celebrity chef on the Food Network right now, showing the audience my version of a Chilean Sea Bass Risotto. Then, I would probably also be on that boat today! What if I had painted or sculpted during those hours? I’d bet anything, I would be getting interviewed by CBS Sunday Morning, as they do a piece on me about the

way I took the art world by storm and that my latest project called, “Toilet” sold for $30 million at auction last week. If I had taken this path, then right now I wouldn’t be writing this because I would too busy hanging out on that boat! My mind goes back and forth about all the things I maybe should have done and the paths that maybe I should have taken. As more time goes by, I begin to accept my current situation. I’m never going to be on that boat with those people, and that’s the way it is.

“My mind goes back and forth about all the things I maybe should have done and the paths that maybe I should have taken. As more time goes by, I begin to accept my current situation.” The more I think about it, I guess my journey to where I am now wasn’t all that bad. After all, because of tennis, my parents had to pay a very minimal amount of money for me to get a great college education from Penn State University. Plus, I did have some good memories along the way, in between all the sacrifices. And, I did make some lifelong friends, because of years in this sport. Now that I think about it, I guess it turned out pretty good for me.

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After all, it could always be worse. I sit back in my wobbly chair and just have a feeling of acceptance. Tennis is who I am, and no matter how much I complain about it, it will always be that way. There’s a saying, “It is what it is,” and it makes perfect sense. This is the road I’ve taken, and I cannot look back and think “what if?” It’s not healthy to be thinking like that anyway. I nod my head, as the last couple of sentences echo in my brain. I quickly stop, as another thought finds its way in there. Wait a second! I’m still young. I’m only 32. Okay, maybe all that tennis didn’t get me on that boat, but there has to be another way! I cannot control what happened in the past, but I can control what happens in the future … right? After all, I live in the greatest country in the world. Who’s stopping me from getting on that boat and having oysters and lobster with those good-looking people on a beautiful day? Nobody … that’s who! I immediately made a vow to myself. I will get on that boat one way or another! I will just have to dig deep and figure out another way! I smile as now this sentence of hope and endless possibilities, repeats in my thoughts. After a little bit, I come to my senses and stop smiling. In fact, I start to frown. Whatever that path may be … hopefully, it won’t take me another 9,360 hours to finally get on that elusive boat! G Tennis Pro Eric Meditz may be reached by e-mail at meditzisfunny@yahoo.com.

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USTA/Eastern/Long Island Region A message from the USTA/Eastern Long Island Region board Dear Long Island Tennis community: Please pause and pray for Haiti … may their hearts and land be healed over time. Who is the USTA/Eastern/Long Island Region USTA/Eastern/Long Island is an organization committed to the promotion and growth of tennis, the lifetime sport for people of all ages and abilities, to enjoy the game. Through the efforts of volunteers, USTA staff and strategic partners, we are dedicated to the highest standards of integrity, honesty and ethics in developing tennis programs in communities throughout Long Island. Our mission is to serve our youth, adults and corporate partners. The Region is coming off one of its most productive seasons in recent years. We were recognized by the Eastern Section, as one of the top financially-solvent regions in the section. Our board members are committed to providing the best tennis programs serving our youth, adults and strategic partners. Our board members and volunteers often wear several hats, and their hands-on approach speaks volumes on their commitment to serving our tennis community. Highlights of the Long Island Region for 2009 ... O Annual Award Dinner attended by more than 300 tennis enthusiasts. O Leagues, with more than 4,500 participants. Thanks to our league coordinator Kathy Miller for a job well done. O More than 800 children participated in our Nassau County QuickStart Tennis in the Park clinics coordinated by Bill Mecca. O Rally Day expanded to Nassau and Suffolk Counties … many thanks for the assistance of Terry Fontana and Steve Haar. O The Suffolk Corporate Challenge (Terry Fontana). O The Nassau County Park Advocacy Program, with the assistance of Sunny Fishkind. O High School State Champion Danny Kreyman. O The USPTA Tennis Touring Pro of the Year was awarded to Adrian Chirici of Long Island. O The Carefree Men’s 4.0 National Champions, captained by Adam Kolenberg. O Eastern Athletic 2.5 National Champions. O USTA/Eastern Sectional Champions Senior Men’s—Ed Wolfarth. The goal of the Region for 2010 is to increase our service to the Long Island tennis community by reaching out via our newly-appointed District Delegates, Joe Arias in Suffolk County and Steve Haar in Nassau County. 18

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

We would like to welcome Jocelyn Cruz as our new community service representative, who, along with Bill Mecca, will continue to provide updated information on local and sectional grants, tennis clinics and volunteer opportunities. If you have any questions, are looking for information, or have issues you wish to bring to our attention, please refer to the contact page of our Web site, www.longisland.USTA.com: Important dates for 2010 … mark your calendar! O 2nd Annual Long Island Tennis Expo ....Date to be determined O March 1 ......................................Summer League Registration O May 1 ................First Annual Tennis for New Adult Players Day (Suffolk County—volunteers needed) O May 6 ......USTA Summer League Captains Cocktail Party from 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, N.Y. O May 12 ............USTA/Eastern/Long Island Region 19th Annual Awards Dinner at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, N.Y. O May 17 ......................................................Start of League Play O May 22 ..............First Annual Tennis for New Adult Players Day (Nassau County—volunteers needed) O June (date to be determined) ..............Kid’s Rally Day (Eastern Suffolk County—volunteers needed) O July 16 ........Kid’s Rally Day (Town of Islip—volunteers needed) O Week of July 19................The last week for local matches play O July 25-July 28 ....................................................Flight playoffs O July 29-August 1 ........................Regional playoffs 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 O August 13..............Sectional Championships in Syracuse, N.Y. O August 20 ..........Sectional Championships for 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 O August (date to be determined) ........Third Annual Tennis in the Parks Day for youth groups throughout Nassau County O August 13............Kid’s Rally Day (Town of North Hempstead— volunteers needed)


O September (date to be determined) ..........................Corporate Challenge (Sayville, N.Y.) Tennis in 2010 … additional events will be published in future editions of Long Island Tennis Magazine.

Quick hits President Scott Axler The nation of Haiti has been crippled by the worst earthquake to hit the region in 250 years. This devastating earthquake has left more than 200,000 dead and more than one million people homeless. We know that death is certain, but when it includes such a large magnitude of a country’s population claiming the old, the young and the recently born, it is difficult to accept. We hope that our caring will comfort those who lost their love ones and we pray that time will ease their pain. Please visit our Web site (www.longisland.USTA.com) for our information on how our region will contribute to the Haitian relief efforts. League Coordinator Kathy Miller If you want to play in our leagues, but do not have a team, have a team but need more players, e-mail me at kathym65@aol.com. Volunteer Liaison Herb Harris It is a great feeling to give back to the game. If you would like to

serve as a volunteer for any of the above-listed events. Please contact me at tfgl@optonline.net. Not only do we need you, but the kids do too! Nassau County District Delegate Steve Haar Congratulations! There are more than 30 million regular tennis players nationwide, playing the fastest-growing sport in America. Let’s continue to grow the game so be proactive and let us know of any new ideas we all can benefit from. See you on the court! A USTA membership Your USTA membership brings you so many benefits. Whether you are an individual or an organization, joining today will also help fund local tennis programs throughout Long Island. As they say, “It’s a no brainer,” so visit Long Island’s premier tennis Web site at www.longisland.USTA.com and join today. Visit us online Your Long Island board is continually adding information to update its Web site. Whether you are looking to see what events are coming up, looking for league results, how a local college team is doing, how to report public courts in poor conditions or to find a tennis partner, www.longisland.USTA.com is THE place to find it. On Facebook, you can visit us by entering USTA Long Island and become a fan!

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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ach year, the world’s best 14-andUnder Juniors represent their country in a major international tennis event, Les Petits As. This prestigious tournament, held in Tarbes, France, resembles a major professional tournament, complete with television coverage, a linesman and ball boys. The event has seen a number of its champions go on to become Grand Slam winners, including Rafael Nadal, Michael Chang, Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters. What may be even more impressive than the list of champions, is the list of tennis legends that have played in this tournament, but never reached the finals: Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro, Marat Safin, Tommy Robredo and Gael Monfils, among others. Roughly 7,000 players from 50 nations

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worldwide enter the pre-qualifying tournaments held across France, with that number being narrowed down to 350 for the final qualifying stage, and 64 for the final tournament. Approximately, 4,000 spectators each day attend this 10-day event. Recently, Merrick, N.Y. native Noah Rubin made Long Island proud when he not only qualified for Les Petits As, but reached the finals of this prestigious tournament before falling to a French player in the championship match. The USTA invited eight members of the national team born in 1996 to Boca Raton, Fla. for a playoff to send to international competitions in the 14-andUnder division. Competitors were grouped

in two flights of round-robin play. The two top finishers from each flight made it to the semifinals. Noah went undefeated in the

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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“It’s hard not to smile knowing I did better than Roger Federer did at my age.” —Noah Rubin competition and was eventually given the choice between tournaments in South America or Les Petits As in France and chose the French event, the most prestigious Boys 14-and-Under tournament in the world. The tournament was an eye-opening and memorable experience for Noah and is a major attraction in France. It was Noah’s first trip to Europe and he said it was hard to prepare for the crowd and TV cameras that were waiting. Noah was even asked to sign autographs from the French fans. Despite the distractions and the nerves that anyone would have (especially at 13 years old), Noah maintained his composure throughout the tournament. Even as “the

enemy” while playing against two French players on their home turf, Noah’s play was strong throughout the tournament. “I was well-prepared coming into the tournament by tennis coach Lawrence Kleger; my dad, who is also my coach, and conditioning coach Goran Milanovic.” “Noah reaching the finals of Les Petits As in France, although incredibly exciting, was not that surprising,” said Lawrence Kleger, director of tennis at Sportime and Noah’s tennis coach. “Two years ago in the Le Blanc Cup in Canada, a similar event to Les Petits As for players 12and-Under, Noah won both the singles and doubles titles, and last year, he reached the semis of the Orange Bowl. Therefore, nothing he accom-

ADVANTAGE TENNIS

plishes is that surprising. Noah just seems to step up and play his best tennis when there is the most on the line.” “This tournament has taught me that I can compete with anyone my age in the world,” said Noah of his international experience in France. “It taught me how to maintain focus and block out the crowd and distractions. I will use this experience and train even harder to get ready for my next tournament. It’s hard not to smile knowing I did better than Roger Federer did at my age.” Asked to describe the experience in three words, Noah’s response: “Amazing, memorable, life-changing.” “I watched all of Noah’s matches on the live score updates on the Internet,” said Kleger. “I was emotionally exhausted after this tournament. I am so proud of Noah’s accomplishments. He has worked hard to get to this point and deserves it.” G

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Photo credit: MSG Photo Services

he top women in the world of tennis, including current world number one-ranked player Serena Williams, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, 2009 U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters and 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, will face off in the one-night, single elimination $1.2 million BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup at Madison Square Garden on Monday, March 1, 2010. “At Madison Square Garden we strive to bring the biggest and best in sports and entertainment under our roof,” said Joel Fisher, executive vice president of MSG Sports. “We are thrilled that these women’s tennis champions will be plying their trade at the second annual BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup, and that our fans will get to witness a great, great night of tennis at The Garden.” The BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup is the featured element of the national “Tennis Night in America” promotion. Through “Tennis Night in America,” the USTA

Photo credit: MSG Photo Services

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Billie Jean King (center) with Venus Williams (left) and Serena Williams (right) at the 2009 BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden 22

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


will continue its efforts to grow youth participation in the sport of tennis. “Tennis Night in America” is among the sport’s largest ever grassroots initiatives. The USTA has also made this event a major component for its Youth Registration Night, where youth players from across the country can begin signing up for spring and summer league play. The caliber of players for the event is unparalleled, boasting three of 2009’s Grand Slam tournament winners, along with seven-time Grand Slam Singles Champion, Venus Williams. In this fast-paced, no ad scoring format, each participant will compete in a one-set semifinal with the winners advancing to a best of three-set final for the Billie Jean King Cup. “We are looking forward to an exciting night of tennis with some potential interesting matchups including a rematch of the U.S. Open semifinals between Serena and Kim,” said StarGames President Jerry Solomon, referring to the match’s controversial ending. “With the return of great sponsors like BNP Paribas and the growth of our Tennis Night in America partnership with the USTA, the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup is emerging as a night that brings tennis fans around the country together to celebrate the sport. It is certainly a night that tennis fans should have on their annual calendar.”

The players Serena Williams, the current topranked women’s player, captured two Grand Slam events this past year winning her 10th and 11th singles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She holds an astounding total of 52 titles (35 singles and 17 doubles titles) at Tour events. Serena, 28, defeated her sister, Venus, in this past summer’s Wimbledon singles finals, and the pair teamed up to once again to win the doubles tournament.

Venus Williams, a former world number one-ranked player, is currently ranked number six and won the 2008 Wimbledon and Tour Championship titles. The Williams Sisters paired up for patriotic pride to capture their second consecutive Olympic gold medals in women’s doubles.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the French Open Champion and Russian-born player is currently ranked number three in the world. Her Grand Slam Title was her first since winning the U.S. Open five years ago.

Photo credit: FILA

The matchups at MSG

Photo credit: MSG Photo Services

Kim Clijsters stunned the tennis world with her Cinderella-like 2009 U.S. Open victory only two years after retiring from the sport. Clijsters is a two-time Grand Slam champion.

Photo credit: MSG Photo Services

In a rematch of the much talked about 2009 U.S. Open Semifinal with the infamous “Serena-Foot Fault Incident,” Serena Williams will have a chance to avenge her defeat in Flushing as she takes on 2009 U.S. Open Champion Kim Clijsters in one semifinal. In the other semifinal, Venus Williams will take on Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova. The winners of those two matches will play a best two of three set match to determine the 2010 Billie Jean King Cup champion.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Poise and Control By Lonnie Mitchel hat does Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” have to do with tennis? Well, for starters, when the competitors walk on Centre Court Wimbledon before their match, an excerpt from this poem is printed on a placard posted on the exit above the locker room door which states: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.” I often wonder how, in the course of battle, two world-class tennis players can endure the endless ebb and flow of a tennis match. You are up one minute and then a break of serve changes the complexion of a match and you are down the next minute. Yet, the mentally-tough players are able to remain focused only on the moment and play only the next point, seemingly able to block out memory of the past points played thus far in the match. Why is that? Because the next point is the only one that can be controlled and that is the one that matters most. This excerpt from “If” challenges me on how well one can handle

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prosperity or how well one can handle playing from behind. I confess I have not competed in tournaments in many years and when I did back in my collegiate days I knew nothing of dealing with triumphs and disasters. Anyone who knows me will remember that when I was losing, my body language was poor and my whole self-esteem was tied into whether I won or lost a match. The weight of that situation seemed like 1,000 lbs. on my shoulders. I wish I knew then what I know now. How much better could I have played? How much better could I have been? I worked on my ground strokes, volleys and serves, and they improved incrementally, but when a match got tight, these skills I possessed did not perform at the optimum level. For years, I did not know the answer and later found out why. While teaching tennis at a local club here on Long Island in the early 1990s, I met Bob Litwin, another teaching tennis professional who became one of the better amateur players in the world using a variety of skills to become mentally tougher. By watching and listening to many of these

techniques, I became a better teacher and coach. If you have read some of my articles in the past in Long Island Tennis Magazine, you may remember that I wrote about how important the skill of tennis is and the lifelong lessons the game can bring. I want to share some points on this. My bio at the end of the article will share with you that, in addition to my many years of teaching, I have extensive experience working in the corporate world. My positions were directly tied into revenue, and therefore, I decided to make the game of earning revenue for my employers a game of sorts (a tennis match so to speak). I have had bad years in terms of revenue and good years. Rather than letting my self-esteem and ego get to me when things got tough, I used the coaching lessons learned in the early 1990s as mentioned earlier. I was able to stay poised and controlled and develop strategies that would improve my revenue position. Henceforth, control only the things that I could control. In tennis terms, that would be the next strategy to be used in the next point. continued on page 27

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Tennis tips you can take to the bank! By Rick Liebman Here are some tried and true tips I have been using as part of my teaching for 35plus years … 1. When you are losing, you have two choices: Slow down or speed up If too many unforced errors are the main culprits in your losing position, slow down! Play your shots safer, add more arc to your ball, try deep down the middle shots (as opposed to those lower percentage shots that might have gotten you in trouble in the first place). This way, you might be able to creep back into your match if your opponent is playing at a higher level (serve and volleying, attacking, hitting winners and putting constant pressure on you) … speed up. Give your opponent a dose of his or her own medicine. Go for your shots and take chances. If your opponent is playing well, it might not matter what you do, but don’t stick to a losing strategy.

3. “You don’t have to play great to win” This was a favorite expression of my tennis coach, George Seewagen. Whether you’re playing a tournament, ladder or league match, chances are, your opponent is somewhere near your playing level. It is a mistake to think you must play great shots to beat your opponent that day (unless, of course, they are playing great! See number one above). 4. When losing, don’t try harder, play smarter It’s only human nature that when the chips are down, to simply try harder. “That’s why I’m losing in the first place. I’m not trying hard enough” is the phrase often heard.

2. In doubles play, make the weaker player beat you Everyone would love to play doubles the right way. Serving and coming in, returning low, cutting across the court for a winning poach will probably put you in doubles heaven. But sometimes, those tactics must be abandoned, especially if your opponent’s levels are different. The wrong shot to the right opponent might win you the point. The right shot to the stronger of your opponents might end up as disaster for your team. Find the weaker opponent and exploit their weakness. 26

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

When you are down, know why you are losing and try to change it. Go to a Plan B, and if that doesn’t work, try Plan C. If that doesn’t change things, say, “Nice match!” Good luck with some of these suggestions! Rick Liebman is tennis director for Shelter Rock Tennis Club. Rick played his college tennis at St. John’s University and was a top 10-ranked player in the Eastern Tennis Association (several age divisions). He was a ranked player in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) as well. Rick is a 32year member of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), and has served as director of tennis for the Great Neck Park District (1984-2001).

O’Rourke Named Volunteer of the Year Kevin O’Rourke (pictured here, right) has been presented with the USTA Eastern Long Island Regional Volunteer of the Year Award by Bill Mecca (pictured here, left) of the USTA Eastern Section. Kevin, the tennis director of the Cold Spring Valley Tennis Club, in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., is well-known for his generosity in providing tennis lessons to many disadvantaged children and for hosting many charitable tennis outings. G


POISE AND CONTROL continued from page 24 So, when I did write in a previous article of some of the skills learned on tennis courts that can be utilized with some of life’s experiences, I meant it in every way, both strategically and mentally. These skills can be used in school, the board room and even in social situations.

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.” So, analyze “If” … “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.” Many of my students know that means to be sound mentally on the court and just know going into a match that you could be up or down. Isn’t that what life also has in store for us, you are up one day and down the next. Take a deep breath, step back for a moment and figure out what comes next in both good and bad situations. Prosperity on a tennis court feels good, but if your opponent is trying to figure out on how to come out of a tough situation, you must be ready to handle the prosperity as well. What a great lesson to pass on to your children, doubles partner, friends and students. G Lonnie Mitchel has been teaching tennis since 1985, mostly at Carefree Racquet Club in North Merrick, N.Y. and is a USPTA Level 1 certified tennis instructor. He has produced many high school and collegiate level tennis players, including his own children, Wayne (who plays at Muhlenberg College) and Trevor (who competes regularly on the USTA Long Island Junior Circuit, gaining the number one ranking in the 14s). Lonnie has also worked in the travel and tourism industry as a regional sales manager for 25-plus years for such companies the Walt Disney Company and Royal Caribbean International. His wife, Harriet, is a club level tennis player and can often be found on the court. Lonnie may be reached by phone at (516) 414-7202 or e-mail lonniemitchel@yahoo.com.

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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By Emilie Katz Hingis to join WTT The Associated Press reports that once retired in 2002/then returned in 2006/then banned from 2007-2009/now horse jumping and ballroom dancing former tennis champ Martina Hingis will be playing a full schedule—14 matches—of World TeamTennis this season. She will be selected for a team as part of the marquee player draft to be held Feb. 11. “There’s a spark,” Hingis said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. But she also said she would rule out the possibility of a return to the tour “at this point,” primarily because of all the travel. “If it was played in the backyard,” Hingis said from her home in Switzerland, “then I’d probably think about it twice.” The five-time Major Singles titlist played World TeamTennis in 2005, in preparation for her first return to tour. Kim Clijsters played in the league last season before winning the 2009 U.S. Open title. Hingis gets coy when asked if the Belgian comebacks are inspiring her decision: “It’s great to see them dig deep and come back that well,” Hingis said. “I don’t know if I could handle it.” She watched more of this Australian Open than she has in years. “Of course, it makes you think. Tennis was all my life, and the most natural thing is that it makes you think. It would be sad if it didn’t make me think, don’t you think?” Hingis said. 28

Williams Sisters trade racquets for the gridiron While Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Melanie Oudin are busy defending USA’s honor in their Fed Cup tie against France, the top two American tennis players, Venus and Serena Williams, are busy with football. As part-owners of the Miami Dolphins NFL franchise, the sisters were in Miami in early February as the city played host to Super Bowl XLIV. Tennis served up in AC Situated at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City is the Caesar’s Tennis Classic. The exhibition, to be held Saturday, April 10, will feature Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin, and will be hosted by Venus Williams. This will be Ivan Lendl’s first event in 16 years since he retired at the 1994 U.S. Open. Clijsters immortalized in plastic Now little Jada Clijsters will still have her mother to play with, even when Kim Clijsters is off competing in Grand Slam tournaments. The tennis star has been im-

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

mortalized as a Barbie doll, and her daughter Jada is also now available in a mini-version of the doll phenomenon that has spanned generations. “When I was a young girl I played with my Barbie dolls,” said Clijsters. “My family means everything to me, so I was really excited when I found out that Jada would also receive her very own ‘Jada Barbie’ doll.” Jada, almost 2, caught the world’s attention at the U.S. Open last September when celebrating her mother’s victory at Flushing Meadows. About 10 years ago, Serena and Venus Williams released their own nonBarbie dolls at FAO Schwartz. Their dolls cost $19.99 (no word yet on the price of a Clijsters doll) and came with sun visors and water bottles. The Kim Clijsters Barbie includes a necklace with clear Swarovski crystal and “real socks.” I can only imagine how little girls across the country will reenact Kim and Serena’s semifinal match at last year’s U.S. Open. Brees n’ Bode Andy Roddick may have come up short against Serena Williams in his pre-teen years, but it was revealed that the Texan stomped New Orleans Saints QB and Super Champion Drew Brees three times in junior competition. “He’d kill me,” Brees confided. “I can play his sport better than he can play mine, though.” Drew Brees


Speaking of multisport achievers, Olympic skier Bode Miller (whose parents founded the Tamarack Tennis Camp in his native New Hampshire) will attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open this spring when he participates in the USTA’s U.S. Open National Playoffs. “Tennis has always been a part of my life,” said Miller.

sometimes they’re quite tight. So you need to … you know, Roddick does it a lot. It’s kind of what Rafa does on the other side. I don’t really know what I’m trying to say, but basically my hip is fine. It was just the cycling shorts were tight.”

Bode Miller

Hit for Haiti Led by Roger Federer, philanthropists from the tennis set hit Rod Laver Arena to raise money for victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010. Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Sam Stosur, Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic showcased the lighter sides of their personalities, taking part in a charity exhibition match that raised more than $125,000 on the day. Several players also donated signed racquets to the

Wardrobe malfunction? Andy Murray on why he was repeatedly touching his pants/hip during the final of the Australian Open, was asked by reporters if he had a hip injury: “It’s not really a problem. It’s not really my left hip. It’s quite hard to explain. I wear cycling shorts, and

tournament’s Bid for Haiti eBay auction that raised a total $44,007.19; Federer’s racquet selling for $28,124.65. With major contributions from the ATP World Tour, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, ITF and the Grand Slam Committee, the Australian Open Haiti fundraising activity raised nearly $700,000. Along with participating in Roger Federer’s impromptu fundraiser at the 2010 Australian Open, Serena Williams did her part for raising money for Haitian earthquake survivors by appearing at BET’s oddly named SOS Saving Ourselves: Help for Haiti telethon. The featured performances from Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Nas, Ludacris, Robin Thicke, Mary J. Blige, Ne-Yo and a host of others. G

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Where I Lost That Tennis Match? By Salomon Levy Bromet ost matches are not lost at match point. The complexity of the game is such that, in a tennis tournament, for example, a Grand Slam where the draw is of 128 players, there is only one winner and 127 losers. Those losers lost their matches for different reasons. Let us find out why by defining different types of players. We have the player who signs up for a tournament and loses the match as soon as the draw is posted. He loses the match when he finds out who his opponent is, especially, if he faces a seeded player. We call that player “The Loser” This player is happy to be in the main draw and is not thinking about winning the tournament. He goes to participate, not to compete. There is the player who wins matches that he is suppose to win against players with a lower ranking, but cannot beat players with a higher ranking. We call this player “The Average.” This player stays in the middle of the pack and can win one or two matches, then prays for someone to do the job for them by beating the higher ranked player or winning by default. Finally, we have the player who goes to compete and believes he can win every match and tournament he signs up for. He looks at the draw and says, “First round, I

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beat ‘X,’ semis, I beat ‘Y’ and in the finals, I beat ‘Z,’ get the trophy and the 2.000 points in the rankings.” This player is defined as “The Champion.” The best way to recognize these different players is by watching them arrive at the club on the day of the match. “The Loser” walks very slowly, you almost have to push him in. His head and shoulders are down, in other words, the loser’s body language is very indicative of his play. He usually waits until the last minute to check in and sits in the corner thinking … I hope I can win a game in each set so I don’t go home with breakfast (6/0-6/0 equals two bagels).

“The only way to learn how to compete is by competing. The most important thing is your attitude and the way you approach the challenge of competition.” “The Champion” gets to the tournament site early and is ready to beat anyone. He makes sure everybody notices when he arrives, especially his opponent. He knows his pre-match routine, usually is very popular with the other players, and you see

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

him walking from one side to the other with a winner’s attitude. “The Average” player is the one that changes his behavior depending on the opponent. If he plays someone he should beat, he acts like a “Champion.” If it is someone with a higher ranking, he behaves like a “Loser.” The interesting thing is that some players can change their attitude depending on the tournament they are in. Some can change from being “Champions” at the regional level to “Average” or “Losers” at the national level. Some can be “Champions” at the national level and “Losers” when they go to an international tournament. Whenever we step on to the court, a mental battle begins. One player sends a message, “I’m going to beat you today” and the other responds, “No, I’m going to beat you.” There are opponents that only need to lose three games and they’re convinced you are going to beat them. With others, a set is enough. There are players you need to go three sets to finally show them you are better, and there are others who don’t believe they have lost even after the match is over. “The Loser” will find any excuse to stop fighting (the foot, the wrist, the court, the wind). Just give them the chance to quit, and they will take it. “The Average” will fight more, but when the match is on the line, he will choke because he doesn’t believe he can beat a better player. “The Champion” fights until the end. He doesn’t always get the victory, but he believes he can win right up to the end of the match. The only way to learn how to compete is by competing. The most important thing is your attitude and the way you approach the challenge of competition. The question I would like to ask is, “What kind of a player do you want to be?” G Salomon Levy Bromet is a physical education teacher, and is a master in tennis coaching and high performance training in Wingate, Israel. A former national coach in Colombia, Salomon has worked as a tennis coach for Sportime since 2000. He may be reached by e-mail at zenmaster18@hotmail.com.


Nassau County Loves Tennis assau County Parks Commissioner Jose Lopez presented Bill Mecca, USTA Eastern Section’s Long Island representative, with a Citation of Appreciation for working to make Nassau County a healthier place to live. Over the last few years, Mr. Mecca and Karen Beckhard-Ravener of the Nassau County Parks and Recreation Department, along with the United States Professional Tennis Association, have organized and implemented a QuickStart Tennis Blitz in the Park program which provides free tennis lessons in Nassau County’s parks. This year, more than 1,100 youngsters and adults in eight County parks received instruction and encouragement from more than 60 USTA staffers, tennis pros and other volunteers. Joining in on the event this year was Tennis Racquets for Kids Inc., an organization started by Paige and Zachary Mintz, high school students from Roslyn, N.Y. who collect new and used racquets for distribution to the needy. These two high school juniors not only helped instruct the children,

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but gave away 150 donated racquets to their students. If you have any tennis racquets to donate to Tennis Racquets for Kids Inc., please visit www.tennisracquetsforkids.org.

If anyone would like to volunteer to be part of the 2010 QuickStart Blitz in the Park program or any of the many Long Island tennis events where volunteers are needed, please email mecca@eastern.usta.com. G Nassau County Parks Commissioner Jose Lopez (center) presents Zachary Mintz (left) and Paige Mintz (right) with a Citation of Appreciation for their work on behalf of Tennis Racquets for Kids Inc.

Nassau County Parks Commissioner Jose Lopez presents Bill Mecca, USTA Eastern Section’s Long Island representative, with a Citation of Appreciation

JuniorTennisConsulting College Recruiting Lists! At www.JuniorTennisConsulting.com The JTC Recruiting Pages are lists that show the junior ranking of every collegiate roster. Compare your ranking and academics to every university to make the most comprehensive college list anywhere.

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


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Long Island Tennis Magazine’s

Literary Corner

By Brent Shearer

Little Pancho: The Life of Tennis Legend Pancho Segura By Caroline Seebohm Last year was a tough year to publish a tennis biography if your name wasn’t Andre Agassi. But Caroline Seebohm’s account of another baseliner who also had the best return of serve of his era should not be overlooked. Pancho Segura, the Ecuadorian pro with the two-handed forehand, has been a tennis pro’s tennis pro. His rise from a poor

family in Guayaquil to a supporting role in Jack Kramer’s professional troupe in the pre-Open era is known to tennis insiders. But it is appropriate that Seebohm has made sure that more tennis fans will become aware of Segura’s contributions to the game. One of the beauties of this book is that the reader gets not only Segura’s story, but also a thorough history of an era in tennis, the 1950s and most of the 1960s, when the game was still divided into pros and amateurs. You get a nicely detailed look at the hardships of the barnstorming pro tour of these years, with its small-change purses and grueling pace. Segura turned pro in 1947 at the age of 26, driven by economic necessity, and played on various tours until he took a

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teaching job at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1963 when he was 42. Although he was usually the warm-up act, he had wins over all the great players of his era, Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzales, Bobby Riggs, Frank Sedgman, Mal Anderson, Ken Rosewall, Lou Hoad and Rod Laver. Seebohm quotes many of these stars saying that Segura was the best tactician they’d ever met. His knowledge of the game was absorbed by nearly every champion who crossed his path. The book is filled with testimonials like this one from pro Butch Buchholtz, who joined the tour in 1961, just as Pancho’s skills were fading. “Nobody had a better tennis mind. I have a good understanding of the sport because of Pancho.” Billie Jean King called him “The Ph.D of Tennis.”

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


One basic concept Pancho taught was to play the score. If you are ahead, take chances. If you are behind, play more conservatively. Nobody seems to have told the Chilean star Fernando Gonzalez about this, but for many players this will work fine. One of Segura’s great regrets is that he turned pro before he won any of what were then amateur events, like Wimbledon, the U.S. championships or the French Open. Seebohn traces his career from his days as a ball boy at the Guayaquil Tennis Club, to his pro career. She also devotes chapters to his years spent as a teaching pro, first in Beverly Hills and then, at La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif. Also folded into her account is a thorough character sketch of Segura’s friend and rival, Pancho Gonzales. She describes the racism both men endured as they made their way through the upper middle-class tennis world of the time. Segura, “Little Pancho,” had a knack for clowning his way through and deflecting

the anti-Hispanic prejudice both men encountered. “Big Pancho” was less accommodating. For all that has been written about Gonzales, Seebohm’s quote of Segura’s take on his friend sums up “Big Pancho” in a few words … “He was a peculiar guy. He was a nice guy if he liked you. If he didn’t like you, it didn’t matter if you had money or power, he didn’t give a damn.” In addition to an in-depth portrait of “Big Pancho,” Seebohm also describes the role Segura played in the development of Jimmy Connors. Before Segura took Connors under his wing in 1968, he was giving lessons to movie stars and film executives at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club. Not a bad gig, but Segura itched to work with a player who was going to make a dent in the game. When Connors’ mother made the arrangements to move Jimmy from Illinois to Los Angeles and let Segura train

him, both the coach and the protégée profited. Seebohm’s book provides a slice of life look at the pro tour when it had more in common with professional wresting than the game as we know it today. She also throws in pitchperfect descriptions of Gonzales, Connors and life in the glittering community that was the Beverly Hills Tennis Club in the sixties. But even though this is a tennis biography with no admissions of meth use, it is a fascinating portrait of a few eras and towering figures in the game using Segura as a jump-off point. And, last but not least, Seebohm shares a fascinating bit of tennis trivia that Long Island Tennis Magazine readers should be able to use to win bets. What invention in the late 1880s was crucial to the development of the game of lawn tennis? The lawn mower. G Brent Shearer may be reached by e-mail at bbshearer@gmail.com.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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USTA Training Center-East Begins Programming Newest player development site currently accepting applications

Photo credit: Ecnerwal / Lawrence from San Francisco, USA

he USTA and USTA Player Development announced that it has started programming at its new USTA Training Center-East, located at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Applications to participate in the program are still being accepted. The USTA Training Center-East will augment USTA Player Development operations at its existing sites—the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., and the USTA Training Center-West in Carson, Calif.—along with its network of Certified Regional Training Centers across the country. “We are very excited to begin programming at the USTA Training CenterEast and we look forward to working with top American juniors and their personal coaches throughout the Northeast,” said Patrick McEnroe, general manager, USTA Player Development. “The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center has been home to the U.S. Open and a number of outstanding

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recreational programs for many years, and I am thrilled that USTA Player Development can now officially be part of this wonderful facility.” Programming at the USTA Training Center-East began on Jan. 13. Program participants will train twice a week at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where they will receive on-court instruction led by USTA National Coach Tim Mayotte and work with USTA National Strength and Conditioning coaches. All accepted players will continue to work with their personal coaches when they are not training with USTA staff. The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center has 46 hard courts (three stadium, 31 outdoor and 12 indoor courts). The facility will add four clay courts to be used for USTA Training Center-East programs. The USTA Player Development program has been created to identify and develop the next generation of American champions by surrounding the top junior players

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

and young pros with the resources, facilities and coaching they need to reach their maximum potential. The Player Development program is based at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., and also utilizes the USTA Training Center-West in Carson, Calif., and the USTA Training Center-East in Flushing, N.Y. Last year, the USTA began implementing its Certified Regional Training Center program as part of its expanded efforts to develop future American tennis champions, which will expand the USTA Player Development program’s reach throughout the country by partnering with academies, clubs and tennis centers that have a proven record of identifying and developing tennis players. The USTA expects to name approximately 15 Certified Regional Training Centers over the next five years. G To apply for the program, please contact Joe Ceriello, Manager, USTA Training Center-East, by e-mail at ceriello@usta.com.


Long Island Tennis Magazine

2010 Summer Camp Guide Sponsored by Denny’s Childrenswear

4 Star Camps at Stony Brook University Phone #: (800) 334-7827 • Web site: www.4StarCamps.com

Get a taste of campus life with 4 Star Camps at Stony Brook University in Long Island, N.Y. Work with Stony Brook University’s Head Tennis Coach Gary Glassman and his assistant coaches who will take your game to the next level. Coach Glassman and Stony Brook are partnering with 4 Star Camps for their fourth summer of tennis camp. Two programs will be offered over the course of three weeks: O July 6-9: High School Players Tennis Camp for competitive players ages 14-18 O July 11-16 and July 18-23: Junior Tennis Camp for all abilities ages 9-18 As a family-owned and operated business, 4 Star has been providing an exclusive brand of high-quality tennis camp programming for players of all ages since 1975. The beautiful campus at Stony Brook University is the newest backdrop for this amazing summer experience where students reside in the dorms, take their meals in the dining hall and play on the university’s 12 outdoor courts. The 4 Star experience includes: Attention to the individual needs of the students; high quality instruction by experienced coaches who have been chosen to teach based on their knowledge and youth mentoring experience; the opportunity to live in a college dorm; and meet new friends from around the world. Weekends at 4 Star round out an eventful and fun week for those staying for a two-week session. A Saturday sightseeing trip to nearby New York City is planned and a relaxing Sunday morning to play some tennis before the next session begins that afternoon. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience what the surrounding area has to offer, while reinforcing the friendships built during the week’s activities. Now is a good time to start exploring these options before they fill up. For more information, call (800) 334-7827 or visit www.4StarCamps.com.

22nd Annual College Tennis Exposure Camp Phone #: (813) 684-9031 • Web site: www.collegetennis.com

Play college tennis! Coach Ed Krass’ 22nd Annual College Tennis Exposure Camp is the nation’s only summer camp taught exclusively by head college coaches. For boys and girls ages 15-18 looking to improve upon all facets of their game, the

camp prepares high school players for the rigors and demands of college tennis. Players receive instruction and training from head coaches representing every level of the college game. Under the skillful eyes of top college coaches, players showcase their singles, doubles and one-on-one doubles skills and receive specific feedback on their game. Instructional drills and match play competitions are conducted in the same style and intensity as collegiate practice sessions. Players have the opportunity to sample various coaching styles and to receive on-court coaching during match play competitions. Daily lunchtime seminars with college coaches educate players about college preparation and the recruiting process. Each camp includes 25 hours of on-court, collegiate style drills and match play competition. Classroom seminars motivate and educate players about college tennis preparation. Dormitory accommodations, meals and 24-hour adult supervision are provided. The camp is offered at University of South Florida (Tampa, Fla.), June 13-18; Brown University (Providence, R.I.), July 5-10; and Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pa.), July 18-23, July 25-30 and Aug. 1-6. For more information, call (813) 684-9031 or visit the camp Web site, www.collegetennis.com.

Bethpage Park Tennis Center Summer Tennis Camp 99 Quaker Meeting House Road, Building #4 Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735 Phone #: (516) 777-1358

To be your best, you need the best program, facilities and players! Bethpage Park Tennis Center’s Summer Tennis Camp is designed for maximum time efficiency and productiveness. Our wealth of tennis courts enables us to provide indoor and outdoor courts, hard courts and clay courts. No camp provides a more favorable camper to court ratio than us. This means campers can play singles and doubles matches daily. These opportunities for match play are most beneficial because they are with the finest players the East Coast has to offer. To be the best, you need the best staff! We train players to excel with greater success than any other eastern camp because of our unique staff. Since we conduct a yearround program, we employ proven, full-time professionals to Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Long Island Tennis Magazine

2010 Summer Camp Guide Sponsored by Denny’s Childrenswear

oversee our camp. The rest of our staff is comprised of our topranked students, many of whom are college standouts, to ensure quality, enthusiasm and continuity of instruction. We are very flexible, with nine one-week, as well as partialweek, sessions so that tournament players can design a schedule that accommodates their individual needs. We believe that the summer is a great time to drill skills, get match tough and develop fitness habits that will help year-round. Is this program right for you? At Bethpage Park Tennis Center’s Summer Tennis Camp, our standards are high, our prerequisites are not! We encourage and value our beginners equally with our nationally-ranked players. All we require is the desire to attend a serious tennis camp to … to learn in an intensive, personal and fun environment … and the drive to achieve your personal best! Transportation is available, and a daily deli or pizza lunch is included.

Carefree Racquet Club 1414 Jerusalem Avenue • North Merrick, N.Y. 11566 Phone #: (516) 489-9005

Where can you find a Junior Summer Tennis Camp highlighting the excitement of competition, high structured instruction and plenty of all around play time? At Carefree Racquet Club, complete with seven air-conditioned indoor tennis courts, two racquetball courts that can convert to walleyball, a half-court basketball court, a cozy lounge and snack area … that’s where! At Carefree’s summer camp, we encourage the social aspect of loving the game just for the fun of it. We stress the positive approach to competition which gives our juniors perspective both on and off the court. In the long run, this brings out the confidence to succeed in whatever our students venture into later in life. The key is to develop behavioral characteristics of success for all of our students: Vision, action, responsibility and independence. The staff is comprised of knowledgeable and caring counselors who were, or currently are, college players who were also trained at Carefree Racquet Club. The program is directed by Louis Vallejo, with 26 years of teaching experience and 16 years of sectional, national and international playing experience. He has coached juniors of all levels of play. Along with his head pros, the tutorage of our students is unsurpassed. 38

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

Carefree Racquet Club is proud to celebrate its 21st year of our Junior Summer Tennis Camp. The success of our summer program comes from our outstanding facility, fun to win attitude and our superior pro staff. Our camp hours are from noon to 5:00 p.m. Our students come in fresh and relaxed with energy, ready for action. We warm up on the courts with the physical part of our training: Stretching, cardio, core and strength exercises. Stroke development and analysis is structured yet simplified to ensure our students keep their enthusiasm for on-court playing action. After warm-up, we begin drilling, instruction and point simulation. After a half-hour lunch/snack break at 2:00 p.m., the students are back on-court for an hour of cardio tennis drilling. Match play begins at 3:30 p.m. where there is singles and doubles competition. We are also able to offer cross-training with the basketball and walleyball courts, which teaches our students team effort and sportsmanship. After a quick juice break, we end the day with fun games for the final 20-30 min. Carefree’s Junior Summer Tennis Camp is the most flexible on Long Island. You can attend full-time (nine weeks, five days a week) or a fewer number of weeks. You can also attend just two or three days a week if you’d like. You can even come just once a week, but we bet if you come once, you’ll want to come twice! So come on down and see for yourself … we will be waiting!

The Early Hit Training Center Junior Summer Tennis Camp at Glen Head Racquet Club Contact: Carl Barnett 95 Glen Head Road • Glen Head, N.Y. 11545 Phone #: (516) 455-1225 • E-mail: earlyhit@optonline.net

Our comprehensive program will provide your child with all the resources necessary to reach his or her maximum tennis potential. The Early Hit Training Center incorporates all aspects of the game into our complete program. We begin each session with a nutritionally-complete and balanced shake from Court 7, our on-premise restaurant and smoothie bar. After a thorough warm-up, the student will work through the core components of tennis, including stroke production, drilling and physical fitness training before breaking for a healthy lunch. We then move on to playing dynamics and strategy, and reinforce these lessons with focused match play. A thorough cool-down and stretching session completes a world-class day of tennis for your child.


Long Island Tennis Magazine

2010 Summer Camp Guide Sponsored by Denny’s Childrenswear

With our team of renowned tennis teaching professionals, experienced physical conditioning trainers, movement experts and on-site chef, the Early Hit Training Center offers a unique and total tennis experience.

Future Stars Tennis Camps Phone #: (516) 876-3490 • Web site: www.fscamps.com

Future Stars Tennis Camps and Programs have been on Long Island since 1982. Over the years, thousands of kids have developed sound fundamentals and a love of the game under the tutelage of our outstanding tennis professionals.

Our long history started in Great Neck at the Future Stars Tennis Center, which was formerly the Great Neck Racquet Club on East Shore Road. There, Future Stars ran a junior development program and our trademark Tennis Camp. Future Stars have gone on to run our camp programs at The Merchant Marine Academy in Great Neck, Match Point Tennis in Commack, Hampton Athletic Club in Quogue, East Side Tennis Club in Westhampton, and Westhampton Beach Bath and Tennis. For summer 2010, Future Stars presents Tennis Camp locations including: SUNY College at Old Westbury, Farmingdale State College, Green Hollow Tennis Club in East Hampton, Sandy Hollow Tennis Club in Southampton, Aspatuck Tennis Club in Westhampton Beach and Pine Hills Country Club in Manorville. Our winning formula for tennis camps revolves around bringing

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Long Island Tennis Magazine

2010 Summer Camp Guide Sponsored by Denny’s Childrenswear

kids together for weekly sessions to learn and compete in a safe and fun atmosphere. Our goal is to find the best facilities for kids to spend the day working on their tennis game, while combining a fun day camp-type atmosphere. Each day starts with a morning assembly culminating in a stroke of the day demonstration by our director with his professional staff. Campers are then broken out in groups of equal ability and age. They have two daily instructional periods with no more than five to a group. Their instructor for the week works with them on all aspects of their games through fun and intense drilling, focusing on stroke production and strategy. The third tennis period of the day is the all-important match play. Supervised by their instructors, kids play points and matches. To maximize the match play experience, we have the weekly camp tournament along with a back draw and round robins. A typical day also includes field sports and a fitness component, along with a swim break. In addition, we have a full schedule of interclub and camp matches, pitting kids of all ages and levels against their peers, often from other camps and tennis clubs in the area. During the weekly sessions, campers are given feedback and analysis by the director and coaching staff, who get to know every player to make sure they have a rewarding and enjoyable experience. Campers receive an end-of-session progress report highlighting areas of their game they should continue to work on. To commemorate their camp experience, each camper receives a t-shirt, backpack and certificate of attendance at the weekly awards ceremony held the last day of camp. However, the most cherished reward a camper leaves after a session at Future Stars Tennis Camp—and the one we are most proud of—is a love for our great sport of tennis and a huge desire to go out and play the game.

McEnroe and Tom Gullikson. He currently resides in New Rochelle, N.Y. with his wife, Ellen, and four children. Joel Ross Tennis & Sports Camp, located only 90 min. from the Whitestone Bridge, is located in beautiful Kent, Conn., at the base of Mt. Algo alongside the Housatonic River. The camp facilities include 17 on-campus tennis courts, including four indoor in our own steel building. We do not have to bus the campers to tennis facilities! Our swimming pool and squash courts are also on-campus. We have recently added a golf program. We have a 300-yard driving range/mini course right on campus! Our tennis campers can even do one week of golf! Joel is a hands-on director, in attendance 24/7. His program of instruction and fitness in the morning and ladder play in the afternoon and evening has endured for 20 years since the inception of the camp in 1991. Our campers play ladder matches daily and our tennis groups change two to three times each week, based on the ladder results. The afternoon/evening ladder is the glue of the camp. All of our campers and staff are residents. Our tuition covers everything: Private lessons, laundry, snacks, trips, etc. Our campers can also participate in many electives, including archery, squash, canoeing, kayaking, basketball, soccer, football and more! We have a multi-tiered “Bully Prevention Program” in place as well. Our campers can canoe and kayak in the Housatonic River! Give us a call at (914) 668-3258 and find out why Joel Ross Tennis & Sports Camp is a keeper!

Joel Ross Tennis & Sports Camp

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-min. clinics are offered daily. Camps and one- to sevenday programs are available. The flexibility of the programming enables participants to enjoy the nearby beautiful ocean beaches, charming village, Performing Arts Center, movie theatre, wine country, flower farms, shopping, cafes, restaurants, water park and other East End attractions. Peter Kaplan, an attorney, former New York State Tennis Champion, and a graduate of Cornell University, is onsite every day. Resident students/families/teams stay at the historic Grassmere Inn, located on quiet, tree-lined Beach Lane in Westhampton

Phone #: (914) 668-3258 • E-mail: info@joelrosstennis.com Web site: www.joelrosstennis.com

Joel Ross, owner and director of Joel Ross Tennis & Sports Camp in Kent, Conn., is a native Long Islander, having grown up in Westbury. He won the New York State High School Singles Championships two consecutive years and earned a full tennis scholarship to the University of Michigan, where he captained the team and played number one singles. In 1971, Joel was Big 10 Singles Champion and was featured on the cover of Tennis Magazine. His best circuit wins include John

Tennis & Sports Camp

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

Peter Kaplan’s Westhampton Beach Junior/Adult Tennis Academy Contact: Peter Kaplan Phone #: (631) 288-4021 or (914) 234-9462 E-mail: peterkaplan2002@yahoo.com Web site: www.westhamptontennis.com


Long Island Tennis Magazine

2010 Summer Camp Guide Sponsored by Denny’s Childrenswear

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. Ideal for families, are two suites or interconnected rooms. A delicious breakfast of fresh muffins, bagels, cereal, fruit, juice, coffee, tea, milk and yogurt is included daily. The Tennis Academy, located three miles away, is primarily a teaching center featuring 12 soft courts. We have welcomed participants from over 25 countries and 30 states since 2000. The Academy features an enthusiastic staff, renowned for its highquality instruction and low student-to-staff ratio. The maximum ratio is 4:1, but the average ratio is 2:1. Thirty-five Japanese juniors have been coming for three

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weeks annually, for the last eight years. They run three miles before breakfast and then 10 hours of instruction, running and matches. However, most participants seek a less intensive program, taking three to five hours of instruction daily. The staff is always accommodating and happy to tailor programs to fit the needs of the customer. Frequently, an adult team will come at the beginning of the season and return for a family vacation. There are also tennis pros who bring groups. The Academy’s staff is available to supplement visiting pros staff. The groups always have an incredible time, some having returned for 10 consecutive years. Tennis during the day, a trip to the beach in the late afternoon, perhaps a glass of wine at sunset, and then dining at a great restaurant, a movie or a show at the Performing Arts Center. Occasionally, guests are

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Long Island Tennis Magazine

2010 Summer Camp Guide Sponsored by Denny’s Childrenswear

coaxed into karaoke with the international staff! One season, the academy and staff served as Vic Braden’s primary East Coast staff and facility. Basketball instruction is also offered. Former NBA All-Star Gus Williams, New York Knicks player Greg Butler and Hilton Armstrong have appeared. The Grassmere Inn has been named one of two Best Inns on Long Island by Dan’s Papers and a Best Place to Stay in Westhampton by Long Island Alive. The Academy has been selected among the top teaching academies worldwide by TennisWeek, Tennis Mag and Courttime. It is the only academy in the world the USTA has chosen to be part of the marketing program to USTA juniors and adults. Members receive free stringing and a free halfhour private lesson.

ago (replacing the courts’ original carpet-like surface), were resurfaced with six new rubber and Nova acrylic material courts. Dwyer says the rubber-based courts, the only ones of their kind in any indoor club on the South Shore, are more forgiving on the feet, ankles, knees and hips than other indoor surface, including, contrary to popular belief, Har-Tru, a claylike surface. But Dwyer isn’t content to rely only on Point Set’s traditional tennis programs. “We’re always trying to come up with something new,” Dwyer said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that tennis is on the rise again.” And Point Set, the stalwart indoor club on the South Shore with a fresh look, is ready.

Point Set Indoor Racquet Club Inc.

Robbie Wagner’s Tournament Training Center Summer Tennis Camp

3065 New Street • Oceanside, NY 11572 Phone #: (516) 536-2323 Web site: http://pointsetracquetclub.com

Since it opened its doors in 1971, Point Set Indoor Racquet Club in Oceanside, N.Y. has been a tennis haven for the casual player just looking to get out on the court and hit some balls, as well as for the serious player who fantasizes of cracking an ace on Centre Court at Wimbledon. This summer, Point Set is putting together USTA summer teams and are looking for players 2.5; 3.0; 3.5; 4.0 both men’s and women’s team. Point Set will also be running a premier Junior Summer Camp. The camp will run from July through August and is meant for kids ages 10-16. It will be a co-ed camp, and in addition to tennis, kids will get the chance to play basketball, soccer and lacrosse. Point Set will host a top-notch Adult Summer Camp. It will be a weekly two-hour training sessions, with a focus on stroke production, strategy and match play. Point Set enjoys success with effective management. With ownership’s willingness to make necessary repairs and renovations to the 32-year-old facility, Point Set is very much living in the present and anxious to be a part of the return of tennis’ popularity that head pro and managing partner Dan Dwyer feels has begun. In the past 10 years, ownership has spent more than $500,000 on, among other things, a new roof, new reflective ceilings, furniture and locker room renovations. The club’s seven rubber-based courts, installed 10 years 42

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

Co-Camp Director & Business Manager: Stephen Alcala E-mail: stephenaalcala@gmail.com Web site: www.rwtt.com

Every day at the Robbie Wagner’s Tournament Training Center Summer Tennis Camp is a fun and challenging way for children of all ages to spend their summer days. The camp consists of world-class tennis coaches and facilities catering to the needs of each and every child, from the beginning toddler to the nationally-ranked junior tennis player. It is of the utmost importance to us that each child has a pleasurable day at our camp, and we strive to achieve a standard of excellence unparalleled on Long Island. Our day typically begins with a warm-up and flexibility session, followed by tennis drills in a group setting with a strong emphasis on technique and stroke production. For our advanced players, we also focus on tactics and point construction. In the afternoon session, there is a fitness training session with our expert conditioning specialist along with match play. Each day of the week, we strive to change the format of our match play to keep our campers excited and challenged with various formats of play, including camp tournaments, Davis Cup team matches, and individual one-on-one practice matches. We pride ourselves in teaching the children in a fun and hard-working atmosphere.


Long Island Tennis Magazine

2010 Summer Camp Guide Sponsored by Denny’s Childrenswear

Rockville Racquet Club 80 North Centre Avenue • Rockville Centre, NY 11570 Phone #: (516) 764-5350

The summer is time for fun at Rockville Racquet! Rockville Racquet Club is conveniently located in the heart of Rockville Centre. Its central location allows easy access to local shopping, dining and transportation. Our modern center boasts seven Nova Acrylic courts, men’s and women’s locker rooms, showers and saunas, as well as babysitting facilities. Courts are available for seasonal or hourly rental throughout the year. However, the summer is the time for fun at Rockville Racquet. Every summer afternoon, you can hear the sounds of happy children on the courts at Rockville Racquet. Under the professional guidance of Freeman Bayard, USPTR, dozens of young tennis en-

thusiasts are perfecting their skills, while meeting new friends and having fun. The summer camp is open to youngsters from fiveyears-old to 18-years-old, one to five days a week, for eight weeks. Students of all levels can participate in this unique learning experience. In addition to tennis, the kids can enjoy table tennis, strategy sessions, games and snack time in an air-conditioned, state-of-the-art facility. For the adults at Rockville Racquet Club, there are men’s and women’s summer leagues. Summer is the perfect time to try out a league. This shorter and modestly-priced season allows newcomers time to adjust to competitive tennis in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Tennis drills and learning leagues offered by tennis professionals can also help to improve your game. The more competitive player can participate in USTA team tennis.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Long Island Tennis Magazine

2010 Summer Camp Guide Sponsored by Denny’s Childrenswear

With many men’s and women’s USTA teams at all levels, there is a place for everyone at Rockville Racquet. Our teams compete against other teams throughout Long Island. USTA teammates enjoy the camaraderie and competition of team play. Each year, several of our teams have made it to the sectional and national championships. Join us this summer for a season of fun at Rockville Racquet!

Sportime Excel Tennis Camps “Getting Better Just Got Better!” Locations: Bethpage, Kings Park, Massapequa, Roslyn, Amagansett, Manhattan (Randall’s Island) Phone #: (516) 933-8500 Web site: www.sportimeny.com (and click on the “Eastern Excel Summer Tennis Camp” tab)

Sportime’s Excel Tennis Camps are expanding! To better serve the needs of junior tennis players in our region, we are proud to announce that Sportime’s highly-successful Excel Tennis Camps are expanding. Now, players across Long Island and New York City can experience Sportime’s premier tennis program for aspiring junior players of all ages and abilities. Excel’s training methods are fun and fastpaced, featuring stroke production, competitive games, and tactical training for match play. Our innovative tennis training techniques and tennis-specific conditioning regimens prepare players for the physical, mental and emotional demands of the sport of tennis. Excel campers develop positive self-esteem and laser-like focus. Our program is dedicated to turning weaknesses into strengths, and strengths into a winning game. Your child will get better at tennis That’s a guarantee! We take pride in our commitment to helping every camper make serious progress, regardless of his or her level, ability or experience. At Excel, we assess and discuss each camper’s goals and aspirations, and we waste no time setting out to meet and surpass them. From the total beginner, to the top five in the nation superstar, our campers all show significant improvement in all phases of the sport. And they will leave stronger and more physically fit than they were when they started! Your child will make friends Aren’t most experiences better when you have friends and buddies to share them with? At Excel Tennis Camps, we believe that an important part of camp is providing a mutually supportive at44

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

mosphere where individuals can develop and cultivate friendships. This positive social opportunity is a big part of what makes tennis “the sport of a lifetime,” and at Sportime Excel, we try our best to create and foster “friendships for a lifetime.” Your child will be safe The supervision at Excel Camps is better than any other tennis camp. That is a bold statement to make, but we back that statement up by working incredibly hard to train our entire staff on every aspect of safety, both on and off the court. Senior staff at every Excel Camp location implements and oversees our campers’ wellbeing and assures that safety procedures are followed during every hour of the camp day. Your child will have a blast! Having a lot of fun while you are improving is just better! And kids get better faster when they are having fun. Excel campers and parents are amazed at how much fun there can be while working hard to improve one’s tennis game. We make every part of our curriculum challenging, fulfilling and fun. Even our conditioning element is fun! Doesn’t your child deserve to have fun this summer?

The Suffolk County Junior Tennis League 33 Sheppard Lane • Smithtown, N.Y. 11787 Phone #: (631) 590-5019 E-mail: scjtl@ariastennis.com Web site: www.scjtl.org

The Suffolk County Junior Tennis League (SCJTL) is a network of community-based sites and programs in Suffolk County, N.Y., founded in 1997 and dedicated to introducing Suffolk County youth to the lifetime sport of tennis. Through its flagship, SCJTL Summer Tennis League and Fall Indian Summer Tennis League programs, the SCJTL programs provide an all-inclusive affordable “playing” experience to more than 1,000 new and existing junior players each summer at local school sites throughout Suffolk County. Selected as one of 28 national 36/60 test sites in 2006, SCJTL Summer Tennis League adapted the new Quick Start Tennis format in 2008 as a recreational Junior Team Tennis program, with a season-ending challenge featuring an appearance by “Deuce,” the mascot of the Suffolk County Tennis and Education Foundation a non-profit 501(c)3 organization in Suffolk County that sponsors and works closely with the SCJTL.


Long Island Tennis Magazine

2010 Summer Camp Guide Sponsored by Denny’s Childrenswear

SCJTL expanded its scope after two years in existence to provide high quality affordable local player development and competition programs through the SCJTL Competition Squad USTA Junior Team Tennis program and SCJTL Tennis Academy, Competition Tennis Camp and Tennis Team training camps. New to 2010 is the SCJTL High Performance Player Development program. SCJTL introduced the free SCJTL Family Tennis Members site in 2009 offering member services as well as easy SCJTL program registration and management. Founder and Executive Director Joe Arias, is a USPTA Pro 1-certified tennis professional, USTA High Performance Coach and USPTA Player Development Specialist. He is director of tennis of the Port Jefferson Country Club. Donna Arias is a fashion consultant for Grand Slam Tennis in Commack and Bolle’ Tennis Wear representative. Joe and Donna administrate the SCJTL staff of 40-plus Summer and Indian Summer Tennis League site directors, assistant site directors, site assistant, and tennis camp player development coaches consisting of certified tennis teaching professionals, school tennis team coaches, college tennis players and high school tennis-playing students who also play in the SCJTL Summer Tennis League Blue Division program. SCJTL has inspired and prepared thousands of Suffolk County juniors to play on school tennis teams, and achieve Long Island Regional and USTA Sectional rankings with many players moving on to play college tennis. SCJTL player development and competition training programs include: O SCJTL Competition Tennis Camps, affordable, high quality tennis camp ideal for preparing players ages nine through 18 for middle school, junior varsity, varsity and collegiate tennis teams and USTA tournament competition. O SCJTL Competition Squad Junior Team Tennis Program, a comprehensive team tennis experience with training sessions, team matches and participation in team tournaments. O SCJTL High Performance Player Development Program offering training for USTA tournament level juniors emphasizing player development and training following USTA High Performance guidelines. O SCJTL Challenge Series, a tournament circuit and ranking system for SCJTL program players. The Suffolk County Junior Tennis League is a division of Arias Tennis Corporation. SCJTL is a registered USTA Community Tennis Association, Junior Team Tennis program, USTA National Junior Tennis League chapter and a Tennis Industry Association member

with registered network of TIA Tennis Welcome Centers. SCJTL was awarded the 2008 USTA Eastern Member Organization of the Year Award and 2004 USTA Eastern NJTL Chapter of the Year.

USTA-BJK National Tennis Center Summer Camps Coming soon … registration for 2010 Summer Camps at USTA Billie Jan King National Tennis Center Flushing Meadow Corona Park Phone #: (718) 760-62133 • Web site: www.ntc.usta.com

The USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center will once again offer seven weeks of fun in the sun tennis camps starting on Monday, June 21, 2010 and continuing through Friday, Aug. 6, 2010. Enrollment is available to registration for one, two or as many as seven weeks. The weekly program runs from Mondays through Fridays, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., with a one-hour lunch break or a twilight session from 4:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Campers work on development of tennis techniques, tactics, and strategy geared to maximizing the learning experience in a fun presentation. As the juniors develop, they are advanced to more challenging groups. Tennis activities include Stroke-of the Day, team games and Competitive Match Play. The camp also offers cross-training activities such as soccer, softball and basketball in the park or at the Corona park multipurpose recreational facility, swimming at the nearby FMCP Aquatics Center, off-site field trips to go ice skating, Mets games, etc., and full access to the many fun activities here on the grounds of the National Tennis Center. We accept junior players, ages four through nine and under for the QuickStart programs (visit www.quickstarttennis.com for information about this new tennis learning format). Children nineyears-old and up are enrolled in the Junior Camps (9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. or 4:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.). Advanced High Performance Tournament training campers will be invited to participate in an intensive training program. We have 24 outdoor courts, 12 indoor courts, and three outdoor QuickStart courts.. We have available on-site ping-pong tables, ball machines, arts and crafts, and other engaging sporting activities. Our primary focus will be on developing tennis skills while offering other activities to enhance the learning and camp experience. Detailed information will be available soon on our Web site at www.ntc.usta.com. We are located in Flushing Meadow Corona Park. You may contact us at (718) 760-6213. Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Are You Serving Up a Shoulder Problem? By Chris Ostling, PT, DPT Anyone who has played tennis for a little while comes to realization that the difference between a good player and a great player is often his or her serve. A strong first serve can make up for a lot of mistakes and can win you a lot of games. Of course, having a strong first serve isn’t that easy. The serve is generally considered the most intricate and complex of all the strokes in the game. Biomechanics have divided the serve into six parts: 1. Wind up 2. Early cocking 3. Late cocking

4. Acceleration 5. Early follow-through 6. Late follow-through2 There are several different demands that the shoulder is put through during some of these phases that are important to understand in order to identify where one may run into injury problems. During late cocking, just before the acceleration phase of the serve, the shoulder has to rotate a tremendous amount. Normal values of external rotation of the shoulder are 90 degrees. Olympic tennis players have been calculated at over 170 degrees at the late cocking phase.1 Moderate tennis players are probably somewhere in between, which is still considered a lot. If you

have any range of motion restrictions, which is prevalent particularly in our older tennis players, this can be a major source of shoulder joint injury. In this case, shoulder pain would usually occur right before you hit the ball, as you bring that racket all the way back before pushing forward to make contact. The good news is that with proper stretching and joint mobilization, it is possible to restore the needed range of motion and allow that serve to be pain-free. Besides range of motion demands, the shoulder must also generate an enormous amount of force during the serve. This occurs during the acceleration phase—when you are pushing the racket as fast as you can towards the ball. The rotational speeds continued on page 48

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


Athletic Mouth Guards Can Help Your Game

Your Upper Teeth Must Be Protected from Traumatic Injury, but an Unbalanced Bite Can Actually Physically Weaken Your Whole Body Could You Play Your Best with One Shoe Off? A mouth guard that properly fits over the upper teeth may, in fact, set your lower teeth up to hit the appliance with unequal forces. The uneven strain on muscles in the head and neck also affect the back, shoulders, arms, and legs. Just like from the feet up, the mouth down can impact the ability to function at peak performance.

What Can a Lopsided Bite Do? Interfere with hand-eye coordination, reflexes: Teeth supply information to many important cranial nerves. The brain interprets what your teeth bite on. Incompatible biting forces send inaccurate messages that have an impact on reactions to timing, focus, and concentration. Put strain on neck and back muscles or decrease strength, flexibility, and endurance: An athletic appliance that causes the mouth to over-open or clench on one side, or both, puts strain on the connecting muscles, nerves, bones, and blood supply making you more prone to injury and fatigue.

Prevent recovery from injury: Getting back in shape takes much longer when the body needs to overcome a structural imbalance. A mouthguard that does not take the bite into consideration prevents postural equilibrium, which can affect the body’s response to pain, retraining, and flexibility.

Level the Playing Field in Your Mouth Whether you buy an appliance from the store, on-line, or even from your dentist, you must still determine the fit for your body. If you suffer from allergies, painful areas, headaches, fatigue, sleeping disturbances, or any number of health conditions, your bite may be out of balance with the rest of your body. You may, in fact, find that a balancing lower appliance made to keep your bite level with the horizon, will help restore equilibrium to distant muscles.

How do you know if Your Appliance is Right? Kinesiology muscle testing is one way determine imbalances in the body. A dentist trained in muscle testing can use this technique, along with others, to help verify if your appliance is right for you.

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F I T N E S S A N D N U T R I T I O N continued from page 46 an elite player can generate at the shoulder are over 2,000 degrees per second.1 The muscles that make up the majority of that force production include parts of your rotator cuff and deltoid, as well as your pectoralis muscles and your serratus anterior—a muscle that helps move the shoulder blade.3 Pain during this phase may indicate pain in those force-generating muscles. Strengthening exercises can improve the capability of these muscles and not only allow you to serve without pain, but may increase the speed of your serve as well. The follow-through phase of the serve is also highly demanding on the shoulder. Remember, during the acceleration phase, all of the force is created to hit the ball. Now, during follow-through, all of that force must be stopped in a very short amount of time. In order for you to “slam on the brakes,� the muscles in your shoulder, including the

rotator cuff, part of your deltoid, and your trapezius muscle, all have to work to rapidly slow the speed of the advancing arm. This is accomplished through a controlled lengthening of those muscles, called an eccentric contraction.3 Shoulder pain during the follow-through may be indicative of a muscular injury. This is because forceful eccentric contractions can be very damaging to a muscle and can lead to muscle strain. Rest and progressive strengthening under proper supervision can resolve a strained muscle and allow you to return to pain-free serving. Whether you are a novice or an expert, pain during the serve should not occur in a healthy shoulder. Due to strength and range of motion demands on the shoulder, there are several different phases of the serve that have the potential to cause injury. If you experience consistent shoulder pain during your serve, a physical therapist

can help resolve the situation. Proper identification and treatment can make a big difference in the severity and duration of shoulder injuries. Keep working on that serve, just make sure it doesn’t hurt! G Chris Ostling, PT, DPT is with Next Step Physical Therapy in Hicksville, N.Y. Chris is an orthopedically-trained physical therapist with experience treating both novice and professional tennis players. For more information, contact Chris by phone at (516) 681-8070, e-mail nextstep@nextsteppt.com or visit www.nextsteppt.com. Footnotes 1—Fleisig. et al. (2003). Sports Biomechanics, 2, 51-64. 2—Morris. et al. (1989). American Journal of Sports Medicine, 17, 241-247. 3—Seeley. Et al. (2004). Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 36, S136.

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


The Great Teacher in Us All ... By Ed Wolfarth ho doesn’t remember that one teacher who had a real positive affect on our lives. It could have been a kindergarten teacher, a high school history teacher, a college professor or, yes, even a tennis coach. Some taught us through humor, some kept us awake with smoke and mirrors, others wowed us with their brilliance, but their unmistakable focus was always on us … our learning, growth and our achievement. Seemingly, these great teachers were all different. They did, however, have many common traits. Let’s look at some of them.

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It’s not about me or you, it’s about them The best teachers I have ever had cared about if I understood what they were talking about. They gave constant feedback. They wouldn’t stop until they were absolutely certain that we left the class or lesson knowing more than we did when we walked in. One of my finest teachers and coaches was my college coach and mentor. Having

seen him many years after he retired, I asked him, “How can I ever thank you for everything you did for me?” He smiled and said, “Your success is my reward.” Life isn’t fair, but your classroom better be We teach more than the subjects we teach. In our interactions, words, decisions and attitudes, we are teaching the “other” subjects. Behavior, open-minded fairness, critical inquiry and transparency of process (have we heard that before?) are but a few things our students learn in our classroom. The carefully consistent practice of fairness with our students increases the chances that they will model that behavior with their peers. Scrupulous attentiveness to equity should be a constant in every classroom. Sometimes you need to jump in An Olympic diver was once asked after performing a very difficult dive, “What was the hardest part?” Without hesitation, he answered, “Jumping off the board.” Students know when you’re playing it safe.

They sense when you “mail it in.” They also know when you are in the present and engaged, when you are willing to take risks, take on the unconventional. I believe there is an element of courage in the finest of teachings. A required particle of risk that creates unease, but ultimately leads to arriving at our goal in one piece. There needs to be a nervousness, a gut reaction that if we want to do well, we will have to take risks, take that running leap and hopefully, as we have so often, land on our feet. This sense of risk is always accompanied by our memories of past failures and bellyflops, but once in the air, we can fly. It’s our courage that enables our flight. I was doing fine until someone interrupted I have a love/hate relationship with lesson plans. Without planning, we can lose our way, forget an important point or fail to cover some detail or aspect of our teaching. On the other hand, however, too much planning obscures the sponcontinued on page 58

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E-mail: eric@overgrips.com • Phone: (862)596-5043 Web site: www.overgrips.com Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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enior Cory Parr of Jericho, N.Y. was a top-ranked junior player who grew up in Jericho, N.Y. and went on to an AllAmerican collegiate career for the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest University. He was the third-highest winning men’s singles player in Wake Forest history. Cory earned the program’s first-ever national title with the doubles championship win at the ITA’s National Indoors competition in Charlottesville, Va. Parr and partner Steven Forman defeated Southern California’s Robert Farah and Steven Johnson by a margin of 7-6 (3), 7-6(5) to take the title. “Cory is like a member of my family,” said Lawrence Kleger of Sportime, Cory’s co-coach through juniors. “My wife Slavie,

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at any given time, is either trying to adopt him or convince our daughter to marry him! Cory is an amazing success story. And his oncourt accomplishments pale when compared to his off-court character and integrity. He has been and continues to be the role model for all Sportime student athletes.” In high school, while playing for the Jayhawks of Jericho High School, he was the 2004 New York State Singles Champion, 2004 Nassau County Singles Champion, 2003 New York State Doubles Champion and the 2002 Nassau County Doubles Champion. “Lawrence Kleger and I have always

tried to challenge Cory physically and mentally as much as possible throughout his junior career,” said Mike Kossoff, Cory’s co-coach throughout juniors. “We made him play Sectionals so he could finish each year ranked number one in the east, as well as play high school tennis to defend state titles. Lawrence and I felt that by putting him in situations where he was expected to win, along with the pressure of being the favorite to win, helped his mental toughness and improved his own self-image.” Kleger added, “At the age of 12, Cory missed a full-year of development and competitive play when he came down with Tourette’s syndrome. But like everything else other people said he couldn’t do, Cory overcame the affliction and began a successful tennis career that included USTA National Titles, NCAA Championships and numerous sportsmanship awards. And just when people thought his competitive career was over, Cory begins his professional career with five doubles titles on the satellite tour.” Long Island Tennis Magazine recently had a chance to sit down with Cory to discuss his tennis career path to date and if he had any advice to offer to current junior players on Long Island. How did you get started and at what age? I got started in the sport of tennis when I was about five-years-old. My mother used to be

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


the tournament director of the ATP event on Long Island called The Hamlet Cup. Every summer, I would watch great players play, and I wanted to be just like them. Some of those players included Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Dominik Hrbaty, Michael Chang, Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a top-ranked junior player and living on Long Island? Some of the advantages are the great people that I have come in contact with. It is a pretty small tennis community, with a lot of great people who want to see you succeed. Some of the disadvantages are getting good practices during the wintertime. I have always grown up playing indoors, and I do not mind it every so often; however, while playing on tour, it is really important to be in a competitive atmosphere where I am able to train with other pros who push each other. That is why much of my training is spent in Arizona and North Carolina where there is better weather.

Who and what helped you raise your game to the elite level it has risen to? When I was in juniors, I trained at Sportime in Syosset and Bethpage. The two coaches that have helped me develop my game at the junior level were Lawrence Kleger and Mike Kossoff. I started with Lawrence from the very beginning. He was a great mentor for me, as well as someone who helped develop my strokes so that I would have no technical flaws. He also helped me develop weapons to take me to a high level. I began working with Mike when I was 13-years-old. Mike was very important to me, he stressed hard work and discipline. He was the one who really made me believe that I could be a good player. Both Mike and Lawrence were huge contributors to what I have done in tennis. What advice would you give to the junior players on Long Island who want to play at a high college level and/or professionally? I would tell them to work really hard and set

goals for them to accomplish. I’d tell them to work with their coaches and to keep developing their games, while also playing in a lot of matches. What is your fondest tennis memory thus far? I have had so many great tennis memories, but I would have to say getting to the Sweet 16 two out of four years at Wake Forest is the tops to date. Also, winning a national championship at the ITA National Indoors in doubles with my partner Steven Forman was a great accomplishment. What are your goals in the future? My future goals for tennis include being able to make a living playing professionally in both singles and doubles play. It is a tough road, and it is something that I am still getting acclimated to, but I am and will continue to work hard to try and accomplish my goals. G

Coming In May BONUS DISTRIBUTION AT: World Team Tennis Matches

Distribution scheduled for 5/1/10 This edition will feature: • World Team Tennis Preview • Boys High School Season Recap • Look Back at Tennis Night in America • Summer Events Preview

Beach Tennis Championships Boys High School Matches USTA Long Island Awards Dinner

Don’t miss the advertising and editorial opportunities in the next edition of Long Island Tennis Magazine May/June 2010. Submissions for both advertising and editorial are due by April 1st. For more information, please call (516) 409-4444 or e-mail Advertise@LITennisMag.com.

Distribution across Long Island at (150+ locations):

• indoor tennis clubs • country clubs • tennis camps • retail stores • supermarkets • gyms • and many more Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Sports Science Overview By Branislav Grujic

ports science is a lifeline to the future of the tennis profession. The expanded knowledge and expertise that can be learned from every aspect of the sport science industry is the defining evaluation of the ever-changing market. Today, players are bigger, faster and stronger than ever before. The demands facing them have never been more challenging. Now, though, they are beginning to take advantage of the knowledge gained through the principles of sports science; incorporating and utilizing these principles to enhance their mental skills, biomechanics, conditioning, strength, flexibility, injury prevention and rehabilitation. This increased awareness of the physical and mental demands and the impor-

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tance of providing the highest standards of care have produced an acutely comprehensive approach to the maintenance and well-being of players of all ages and skill level worldwide, and has endowed the sports industry with the vision to succeed. The framework of sports science is composed of the following components: 1. Physical development Motor learning, and its subsequent ramifications, is the first area to explore when considering teaching criteria. Maturation differences, the rate at which cognitive aspects are learned must be fully considered for their influence, the rate at which you teach.

2. Tennis development During this phase, the primary responsibility is technical instruction; integrating motor, physical, psychological and communication skills. 3. Biomechanics Tennis development is a natural consequence of biomechanics, or the kinetic chain, which adds up to the body’s rotation force (legs, hips, trunk, shoulders, arms) and racquet speed. It includes efficiency of movement and effectiveness of performance. 4. Psychological development or skill training This component is a cornerstone to suc-

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010


cessful athletic performance. The strategies for acquiring skills involve self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-reinforcement. Included are motivation, visualization, stress management relaxation, positive reinforcement, self-confidence and goalsetting. 5. Physiological development or fitness The ability to meet physical demands of the sport to perform optimally is vital. Design the training program with a focused plan and set of goals identifying short- and long-term objectives. 6. Injury prevention and rehabilitation Strength and flexibility exercises as well as proper mechanics form the foundation of the injury prevention program. Be prepared! Learn first aid, keep records, utilize training programs and develop an emergency plan.

“This increased awareness of the physical and mental demands and the importance of providing the highest standards of care have produced an acutely comprehensive approach to the maintenance and well-being of players of all ages and skill level worldwide …” In summary, the integrity of sports science has ushered a brave new world. A world of understanding, direction, knowledge and application unified in the belief that the virtues of sports science will efficiently and effectively enhance a player’s opportunity to achieve optimal performance and suc-

cess. As teaching professionals, we must embrace these virtues with determined optimism. As students of the past and teachers of the present, we must savor the future. We must nurture and guide this generation toward the possibilities that are abound. We must inspire within them a sense of dedication and commitment to the learning process. We must engage them so that they may better understand and appreciate the journey so that they may eventually pass on to the next generation the innate importance of cherishing each and every facet of sports science. G Branislav Grujic is a USPTA Professional 1, tester and USPTA Sports Science Specialist. He is also a graduate of the High Performance Training Program. He may be reached by e-mail at grujic101@aol.com.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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Long Island Tennis Magazine Writer Chokes, Other Players Party Down at One-On-One Event By Brent Shearer I had a match point on my serve at the Tennis and Rockin’ Blues One-On-One Doubles tournament at the National Tennis Center (NTC) way past midnight. Upstairs, the band was playing a Jimi Hendrix song. Players and guests were enjoying a buffet dinner. Down under in Australia, Roger Federer and Andy Murray were going through their pre-match preparation for the Australian Open final. My opponent, Lloyd Hines, a veteran of the dog-eat-dog 96th Street clay courts, didn’t even look winded. The National Tennis Center event featured 60 players competing in six divisions. Former world doubles number one-ranked Jared Palmer beat Long Island’s Keith Kessler 6-3 in the men’s open event, while Brown University Tennis Coach Jay Harris beat Paul Moss 6-2 in the men’s 35s. The winner of these two prize money events took home a $1,000 check. In the recreational players’ draws, only

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bragging rights were at stake, as players competed at the 3.5 and 4.5 Levels for men and women. With a start time of 10:00 p.m. and running until 2:00 a.m., the National Tennis Center’s first One-On-One Doubles event provided players with a competitive work-out to help them stay up for the Australian Open men’s final. One-On-One Doubles Inc. is the brainchild of veteran college coach Ed Krass. He is the former Harvard women’s coach and is the founder of the College Tennis Exposure Camp. Developed in 2003, the game has been played at USTA, ATP, ITA and USPTA national tournaments. It has recently been approved as a format for ETA-sanctioned tournaments. Krass’ invention is a half-court, serve and volley singles game played on a standard doubles court. The server must come in. Points are contested diagonally using the alleys. The center service line is ex-

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

tended to the baseline to measure whether the shots are cross-court (diagonal) enough. The server must advance to the net either volleying or half-volleying. The receiver can stay back or come in. Among Krass’ innovations is bringing in a rockin’ blues band to play during the event. While players rotated on and off the courts, the Todd Wolfe Band played in the NTC lounge. Although the event’s formal name is One-On-One Doubles, the word “Doubles” refers to the court. Matches themselves are played between two players. Krass said that One-On-One is being picked up by many college teams. “You see more and more college coaches looking for doubles skills, because the doubles point is so important. One-On-One is a great way to sharpen those skills.” In fact, Stony Brook University hosted an eight-team, Division I Women’s OneOn-One Doubles event last fall.


Those of us who play tennis on Long Island should feel a special connection to One-On-One Tennis. Krass said he was sitting on the beach at Westhampton when he had his Eureka moment that gave birth to the concept. On the night that Federer and Murray battled it out in Melbourne, tennis players with and without ATP points on their resume served and volleyed their way into the wee hours of the morning. The matches were one set with no-add scoring. In One-On-One, players have to cover about two-thirds as much real estate as they would in singles. Palmer, the 2001 Wimbledon doubles winner, said he often used drills like One-On-One to sharpen his game during his touring years. “I don’t move as well as I did 10 years ago, so One-On-One is a good format for me,” said Palmer. That was modest of him, as his volleying and court coverage seemed quite strong. If I’d been able to cover the front of the court anywhere near as well as Palmer, I would already have sent Hines to the lockers. Adam Rosen of Port Washington, N.Y., who is ranked in the ETA 50s, agreed that One-On-One helps adult players who have lost a step. But he noted that event was challenging because even though there is less court to cover than in singles, it is hard to adjust to doing so much volleying from so far out in the alleys. National Tennis Center Director Whitney

Kraft set the event up so the proceeds will benefit the Jana Hunsaker Foundation, which supports wheelchair tennis at the Flushing facility. Kraft said the combination of One-On-One, the on-going performance by the Todd Wolfe Band upstairs while the players competed on the courts below, made for a unique event. In addition to recruiting players, assigning courts and performing other duties, Kraft managed to simultaneously provide commentary on the men’s open and the men’s 35s finals as they were played on adjacent courts. This is a feat that even better known tennis announcers like Bud Collins or Mary Carillo have never equaled. Among the event’s players with pro credentials, Bryanne Stewart-Crabb, whose WTA ranking peaked at number five in doubles, said that One-On-One could contribute to making juniors more rounded players. “A lot of juniors don’t play doubles much so they may need work on their volleys. One-On-One gives them a way to develop these skills and you only need two players.” Due to her playing level, Stewart-Crabb played in the men’s open division as did her husband, former touring pro Jaymon Crabb. One interested spectator at the event was Ernests Gulbis, the number 94-ranked player on the ATP tour. Gulbis, who had finished a workout at the center, said he thought One-On-One will help create players with more versatile games. With up-

coming tour events in San Jose and Memphis, Gulbis joked that if he does well in those events, he’ll have to credit his exposure to One-On-One. Another veteran of high level tennis, Brooklyn’s Nail Khabiyev, ranked 305th on the ITF junior roster, and Rafael Nadal’s official practice partner at the 2009 U.S. Open, said the One-On-One format was a great way to practice volleying. Among local players who, while they don’t have ATP points, do have age group national rankings, Patrick McNally, said he liked the One-On-One format because it is a good cardio workout. This theme was echoed by another competitor, national number one-ranked player in men’s 35s, Kline Sack, who described the game as a “fun way to stay in shape.” Getting back to my match, I was serving with a match point. I saw Hines edging toward his backhand side. He was probably hoping to thump a forehand return. I missed my first serve. I spun in my second serve. Maybe I was a little tight because it had been a long match. I was grooving to the Jimi Hendrix song “Little Wing.” I had the rockin’ blues part of the event down. Then I did the one thing that can ruin you in One-On-One Doubles, I forgot to come in. Hines never looked back. G Brent Shearer may be reached by e-mail at bbshearer@gmail.com.

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Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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USTA Suffolk County District Preps for Successful Year “I was introduced to tennis 40 years ago this year through the efforts of tennis players giving back to their sport,” said Joe Arias, district board president, Long Island Region Suffolk County delegate, president of Arias Tennis Corp., USTA High Performance coach, USPTA Certified Pro 1 and specialist in competitive player development. “Tennis was a life-changing experience for me then and continues to be so every day. I’m proud to be a part of the USTA Suffolk County District volunteer team ready to share our passion for tennis with the Suffolk County community. The USTA Suffolk County District Board has developed a menu of initiatives and programs designed to do just that.” Collectively, the USTA Suffolk County District board aims to promote tennis throughout Suffolk County by pooling resources, establishing a network of volun-

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teers, and growing USTA membership and the number of players in the area. Jim Donnelly was recently selected vice president of the USTA Suffolk County District board and is the owner of Grand Slam Tennis in Commack, N.Y. “I have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to learn and play the great sport of tennis, and also be able to educate others in how the proper racquets, strings, sneakers and clothing can help them enjoy playing tennis more and increase their level of play,” said Donnelly. “I started playing USTA adult league tennis 12 years ago and have enjoyed the new friendships and lifelong relationships of my fellow teammates,” said Donna Arias, district board secretary, area sales representative for Bolle Tennis Wear, Jet Pac Tennis Bags and DIMR’s, apparel buyer and sales for Grand Slam Tennis in Commack and active USTA

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

Adult league player. “I’ve also been fortunate enough at the 3.0 Level to compete at Nationals in Tuscon, Ariz. What’s great about league play is you can compete at any level and age. Tennis is now a major part of my life, and I’m enjoying every moment of it.” Jimmy Delevante is a USPTA-certified tennis professional who also has a master’s degree in psychology from The City University of New York. “It can be difficult to discuss things like focus, mental toughness and emotion regulation during lessons because of the complex nature of these topics,” said Delevante, who trains junior and adult tennis players yearround and emphasizes the mental aspect of tennis which he feels is often overlooked. “However, these aspects of tennis are present at every level of the game and shouldn’t be neglected. A player’s ability to regulate their


emotions during play is a skill that can be developed through proper training. Players who can better understand their emotions and use them to their advantage ultimately have a better chance to succeed at their level.” Joshua Wolfson is a New York State-certified physical education teacher and a certified New York State health education teacher. “It is my experience that a player’s physical fitness level plays a big role in their overall growth and production as a tennis player,” said Wolfson. “Players of all ages are susceptible to various types of injuries on the tennis court. Basic fitness training not only improves strength and endurance on and off the court, but it is also plays a crucial role in injury prevention, assuming the focus of your training is perfect form. Wouldn’t it be nice to play tennis and not have to worry about sore knees and tennis elbow?” In addition to his teaching career, Wolfson has pursued certifications from the ISSA as a certified fitness trainer and the USPTA as a certified tennis instructor. John Cook is a nationally-ranked adult tour-

nament player and USPTA professional who has spent more than half of his life teaching tennis. “I truly believe that athletics, in particular tennis, and education are mutually beneficial partners,” said Cook. “While most people accept the importance of a ‘good education,’ they often marginalize the term to encompass only a classroom education. In truth, life is an ongoing process of learning and growth with the whole world as a ‘classroom!’ And tennis, I would argue, is a microcosm of life.” Cook added, “The ancient Greeks, in particular, believed that athletics were essential to the philosophical development of

their youth, strengthening such qualities as enthusiasm, serenity, patience, concentration and fearlessness; qualities which few people would deny are as important today as then. I would further suggest that the sport of tennis touches on every single possible subject studied in an actual classroom, from geometry and physics to philosophy and psychology, with its own language and history to boot! The lifetime process of learning worthwhile things is, by definition, ‘education,’ and tennis with its many worthwhile things to teach is, I believe, a perfect educational compliment!” G The USTA Suffolk County District board of John Cook, Joshua Wolfson, James Delevante, Joe Arias, Donna Arias and James Donnelly gather for a photo

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T H E G R E AT T E A C H E R taneity and discovery that truly characterizes the learning process. By ignoring a student’s sudden insight is to stifle true learning. While taking your hands off the steering wheel is bad in a car, its not necessarily bad pedagogy. Allowing students to take the lead requires practice in facilitating. It may be more work for us teachers, but our students learn better when they are actively involved in its discovery. Indeed, students may forget much of the subject matter we teach them, but we can be sure they will never forget the excitement of learning. Do as I do and what I say While this seems most obvious, students will echo your actions, words and attitudes. A lesson led by an engaged diligent teacher will strangely be full of engaged and diligent students. The best teachers understand that the behavior

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they themselves are engaged sets the tone for the learning experience of their students. Our civil (or uncivil) behavior reverberates everywhere. The ways in which we treat our colleagues and parents, all have a profound impact on how we are perceived. There is no set path for becoming an effective teacher. It all comes down to the key elements: Caring for and about our students as both human beings and learners, having the necessary expertise and skills, demonstrating our commitment to fairness, emphasizing the process of active learning, being generous with our time and practicing respectful behavior. These elements come in different forms and can be delivered in many different ways. It’s up to each of us to best deliver the message. There is nothing to stop anyone from becoming an

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

effective teacher. It is our individuality and eccentricity that enable us to reach out, connect and inspire. If you are a teacher, the power to change lives is within your grasp. You already have it. What a great opportunity. G Edward Wolfarth is the tennis director at the Tam O’ Shanter Club in Brookville, N.Y. He is also a professor of physical education and sports sciences at Hofstra University. In addition to his class load, Edward finds time to coach high school tennis at Jericho High School. He’s an active member of the United States Professional Tennis Association and currently serves on the executive board of the United States Tennis AssociationLong Island Region. He still plays competitively and is a highly ranked senior player. He may be reached at (516) 6269005 or e-mail wolfarthe@msn.com.


Bethpage Park Tennis Center Andrea Pappas-Manager 99 Quaker Meeting House Road #1 Farmingdale, NY 11735 516-777-1358 bptcenter@aol.com

Smash Tennis Club Bob McKenna-Director of Tennis 575 Merrick Avenue Westbury, NY 11568 Business: 516-832-8010 Cell: 516-817-2455

Carefree Racquet Club Kathy Miller-Manager 1414 Jerusalem Avenue • Merrick, NY 11566 516-489-9005 • carefreetennis@aol.com

SPORTIME at Amagansett Sue De Lara-Co General Manager Hana Sromova-Director of Tennis/Co-General Manager 320 Abrahams Path Amagansett, NY 11930 631-267-3460 www.SportimeNY.com amagansett@sportimetfm.com

Eastern Athletic Club Cira Jones-Manager 9 Montauk Highway #A • Blue Point, NY 11715 631-363-2882 easternathleticclubs.com Eastern Athletic Club Betsy Johnson-Manager 854 Jericho Turnpike • Huntington Station, NY 11746 631-271-6616 easternathleticclubs.com Eastern Athletic Club Gary Jones-Manager 100 Ruland Road • Melville, NY 11747 631-753-3696 easternathleticclubs.com Glen Head Racquet Club Heath Koch: 516-676-9849 Home of Early Hit Training Center Carl Barnett: 516-455-1225 95 Glen Head Road • Glen Head, NY 11545 earlyhit@optonline.net Huntington Indoor Tennis Club Rich Rottkamp-Director of Tennis 100 Broadway • Huntington Station, NY 11746 631-421-0040 Point Set Indoor Tennis Dan Dwyer-Owner 3065 New Street • Oceanside, NY 11572 516-536-2323 www.pointsettennis.com matt@pointsettennis.com Racquet Club at Old Westbury Rose Fiorenti-Manager 24 Quail Run • Old Westbury, NY 11568 516-626-1625 Robbie Wagner’s Tournament Training Center @ GLEN COVE Stephen Alcala-Business Manager 60 Sea Cliff Avenue Glen Cove, NY 11542 516-759-0505 • www.rwtt.com Rockville Racquet Club Susan Alvy-Manager 80 North Centre Avenue Rockville Center, NY 11570 516-764-5350 rockvilletennis@optonline.net

SPORTIME at Bethpage Tennis Perry Aitchison-Director of Tennis 101 Norcross Avenue Bethpage, NY 11714 516-933-8500 www.SportimeNY.com tdbethpageten@sportimetfm.com SPORTIME at Bethpage Multi-Sport Randy Louie-General Manager 4105 Hempstead Turnpike Bethpage, NY 11714 516-731-4432 www.SportimeNY.com bethpagemulti@sportimetfm.com SPORTIME of the Hamptons Mauricio Gattuso-Director of Tennis Route 104 East Quogue, NY 11959 631-653-6767 www.SportimeNY.com tdhamptons@sportimetfm.com SPORTIME at Harbor Island Eric Fromm-General Manager, Director of Tennis In Harbor Island Park Mamaroneck, NY 10543 914-777-5050 www.SportimeNY.com efromm@sportimetfm.com SPORTIME at Kings Park Petr Perecinsky-Director of Tennis 275 Old Indian Head Road Kings Park, NY 11754 631-269-6300 www.SportimeNY.com tdkingspark@sportimetfm.com SPORTIME at Lynbrook Chris Morales-Director of Tennis 175 Merrick Road Lynbrook, NY 11563 516-887-1330 www.SportimeNY.com tdlynbrook@sportimetfm.com

SPORTIME at Massapequa Fayez Malik-Director of Tennis 5600 Old Sunrise Highway Massapequa, NY 11758 516-799-3550 www.SportimeNY.com tdmassapequa@sportimetfm.com SPORTIME at ProHealth Jay Karl-General Manager 3 Delaware Drive Lake Success, NY 11042 516-348-8463 www.SportimeNY.com jkarl@sportimetfm.com SPORTIME at Randall’s Island Ted Dimond-Director of Tennis 1 Randall’s Island New York, NY 10035 212-427-6150 www.SportimeNY.com randallsisland@SportimeTFM.com SPORTIME at Roslyn Jared Rada-Director of Tennis Landing Road, PO Box 1 Roslyn, NY 11576 516-484-9222 www.SportimeNY.com tdroslyn@sportimetfm.com SPORTIME at Schenectady Philippe Ceas 2699 Curry Road Schenectady, NY 12303 518-356-0100 www.SportimeNY.com tdschenectady@sportimetfm.com SPORTIME at Syosset Tennis & Multi-Sport Karl Sommer/Director of Tennis 75 Haskett Drive Syosset, NY 11791 516-364-2727 www.SportimeNY.com SPORTIME at Syosset Fitness & Racquetball Joe Gazio-General Manager 10 Gordon Drive Syosset, NY 11791 516-496-3100 www.SportimeNY.com jgazio@sportimetfm.com USTA National Tennis Center Whitney Kraft-Director of Tennis Flushing Meadows Corona Park Flushing, NY 11568 718-760-6200 www.usta.com

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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LONG Boys & Girls Long Island Rankings (as of 02/08/10)

BOYS Long Island Boys 10 Singles Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Cannon Kingsley ........Northport, N.Y. 2..........Justin Ilan Lempert ....Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 3..........Neel Raj......................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 4..........Daniel Eric Pellerito ....Syosset, N.Y. 5..........Gardner Howe ............Locust Valley, N.Y. 6..........Billy G. Suarez ............Huntington, N.Y. 7..........Thomas A. Korossy......Oyster Bay, N.Y. 8..........Ronald P. Hohmann ....Oyster Bay, N.Y. 9..........Kyle Hudson Gower ....Oceanside, N.Y. 10........Kyle C. Yaun ................Sand Point, N.Y. 11........Patrick F. Maloney ......Oyster Bay, N.Y. 12........Arjun Mehrotra............Woodbury, N.Y. 13........Amani Siddiqui............West Babylon, N.Y. 14........Pete Sizios ..................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 15........Austin Egna ................Port Washington, N.Y. 16........Brady Berman ............Glen Head, N.Y. 17........Michael Medvedev......Oceanside, N.Y. 18........Sean Patrick ..............Oyster Bay, N.Y. 19........Spencer Bozsik ..........Sag Harbor, N.Y. 20........Jacob Weiner ..............Oyster Bay, N.Y. 21........David Ammendola ......Massapequa, N.Y. 22........Max Egna....................Port Washington, N.Y. 23........Michael Jaklitsch........Islip, N.Y. 24........Jake Grossman ..........Sands Point, N.Y. 25........Steven Well Sun..........Glen Cove, N.Y. 26........Daniel Weitz................Roslyn, N.Y. 27........Benjamin Grossman....Sands Point, N.Y. 28........Matthew Porges..........Sands Point, N.Y. 29........Parker Appel ..............Locust Valley, N.Y. 30........Jake Koenigsberg ......Glen Head, N.Y. 31........Sujay Sharma ............New Hyde Park, N.Y.

Long Island Boys 12 Singles Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Stephen Gruppuso ......Bayport, N.Y. 2..........Curran Varma..............Manhasset, N.Y. 3..........Zane Siddiqui..............West Babylon, N.Y. 4..........Brian Hoffarth ............Fort Salonga, N.Y. 5..........Spencer Swanson ......Remsenburg, N.Y. 6..........Sean Patrick ..............Oyster Bay, N.Y. 7..........Garrett Malave ............Laurel, N.Y. 8..........Alex Grossman............Sands Point, N.Y. 9..........Benjamin Tenner ........Roslyn, N.Y. 10........Brian Shi ....................Jericho, N.Y. 11........Arjun Mehrotra............Woodbury, N.Y. 12........Michael Medvedev......Oceanside, N.Y. 13........Alan Delman ..............Great Neck, N.Y. 14........Jonathan Staudigel ....Northport, N.Y. 15........Ryan James Maloney..Oyster Bay, N.Y. 16........Travis Leaf ..................Dix Hills, N.Y. 17........Daniel Shleimovich ....Merrick, N.Y. 18........Evan Kober ................Wantagh, N.Y. 19........Chirag Sharad Soni ....New Hyde Park, N.Y. 20........Kyle Hudson Gower ....Oceanside, N.Y. 21........Cory Seltman ..............Smithtown, N.Y. 22........Giuseppe Loduca ........Great Neck, N.Y. 23........Aziz Rashidzada..........Dix Hills, N.Y. 24........Dylan Granat ..............Woodbury, N.Y. 25........Ronald P. Hohmann ....Oyster Bay, N.Y. 26........Oliver Ridgley Green....Locust Valley, N.Y. 27........James Kyrkanides ......Stony Brook, N.Y.

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ISLAND

28........Kevin Alec Kowalsky ..Oyster Bay, N.Y. 29........Eric Schissel ..............Port Washington, N.Y. 30........Daniel Khodosh ..........Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 31........Robert James Gavigan Garden City, N.Y. 32........Noah J. Reisch............Floral Park, N.Y. 33........Braddock Chow ..........Glen Cove, N.Y. 34........Colin Francis Sacco ....Brightwaters, N.Y. 35........Michael Liebman ........Roslyn, N.Y. 36........Christian Ardito ..........Rockville Centre, N.Y. 37........Michael DeNigris ........Islip, N.Y. 38........Connor Dove ..............Baldwin, N.Y. 39........Rajan Jai Vohra ..........Glen Head, N.Y. 40........Justin Cole Princer......Roslyn, N.Y.

Long Island Boys 14 Singles Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Drew F. Feldman ........Port Washington, N.Y. 2..........Daniel Sliwowski ........Islip, N.Y. 3..........Ian Baranowski ..........Syosset, N.Y. 4..........Kevin Cino ..................East Quogue, N.Y. 5..........Erik Ujvari ..................Hauppauge, N.Y. 6..........Marcell Rengifo ..........Copaigue, N.Y. 7..........Ethan Hayden Handa ..Rockville Centre, N.Y. 8..........Brett Edelblum ............Roslyn, N.Y. 9..........Philip Foo....................Great Neck, N.Y. 10..........Andrew J. Bentz ..............Massapequa Park, N.Y. 11........Steven Marzagalli ......Patchogue, N.Y. 12........Michael Hakimi ..........Great Neck, N.Y. 13........Stone E. Mitchell ........Woodmere, N.Y. 14........Benjamin Mermelstein Northport, N.Y. 15........Connor Daniel Jeran ..Islip, N.Y. 16........Jesse Richheimer ......Merrick, N.Y. 17........Michael J. Nelson........Manhasset, N.Y. 18........Kevin Alec Kowalsky ..Oyster Bay, N.Y. 19........Justin Park..................Huntington, N.Y. 20........Dylan Ander ................Hewlett, N.Y. 21........Sahil Massand ............Woodbury, N.Y. 22........Nikhil Raj ....................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 23........Brandon Kay ..............Setauket, N.Y. 24........Jacob Rosenthal ........Jericho, N.Y. 25........Cole Lafitte ................East Setauket, N.Y. 26........Jamis Ross ................Manorville, N.Y. 27........Jayant S. Sani ............Great Neck, N.Y. 28........Gregory Rosenthal ......Syosset, N.Y. 29........John C. Knight ............East Northport, N.Y. 30........Benjamin Goldrich ......Syosset, N.Y. 31........Ryan Evan Diaz ..........Jericho, N.Y. 32........Kavi Bhatia ................Westbury, N.Y. 33........Steven Masciale..........Bay Shore, N.Y. 34..........Leland Murrin ................Shelter Island Heights, N.Y. 35........Cory Seltman ..............Smithtown, N.Y. 36........Andrew Muran ............Glen Head, N.Y. 37........Zachary Dukoff ..........Jericho, N.Y. 38........Joshua Fried ..............Plainview, N.Y. 39........Julian Koby Adler ........Roslyn, N.Y. 40........Riki Ishikawa ..............Woodbury, N.Y.

Long Island Boys 16 Singles Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Pasha Shapouri ..........Albertson, N.Y. 2..........Sean Jagi Chhugani ....Roslyn, N.Y. 3..........Eric Sumanaru ............Middle Island, N.Y. 4..........Gabriel P. Lazar ..........Hewlett, N.Y. 5..........Sloan Millman ............Woodmere, N.Y. 6..........JT Esposito ................Rockville Centre, N.Y. 7..........Doron Saraf ................Great Neck, N.Y. 8..........Brian Chalif ................Huntington, N.Y. 9..........Richard Mitchell..........Franklin Square, N.Y.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

RANKINGS

10........Henry D. Lee ..............Sag Harbor, N.Y. 11........Darren Reisch ............Floral Park, N.Y. 12........Jared Drzal ................West Sayville, N.Y. 13........Ryan Gary Wennberg ..Huntington Station, N.Y. 14........Ryan Marcus ..............Merrick, N.Y. 15........Michael Freilich ..........Lawrence, N.Y. 16........Andrew Z. Wang..........Huntington, N.Y. 17........Trevor S. Mitchel ........East Meadow, N.Y. 18........Matthew Demichiel ....Hewlett, N.Y. 19........Seth Kornfield ............Jericho, N.Y. 20........Nick Wong ..................Jericho, N.Y. 21........Ryan White ................Wantagh, N.Y. 22 ........Christopher DeSimone..Centerport, N.Y. 23........Ian Hyland Glessing ....Manhasset, N.Y. 24........Ethan Hayden Handa ..Rockville Centre, N.Y. 25........Matthew Granito ........Wantagh, N.Y. 26........Brett Ringelheim ........Atlantic Beach, N.Y. 27........Chris Casamassima ....Franklin Square, N.Y. 28........Matthew Berman ........North Massapequa, N.Y. 29........Michael Hakimi ..........Great Neck, N.Y. 30........Adam Fishelberg ........Plainview, N.Y. 31........Jake Levin ..................Melville, N.Y. 32........Alex Sands..................Roslyn, N.Y. 33........Aman Sharma ............Roslyn, N.Y. 34........Evan Ross Seidman ....Dix Hills, N.Y. 35........Michael Lustrin ..........Roslyn, N.Y. 36........Patrick J. O’Hara ........Rockville, Centre, N.Y. 37........Eric Chalif ..................Huntington, N.Y. 38........Dylan Ander ................Hewlett, N.Y. 39........Brian James Hom ......Oyster Bay, N.Y. 40........Brandon Shih ..............Great Neck, N.Y.

Long Island Boys 18 Singles Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Scott Johnson ............Northport, N.Y. 2..........Benjamin Bogard ........Lido Beach, N.Y. 3..........JT Esposito ................Rockville Centre, N.Y. 4..........Eric Dietsche ..............Bay Shore, N.Y. 5..........Eric Sumanaru ............Middle Island, N.Y. 6..........Jaewon Kim................East Northport, N.Y. 7..........Matthew Zuckerman ..Valley Stream, N.Y. 8..........Jared Drzal ................West Sayville, N.Y. 9..........Richard A. Ferguson ....Franklin Square, N.Y. 10........William Speranza ........Hicksville, N.Y. 11........Gregory B. Gittler ........Ronkonkoma, N.Y. 12........Ryan Zuckerman ........Valley Stream, N.Y.

GIRLS Long Island Girls 10 Singles Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Lea Ma ......................Dix Hills, N.Y. 2..........Nicole Kielan ..............Valley Stream, N.Y. 3..........Courtney Kowalsky ....Oyster Bay, N.Y. 4..........Jasmine Olivia Abidi....Glen Head, N.Y. 5..........Julia Kielan ................Valley Stream, N.Y. 6..........Emily Kate Shutman....Huntington, N.Y. 7..........Trinity Chow................Glen Cove, N.Y. 8..........Emily Austin................Hewlett, N.Y.

Long Island Girls 12 Singles Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Michelle Haykin ..........Great Neck, N.Y. 2..........Vanessa Scott ............Dix Hills, N.Y. 3..........Courtney Kowalsky ....Oyster Bay, N.Y. 4..........Michele Shelia Lehat ..Great Neck, N.Y. 5..........Elena Nastasi..............Bayville, N.Y. 6..........Nicole Koskovolis ........Manhasset, N.Y. 7..........Brittany Burke ............Garden City, N.Y.

8..........Celeste Rose Matute ..Amityville, N.Y. 9..........Courtney A. Digia ........Manhasset, N.Y. 10........Shanice Arthur ............Glen Head, N.Y. 11........Julia Ciardullo ............Locust Valley, N.Y. 12........Nicole Damaghi ..........Kings Point, N.Y. 13........Annelise Meyding........Port Washington, N.Y. 14........Michelle Vancura ........New Hyde Park, N.Y. 15........Claire Handa ..............Rockville Centre, N.Y. 17........Rhea Malhotra ............Syosset, N.Y. 18........Julia Khan ..................Sands Point, N.Y. 19........Katie Jean Cirella........Woodbury, N.Y.

Long Island Girls 14 Singles Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Cameron Moskol ........Wantagh, N.Y. 2..........Emma R. Brezel ..........Port Washington, N.Y. 3..........Campbell Howe ..........Locust Valley, N.Y. 4..........Jeannie Lozowski ......Amityville, N.Y. 5..........Alexa P. Sternschein....Syosset, N.Y. 6..........Aimee Manfredo ........Shoreham, N.Y. 7..........Lauren Livingston ......Sands Point, N.Y. 8..........Kathryn Herburger ......Manhasset, N.Y. 9..........Aidan Owens ..............Manhasset, N.Y. 10........Jennifer C. Ferguson ..Franklin Square, N.Y. 11........Jennifer Glukhman......Syosset, N.Y. 12........Rachel Murillo ............Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 13........Holly Hubsher ............Sands Point, N.Y. 14........Taylor Anderson ..........Locust Valley, N.Y. 15........Lara Fishbane ............Commack, N.Y. 16........Brittany Burke ............Garden City, N.Y. 17........Emily Bentley..............East Islip, N.Y. 18........Julia Ciardullo ............Locust Valley, N.Y. 19........Elena Nastasi..............Bayville, N.Y. 20........Harley Kaiserman........Setauket, N.Y. 21........Christine Apicella ........Massapequa Park, N.Y. 22........Amanda Bishop ..........Woodbury, N.Y. 23........Kristen Bomkamp ......Northport, N.Y. 24........Taylor Brant ................Shoreham, N.Y. 25........Courtney A. Digia ........Manhasset, N.Y. 26........Olivia F. Watman..........Hewlett, N.Y.

Long Island Girls 16 Singles Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Amy Ginny Naula ........East Hampton, N.Y. 2..........Veronica Paikin ..........Valley Stream, N.Y. 3..........Jessica Sickles ..........Massapequa Park, N.Y. 4..........Ruth Freilich ..............Lawrence, N.Y. 5..........Brett A. Lieb ................Cutchogue, N.Y. 6..........Ashley Sandler............Jericho, N.Y. 7..........Erica Bundrick ............Mattituck, N.Y. 8..........Amanda L. Seeley ......Sound Beach, N.Y. 9..........Courtney Sokol ..........Floral Park, N.Y. 10........Amanda Marano ........Hampton Bays, N.Y. 11........Hannah Hinchcliffe......Mineola, N.Y. 12........Daria Schieferstein......Sag Harbor, N.Y. 13........Robin R. Mehta ..........Manhasset, N.Y. 14........Abbott M. Brant ..........Shoreham, N.Y. 15........Jennifer Glukhman......Syosset, N.Y. 16........Emily Bennett ............Port Washington, N.Y. 17........Alyssa D. Rosello ........Garden City, N.Y. 18........Anita Krish ..................Greenlawn, N.Y. 19........Bari Allison Fuchs ......Bellmore, N.Y. 20........Kelly Marie Benini ......Northport, N.Y. 21........Hannah Goldman ........West Hempstead, N.Y. 22........Casey L. Nicoletti ........East Hampton, N.Y. 23........Michelle Graziosi ........East Northport, N.Y. 24........Danielle Byrnes ..........Massapequa, N.Y. 25........Jessica Schmidt..........Commack, N.Y.


LONG Long Island Girls 18 Singles Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Veronika Paikin ..........Valley Stream, N.Y. 2..........Eliza J. Budd ..............Locust Valley, N.Y. 3..........Christine Bender ........Amityville, N.Y. 4..........Elan King ....................Baldwin, N.Y. 5..........Marissa D. Lazar ........Hewlett, N.Y. 6..........Andrea Arreguin..........Hicksville, N.Y. 7..........Gabrielle Dicroce ........East Meadow, N.Y. 8..........Kelly Marie Benini ......Northport, N.Y.

Boys & Girls Sectional Rankings (as of 02/08/10)

Sectional Boys 10 Singles— Long Island Region Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Keegan Morris ............Franklin Square, N.Y. 5..........Alan Delman ..............Great Neck, N.Y. 6..........Terrill Cole Bernard ....Mill Neck, N.Y. 10........Rajan Jai Vohra ..........Glen Head, N.Y. 11........Ryan Goetz ................Greenlawn, N.Y. 18........Brian Shi ....................Jericho, N.Y. 24........Patrick F. Maloney ......Oyster Bay, N.Y. 29........Giancarlo Cavallero ....West Hempstead, N.Y. 31........Gardner Howe ............Locust Valley, N.Y. 32........Michael Medvedev......Oceanside, N.Y. 40........Eli Grossman ..............Glen Head, N.Y. 43........Daniel Eric Pellerito ....Syosset, N.Y. 44........Neel Raj......................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 50........Ronald P. Hohmann ....Oyster Bay, N.Y. 51........Kyle C. Yuan ................Sands Point, N.Y. 56........Cannon Kingsley ........Northport, N.Y. 58........Justin Ilan Lempert ....Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 59........Billy Suarez ................Huntington, N.Y. 65........Yuval Solomon ............Plainview, N.Y. 67........Amani Siddiqui............West Babylon, N.Y. 71........Parker Appel ..............Locust Valley, N.Y. 76........Pete Siozios ................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 77........Jacob Weiner ..............Oyster Bay, N.Y. 82........David Ammendola ......Massapequa, N.Y. 96........Alex Joseph Amadio....Smithtown, N.Y. 98........Steven Well Sun..........Glen Cove, N.Y. 101......Jake Grossman ..........Sands Point, N.Y. 114......Daniel Weitz................Roslyn, N.Y. 118......Connor Leaf ................Dix Hills, N.Y. 129......Benjamin Grossman....Sands Point, N.Y. 145......Benjamin Snow ..........Water Mill, N.Y. 148......Evan Hunter Hirsch ....Old Westbury, N.Y. 149......Matthew Porges..........Sands Point, N.Y. 150......Joey Austin ................Hewlett, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 12 Singles— Long Island Region Rank ..Name ........................City 2..........Brenden Volk ..............Dix Hills, N.Y. 3..........Lubomir T. Cuba..........Massapequa, N.Y. 4..........Alexander Lebedev ....Island Park, N.Y. 18........Eric Wagner ................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 26........Palmer T. Clare............North Bellmore, N.Y. 31........Finbar Talcott ..............Sea Cliff, N.Y. 32........Tyler Ng ......................Great Neck, N.Y. 34........Chris Kuhnle ..............Shoreham, N.Y. 45........Jesse Levitin ..............Manhasset, N.Y. 49........Jordan Bennett ..........Valley Stream, N.Y. 51........Sean M. Mullins ..........Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.

ISLAND

53........Rajan Jai Vohra ..........Glen Head, N.Y. 56........Christopher Ardito ......Rockville Centre, N.Y. 57........Sean Patrick ..............Oyster Bay, N.Y. 62........Keegan Morris ............Franklin Square, N.Y. 64........Athell Bennett ............Valley Stream, N.Y. 69........Kyle Hudson Gower ....Oceanside, N.Y. 70........Logan Beckerman ......East Norwich, N.Y. 71........Nikhil Raj ....................Locust Valley, N.Y. 75........Colin Francis Sacco ....Brightwaters, N.Y. 78........Andy Zhou ..................Commack, N.Y. 81........Stephen Gruppuso ......Bayport, N.Y. 84........Curran Varma..............Manhasset, N.Y. 90........Noah J. Reisch............Floral Park, N.Y. 96........Faran Nazir ................Deer Park, N.Y. 101......Daniel Shleimovich ....Merrick, N.Y. 103......Zane Siddiqui..............West Babylon, N.Y. 108......Garrett Malave ............Laurel, N.Y. 111......Travis Leaf ..................Dix Hills, N.Y. 114......Terrill Cole Barnard ....Mill Neck, N.Y. 120......Patrick F. Maloney ......Oyster Bay, N.Y. 122......Alan Delman ..............Great Neck, N.Y. 125......Brian Hoffarth ............Fort Salonga, N.Y. 129......Spencer Swanson ......Remensburg, N.Y. 130......Benjamin Tenner ........Roslyn, N.Y. 136......Giancarlo Cavallero ....West Hempstead, N.Y. 138......Trippe Franz................Bridgehampton, N.Y. 139......Alex Grossman............Sands Point, N.Y. 143......Nasser Ghaffar............Massapequa, N.Y. 145......Arjun Mehrotra............Woodbury, N.Y. 149......Spencer Bozsik ..........Sag Harbor, N.Y. 150......Michael Madvedev......Oceanside, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 14 Singles— Long Island Region Rank ..Name ........................City 1..........Samuel Lam ..............Old Westbury, N.Y. 3..........Noah Rubin ................Merrick, N.Y. 5..........Vihar Shah ..................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 6..........Ethan Bogard ..............Lido Beach, N.Y. 8..........Philip Daniel Antohi ....Glen Head, N.Y. 13........Dylan Hobbs Appel......Locust Valley, N.Y. 15........Lamar Remy ..............Roslyn, N.Y. 17........Douglas Notaris ..........Wantagh, N.Y. 19........Julian Zlobinsky..........Greenvale, N.Y. 21........Zain Ali ......................Dix Hills, N.Y. 29........Conor Mullins..............Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. 33........Richard Mitchell..........Franklin Square, N.Y. 37........Brandon T. Stone ........Melville, N.Y. 41........Josh Silverstein ..........Great Neck, N.Y. 45........Matthew Demichiel ....Hewlett, N.Y. 50........John P. D’Alessandro ..Northport, N.Y. 54........Benjamin Pleat............Roslyn, N.Y. 58........Mark Temporal............Carle Place, N.Y. 64........Lubomir Cuba ............Massapequa Park, N.Y. 66........Alexander Lebedev ....Island Park, N.Y. 69........Jared R. Halstrom ......Bellmore, N.Y. 72........Jeremy Dubin ............Southampton, N.Y. 78........Josh Young ................Old Bethpage, N.Y. 80........Ethan Handa ..............Rockville Centre, N.Y. 83........Jonathan Paris............Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 87........Eric Wagner ................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 88........Gonzalo Mocorrea ......Locust Valley, N.Y. 97........Kyle Alper ..................Dix Hills, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 16 Singles— Long Island Region Rank ..Name ........................City 3..........Bert Vancura ..............New Hyde Park, N.Y.

RANKINGS

6..........Howard Weiss ............Great Neck, N.Y. 7..........Eric Rubin ..................Lido Beach, N.Y. 10........Matthew O. Barry........Long Beach, N.Y. 15........Andrew Yaraghi ..........Mill Neck, N.Y. 16........Josh Levine ................Syosset, N.Y. 18........Jensen Reiter..............Syosset, N.Y. 23........Zachary Morris............Garden City, N.Y. 27........Brendan Henry............Massapequa, N.Y. 28........Samuel Lam ..............Old Westbury, N.Y. 29........Aidan Talcott ..............Sea Cliff, N.Y. 34........Jonahiby Tauil ............Valley Stream, N.Y. 37........Alan S. Pleat ..............Roslyn, N.Y. 40........Noah Rubin ................Merrick, N.Y. 44........Kevin Katz ..................Woodbury, N.Y. 51........Ethan Bogard ..............Lido Beach, N.Y. 56........Vihar Shah ..................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 57........David Greenbaum ......Great Neck, N.Y. 71........Paul Abrudescu ..........Great Neck, N.Y. 76........Ofir Solomon ..............Plainview, N.Y. 78........Stephen Peng ............Woodbury, N.Y. 86........Matthew J. Richards ..Bayport, N.Y. 89........Sloan Millman ............Woodmere, N.Y. 96........Zachary Mintz ............Roslyn, N.Y. 103......Michael Paul ..............Baldwin, N.Y. 105......Sean Jagi Chhugani ....Roslyn, N.Y. 107......Christopher J. Hunter ..Melville, N.Y. 110......Austin Davidow ..........Glen Head, N.Y. 112......Benjamin Q. King ........East Meadow, N.Y. 120......Conor Dauer ..............Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. 124......Eric Sumanaru ............Middle Island, N.Y. 125......Jacob Mishkin ............Woodbury, N.Y. 131......Christian Thienel ........East Quogue, N.Y. 133......Henry D. Lee ..............Sag Harbor, N.Y. 136......Gabriel P. Lazar ..........Hewlett, N.Y. 140......Matthew Lam..............Old Westbury, N.Y. 150......Jason Quintana ..........Bethpage, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 18 Singles— Long Island Region Rank ..Name ........................City 8..........Daniel Kreyman ..........Long Beach, N.Y. 11........Shaun Bernstein ........Plainview, N.Y. 20........Jason Simon ..............Roslyn, N.Y. 21........Dennis Zlobinsky ........Greenvale, N.Y. 22........Eric Ambrosio..............Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. 27........Shane Giannetti ..........Oyster Bay, N.Y. 30........Corey Morgenstern ....Old Bethpage, N.Y. 32........Oliver Loutsenko ........Bellmore, N.Y. 33........Zachary Weiss ............Great Neck, N.Y. 35 ........Jonathan Defrancesch..Manhasset, N.Y. 40........Zachary Morris............Garden City, N.Y. 50........Bert Vancura ..............New Hyde Park, N.Y. 51........Austin Blau ................Roslyn, N.Y. 60........Nolan Gelman ............Dix Hills, N.Y. 69........Ignacio Casali ............Farmingdale, N.Y. 73........Jason Hubsher............Sands Point, N.Y. 80........Alexander Friedlich ....Great Neck, N.Y. 89........David Greenbaum ......Great Neck, N.Y. 95........Matthew O. Barry........Lido Beach, N.Y. 97........Benjamin Bogard ........Lido Beach, N.Y. 99........Michael T. Puntillo ......Sands Point, N.Y. 104......Richard Sipala ............Quogue, N.Y. 108......Adam S. Gottlieb ........Great Neck, N.Y. 112......Brandon Burns............Wheatley Heights, N.Y. 118......Alan S. Pleat ..............Roslyn, N.Y. 123 ........Constantinos Papavasiliou ..Roslyn, N.Y. 128......Joshua Katten ............Plainview, N.Y. 132......Alex Tropiano ..............Laurel Hollow, N.Y.

133......Stephen Peng ............Woodbury, N.Y. 136......Jonahiby Tauil ............Valley Stream, N.Y. 139......Scott Johnson ............Northport, N.Y. 150......JT Esposito ................Rockville Centre, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 10 Singles— Long Island Region Rank ..Name ........................City 6 ..........Stephanie Chikvashvili ..Syosset, N.Y. 12........Jasmine Olivia Abidi....Glen Head, N.Y. 13........Lea Ma ......................Dix Hills, N.Y. 20........Jacqueline Bukzin ......Manorville, N.Y. 22........Nicole Kielan ..............Valley Stream, N.Y. 40........Olivia Rose Scordo......Glen Head, N.Y. 42........Julia Kielan ................Valley Stream, N.Y. 50........Alexa Susan Goetz ......Greenlawn, N.Y. 52........Nicole Kyrkanides ......Stony Brook, N.Y. 57........Theodora Brebenel......Glen Head, N.Y. 61........Merri Kelly ..................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 66........Trinity Chow................Glen Cove, N.Y. 75........Celeste Wang Traub ....Jericho, N.Y. 76........Francesca Karman ......Port Washington, N.Y. 80........Kaitlyn Byrnes ............Massapequa, N.Y. 86........Emily Austin................Hewlett, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 12 Singles— Long Island Region Rank ..Name ........................City 5..........Morgan Herrmann ......Garden City, N.Y. 7..........Madison Battaglia ......Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 15........Jeannie Lozowski ......Amityville, N.Y. 24........Samantha Perri ..........Floral Park, N.Y. 26........Madison Appel ............Locust Valley, N.Y. 27........Alexa Graham ............Garden City, N.Y. 31........Taylor S. Cosme ..........New Hyde Park, N.Y. 32........Karen A. Serina ..........Islip Terrace, N.Y. 33........Alexandra Lipps ........Roslyn, N.Y. 36........Shanice Nadia Arthur ..Glen Head, N.Y. 37........Celeste Rose Matute ..Amityville, N.Y. 38........Esther Chikvashvili......Syosset, N.Y. 54........Claire Handa ..............Rockville Centre, N.Y. 68........Courtney Kowalsky ....Oyster Bay, N.Y. 76........Marissa Luchs ............Roslyn, N.Y. 85........Michele Sheila Lehat ..Great Neck, N.Y. 89........Jasmine Olivia Abidi....Glen Head, N.Y. 91........Michelle Haykin ..........Great Neck, N.Y. 97........Vanessa Scott ............Dix Hills, N.Y. 106......Sarah Paul ..................Baldwin, N.Y. 122......Jacqueline Bukzin ......Manorville, N.Y. 134......Nicole Damaghi ..........Kings Point, N.Y. 141......Kelsey Shields ............Old Westbury, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 14 Singles— Long Island Region Rank ..Name ........................City 4..........Vivian Cheng ..............Woodbury, N.Y. 17........Nadia Smergut............East Hampton, N.Y. 18........Paulina Tafler ..............Oceanside, N.Y. 29........Isabella Pascucci ........Oyster Bay, N.Y. 33........Gabriella Nicole Leon ..Woodmere, N.Y. 35........Ola Mally ....................Franklin Square, N.Y. 37........Sunaina Vohra ............Glen Head, N.Y. 43........Claudia M. Ruiz ..........Glen Head, N.Y. 51........Madison Battaglia ......Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 52........Mia M. Vecchio............Manhasset Hills, N.Y. 59........Karen A. Serina ..........Islip Terrace, N.Y. 66........Rachel Gastaldo..........Syosset, N.Y. 67........Cameron Moskol ........Wantagh, N.Y.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

61


LONG 72........Zenat Rashidzada ......Dix Hills, N.Y. 75........Rithika D. Reddy ........Syosset, N.Y. 83........Aimee N. Manfredo ....Shoreham, N.Y. 86........Ruth Freilich ..............Lawrence, N.Y. 93........Jennifer Ferguson ......Franklin Square, N.Y. 97........Julia Zhuang ..............Great Neck, N.Y. 100......Campbell Howe ..........Locust Valley, N.Y. 106......Megan M. Tamborino ..Massapequa Park, N.Y. 107......Lauren Livingston ......Sands Point, N.Y. 110......Karishma Tank ............New Hyde Park, N.Y. 117......Shanice Nadia Arthur ..Glen Head, N.Y. 119......Emma R. Brezel ..........Port Washington, N.Y. 127......Laura Torsiello ............Bayport, N.Y. 147......Amanda Edelman........Southampton, N.Y. 150......Holly Hubsher ............Sands Point, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 16 Singles— Long Island Region Rank ..Name ........................City 3..........Katherine Yau..............Manhasset, N.Y. 5..........Julia Elbaba ................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 6..........Hannah L. Camhi ........Woodbury, N.Y. 11........Jacqueline Raynor ......Garden City, N.Y. 17........Vivian Cheng ..............Woodbury, N.Y. 21 ........Devlin-Ann Ammendola..Massapequa, N.Y. 31........Morgan C. Feldman ....Glen Head, N.Y. 37........Stephanie Loutsenko ..Bellmore, N.Y. 40........Sophie R. Barnard ......Mill Neck, N.Y. 45........Diana Vamvakitis ........Quogue, N.Y. 48........Missy Edelblum ..........Roslyn, N.Y. 51........Claudia Li....................Jericho, N.Y. 58 ........Samantha Rosca-Sipot..Malverne, N.Y. 60........Samantha Elgort ........Melville, N.Y. 65........Nadia Smergut............East Hampton, N.Y. 68........Deana Davoudiasl ......Rockville Centre, N.Y. 74........Paige J. Mintz ............Roslyn, N.Y. 79........Lauren Wagner ..........Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 84........Robin R. Mehta ..........Manhasset, N.Y. 85........Melissa Carlay ............New Hyde Park, N.Y. 91........Ashley Sandler............Jericho, N.Y. 97........Carly Siegel ................Dix Hills, N.Y. 104......Taylor A. Diffley ..........Hampton Bays, N.Y. 113......Paulina Tafler ..............Oceanside, N.Y. 122......Lila Martz....................Long Beach, N.Y. 125......Bianca Posa................Valley Stream, N.Y. 127......Sara Finger ................St. James, N.Y. 128......Courtney Sokol ..........Floral Park, N.Y. 131......Jessica Sickles ..........Massapequa Park, N.Y. 132......Jessica Nowak............Huntington, N.Y. 133......Amy Ginny Naula ........East Hampton, N.Y. 144......Veronika Paikin ..........Valley Stream, N.Y. 149......Amanda Seeley ..........Sound Beach, N.Y. 150......Erica Bundrick ............Mattituck, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 18 Singles— Long Island Region Rank ..Name ........................City 2..........Julia Elbaba ................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 4..........Jennifer Kellner ..........Smithtown, N.Y. 9..........Olivia Pascucci............Oyster Bay, N.Y. 19........Katherine Yau..............Manhasset, N.Y. 24........Aylin Mehter ..............Massapequa, N.Y. 27........Shelby Talcott ............Sea Cliff, N.Y. 31........Jennifer Fridman ........Port Washington, N.Y. 36........Samantha Gann ..........Massapequa, N.Y. 39........Blair Seideman ..........Glen Head, N.Y. 43........Robyn Romanoff ........Centereach, N.Y. 45........Nicolle Stracar ............Jericho, N.Y.

62

ISLAND

46........Jessica Podlofsky ......Port Washington, N.Y. 52........Ashley T. Harel ............Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 64........Kelsey Raynor ............Garden City, N.Y. 70........Sydney Simpson ........North Babylon, N.Y. 71........Deana Davoudiasl ......Rockville Centre, N.Y. 76........Andrea Arreguin..........Hicksville, N.Y. 78........Jamie Hann ................Westhampton, N.Y. 81........Kristin Norton..............Port Washington, N.Y. 86........Hannah L. Camhi ........Woodbury, N.Y. 89........Eliza J. Budd ..............Locust Valley, N.Y. 90........Stephanie Loutsenko ..Bellmore, N.Y. 97........Jacqueline Raynor ......Garden City, N.Y. 106 ......Lindsay V. Kantor ............Westhampton Beach, N.Y. 115 ......Devlin-Ann Ammendola..Massapequa, N.Y. 118......Missy Edelblum ..........Roslyn, N.Y. 124......Samantha L. Elgort......Melville, N.Y. 125......Allie Reisch ................Floral Park, N.Y. 126......Veronika Paikin ..........Valley Stream, N.Y. 128......Marissa Lazar ............Hewlett, N.Y. 130 ......Samantha Rosca-Sipot ..Malverne, N.Y. 134......Claudia Li....................Jericho, N.Y. 142......Jessica Nowak............Huntington, N.Y. 143......Christine Bender ........Amityville, N.Y.

Boys & Girls National Rankings (as of 02/08/10)

National Boys 12 Singles— Long Island Players Rank ..Name ........................City 16........Alexander Lebedev ....Island Park, N.Y. 21........Lubomir Cuba ............Massapequa, N.Y. 28........Brenden Andrew Volk..Dix Hills, N.Y. 114......Eric Wagner ................Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 267......Palmer T. Clare............North Bellmore, N.Y. 529......Rajan Jai Vohra ..........Glen Head, N.Y. 558......Finbar Talcott ..............Sea Cliff, N.Y. 642......Jordan Bennett ..........Valley Stream, N.Y. 652......Keegan Morris ............Franklin Square, N.Y. 734......Sean Patrick ..............Oyster Bay, N.Y. 771......Chris Kuhnle ..............Shoreham, N.Y. 782......Tyler Ng ......................Great Neck, N.Y. 813......Sean Mullins ..............Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. 866......Christian Ardito ..........Rockville Center, N.Y. 883......Athell Patrick Bennett..Valley Stream, N.Y.

National Boys 14 Singles— Long Island Players Rank ..Name ........................City 12........Noah Rubin ................Merrick, N.Y. 28........Ethan Bogard ..............Lido Beach, N.Y. 34........Vihar Shah ..................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 50........Philip Daniel Antohi ....Glen Head, N.Y. 106......Lamar Remy ..............Roslyn, N.Y. 118......Julian Alexi Zlobinsky..Greenvale, N.Y. 157......Dylan Hobbs Appel......Locust Valley, N.Y. 167......Zain Ali ......................Dix Hills, N.Y. 195......Douglas Notaris ..........Wantagh, N.Y. 258......Josh Silverstein ..........Great Neck, N.Y. 379......Richard Mitchell..........Franklin Square, N.Y. 439......John P. D’Allesandro ..Northport, N.Y. 507......Brandon T. Stone ........Melville, N.Y. 577......Conor Mullins..............Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. 703......Jeremy Dubin ............Southampton, N.Y. 704......Benjamin Pleat............Roslyn, N.Y. 795......Matthew Demichiel ....Hewlett, N.Y.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

RANKINGS

873......Mark Daniel Temporal Carle Place, N.Y. 959......Alexander Lebedev ....Island Park, N.Y. 967......Lubomir T. Cuba..........Massapequa Park, N.Y.

National Boys 16 Singles— Long Island Players Rank ..Name ........................City 24........Bert Vancura ..............New Hyde Park, N.Y. 41........Eric Rubin ..................Lido Beach, N.Y. 54........Howie Weiss ..............Great Neck, N.Y. 83........Matthew O. Barry........Lido Beach, N.Y. 116......Andrew Yaraghi ..........Mill Neck, N.Y. 119......Josh Levine ................Syosset, N.Y. 133......Jensen Reiter..............Syosset, N.Y. 253......Aidan Talcott ..............Sea Cliff, N.Y. 257......Samuel Lam ..............Old Westbury, N.Y. 274......Alan S. Pleat ..............Roslyn, N.Y. 301......Zachary Morris............Garden City, N.Y. 367......David Greenbaum ......Great Neck, N.Y. 389......Jonahiby Tauil ............Valley Stream, N.Y. 419......Kevin A. Katz ..............Woodbury, N.Y. 566......Brenda Henry..............Massapequa, N.Y. 589......Noah Rubin ................Merrick, N.Y. 606......Vihar Shah ..................New Hyde Park, N.Y. 909......Ethan Bogard ..............Lido Beach, N.Y.

National Boys 18 Singles— Long Island Players Rank ..Name ........................City 17........Shaun Bernstein ........Plainview, N.Y. 139......Daniel Kreyman ..........Long Beach, N.Y. 308......Eric Ambrosio..............Lloyd Harbor, N.Y. 313......Dennis Zlobinsky ........Greenvale, N.Y. 336......Shane Gianetti ............Oyster Bay, N.Y. 337......Jason A. Simon ..........Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 388......Oliver Loutsenko ........Bellmore, N.Y. 594......Zachary Weiss ............Great Neck, N.Y. 645 ......Jonathan Defrancesch..Manhasset, N.Y. 665......Corey Morgenstern ....Old Bethpage, N.Y. 683......Bert Vancura ..............New Hyde Park, N.Y. 839......Alexander Friedlich ....Great Neck, N.Y. 871......Zachary Morris............Garden City, N.Y.

National Girls 12 Singles— Long Island Players Rank ..Name ........................City 83........Madison Battaglia ......Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 94........Morgan Herrmann ......Garden City, N.Y. 230......Jeannie Lozowski ......Amityville, N.Y. 234......Madison Appel ............Locust Valley, N.Y. 253......Alexa Graham ............Garden City, N.Y. 289......Taylor S. Cosme ..........New Hyde Park, N.Y. 304......Samantha Perri ..........Floral Park, N.Y. 356......Alexandra Lipps ........Roslyn, N.Y. 550......Shanice Nadia Arthur ..Glen Head, N.Y. 567......Celeste Mautute..........Oyster Bay, N.Y. 605......Karen A. Serina ..........Islip Terrace, N.Y. 681......Esther Chikvashvili......Syosset, N.Y. 711......Courtney Kowalsky ....Oyster Bay, N.Y. 731......Sarah Paul ..................Baldwin, N.Y. 825......Jasmine Olivia Abidi....Glen Head, N.Y. 964......Marissa Luchs ............Roslyn, N.Y.

National Girls 14 Singles— Long Island Players Rank ..Name ........................City 45........Vivian Cheng ..............Woodbury, N.Y. 235......Nadia Smergut............East Hampton, N.Y. 266......Isabella Pascucci ........Oyster Bay, N.Y. 271......Paulina Tafler ..............Oceanside, N.Y. 445......Gabriella Nicole Leon ..Woodmere, N.Y. 512......Sunaina Vohra ............Glen Head, N.Y. 565......Madison Battaglia ......Cold Spring harbor, N.Y. 622......Ola Mally ....................Franklin Square, N.Y. 802......Mia M. Vecchio............Manhasset Hills, N.Y. 885......Rithika D. Reddy ........Syosset, N.Y. 903......Claudia M. Ruiz ..........Glen Head, N.Y. 962......Aimee N. Manfredo ....Shoreham, N.Y. 985......Karen A. Serina ..........Islip Terrace, N.Y.

National Girls 16 Singles— Long Island Players Rank ..Name ........................City 38........Julia Elbaba ................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 50........Katherine Yau..............Manhasset, N.Y. 53........Hannah L. Camhi ........Woodbury, N.Y. 331......Morgan C. Feldman ....Glen Head, N.Y. 344......Jacqueline Raynor ......Garden City, N.Y. 386 ......Devlin-Ann Ammendola..Massapequa, N.Y. 487......Stephanie Loutsenko ..Bellmore, N.Y. 521......Vivian Cheng ..............Woodbury, N.Y. 617......Sophie R. Barnard ......Mill Neck, N.Y. 780 ......Samantha Rosca-Sipot ..Malverne, N.Y. 872......Samantha L. Elgort......Melville, N.Y.

National Girls 18 Singles— Long Island Players Rank ..Name ........................City 42........Jennifer Kellner ..........Smithtown, N.Y. 47........Julia Elbaba ................Oyster Bay, N.Y. 79........Blair Seideman ..........Glen Head, N.Y. 129......Olivia Pascucci............Oyster Bay, N.Y. 324......Shelby Talcott ............Sea Cliff, N.Y. 349......Katherine Yau..............Manhasset, N.Y. 448......Ashley T. Harel ............Roslyn Heights, N.Y. 452......Jennifer Fridman ........Port Washington, N.Y. 493......Robyn Romanoff ........Centereach, N.Y. 546......Nicolle Stracar ............Jericho, N.Y. 563......Kristin Norton..............Port Washington, N.Y. 851......Stephanie Loutsenko ..Bellmore, N.Y. 852......Sydney Simpson ........North Babylon, N.Y. 860......Jessica Podlofsky ......Port Washington, N.Y. 880......Jamie Hann ................Westhampton, N.Y. 939......Samantha B. Gann ......Massapequa, N.Y.


USTA/Long Island Region 2010

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments. MARCH 2010 Friday-Sunday, March 5-7 L1B LBTC Challenger Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Novice BG (12-16)s, RR Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player for singles players/$28 for doubles players (deadline for entries is Tuesday, March 2 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 432-6060. Friday-Sunday, March 5-7 L3 Westhampton Eastern UPS Championship Westhampton Beach Tennis & Sport Club 86 Depot Road Westhampton Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (12-16)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Feb.19 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 288-6060.

Friday-Sunday, March 12-14 L2R Long Island Regional World Gym Championship World Gym Racquet & Sports Arena 384 Mark Tree Road • East Setauket, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (14)s, SE Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 26 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 751-6100. Friday-Sunday, March 12-14 L2R Long Island Regional Huntington Championship Huntington Indoor Tennis 100 Broadway Street Huntington Station, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (18, 12)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 26 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 421-0040.

Friday-Sunday, March 5-7 L1B Sportime Kings Park Challenger Sportime Kings Park 275 Old Indianhead Road Kings Park, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger BG (12)sd, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: By event (deadline for entries is Monday, March 1 at 11:59 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 269-6300.

Friday-Sunday, March 12-14 L2R Long Island Regional Deer Park Championship Deer Park Tennis Center 30 Burt Drive Deer Park, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate: BG (16)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 26 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 667-3476.

Friday-Sunday, March 5-7 L1B Sportime Massapequa Spring Break Challenger Sportime Massapequa 5600 Old Sunrise Highway Massapequa, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger G (16)s, SE Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 26 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 799-3550.

Friday-Sunday, March 12-14 L2O LBTC March Madness Championship Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (10)sd, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player for singles players/$28 for doubles players (deadline for entries is Tuesday, March 9 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 432-6060.

Friday-Monday, March 5-8 & FridaySunday, March 12-14 Jericho Magical Mystical March Sectional Jericho Westbury Tennis 44 Jericho Turnpike Jericho, N.Y. Divisions: Ranked M (30, 40, 50, 60-65)sd Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $60 for singles players, $60 for doubles players, late registrations must add $8 (deadline for entries is Monday, March 1 at 10:00 a.m.) For more information, call (516) 997-4060.

Friday-Sunday, March 19-21 & March 26-28 Long Beach Tennis Championship Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Ranked M (35-80)s, SE Surface Type: Clay Entry Fee: $65 per player for singles players/$28 for doubles players and $56 per team (deadline for entries is Wednesday, March 17 at 11:59 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 432-6060.

Friday-Sunday, March 19-21 L1B LBTC Challenger Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger BG (10-12)sd, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player for singles players/$25.50 for doubles players (deadline for entries is Friday, March 5 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 432-6060. Friday-Sunday, March 19-21 & March 26-28 +L1 RWTTC Eastern Designated Closed Championship L5 FIC Robbie Wagner Tournament Training at Glen Cove 60 Sea Cliff Avenue Glen Cove, N.Y. Divisions: Ranked G (12)s, FIC Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $50 per player, additional $25 for players qualifying or accepted directly into the main draw (deadline for entries is Friday, March 5 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 759-0505. Friday-Sunday, March 19-21 & March 26-28 +L1 Sportime Lynbrook Eastern Designated Closed Championship L5 FIC Sportime Tennis Lynbrook 175 Merrick Road Lynbrook, N.Y. Divisions: Grand Prix B (12)s, FIC Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $50 per player, additional $25 for players qualifying or accepted directly into the main draw (deadline for entries is Friday, March 5 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 887-1330. Friday-Sunday, March 19-21 & March 26-28 +L1 Point Set Eastern Designated Closed Championship L5 FIC Point Set Indoor Racquet Club 3065 New Street Oceanside, N.Y. Divisions: Grand Prix B (18)s, FIC Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $50 per player, additional $25 for players qualifying or accepted directly into the main draw (deadline for entries is Friday, March 5 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 536-2323.

Friday-Sunday, March 19-21 & March 26-28 +L1 Sportime KP Eastern Designated Closed Championship L5 FIC Sportime-Kings Park 275 Indian Head Road Kings Park, N.Y. Divisions: Grand Prix G (14)s, FIC Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 per player, additional $25 for players qualifying or accepted directly into the main draw (deadline for entries is Friday, March 5 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 269-6300. Friday-Sunday, March 26-28 L2R Long Island Regional Huntington Championship Huntington Indoor Tennis 100 Broadway Street Huntington Station, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (14-16)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, March 12 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 421-0040. Friday-Sunday, March 26-28 L3 Sportime Roslyn Eastern UPS Championship Sportime Roslyn Landing Road, PO Box 1 • Roslyn, N.Y. Divisions: Novice BG (10-14)s, RR Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, March 12 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 484-9222. Friday-Sunday, March 26-28 LBTC NTRP Doubles Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard • Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Ranked NM (3.0-5.0)d, FMLC; NW (2.5-4.0)d, FMLC Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $28 per player for singles players (deadline for entries is Tuesday, March 23 at 11:59 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 432-6060. Friday-Sunday, March 26-28 L2R Long Island Regional Sportime Bethpage Championship Sportime Tennis Bethpage 101 Norcross Avenue • Bethpage, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (10-12,18)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, March 12 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 933-8500.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

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USTA/Long Island Region 2010

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments. Monday-Friday, March 29-April 2 L1 Port Washington Spring Classic Port Washington Tennis Academy 100 Harbor Road Port Washington, N.Y. Divisions: Ranked BG(12-18)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, March 15 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 883-6425. APRIL 2010 Friday-Sunday, April 2-4 L1B LBTC Spring Challenger Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger: BG (14, 18)sd, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player for singles players (deadline for entries is Monday, March 29 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 432-6060. Friday-Sunday, April 2-4 L2R Long Island Spring Break Regional Westhampton Championship Westhampton Beach Tennis & Sport Club 86 Depot Road Westhampton Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (12-16)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, March 23 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 288-6060. Friday-Sunday, April 2-4 Men’s 25 Singles Huntington Indoor Tennis 100 Broadway Street Huntington Station, N.Y. Divisions: Ranked M (25)s Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 per player, additional fees may apply for multiple events (deadline for entries is Friday, March 26 at 12:00 a.m.) For more information, call (631) 421-0040. Sunday-Tuesday, April 4-6 L1B Sportime Massapequa Challenger Sportime Massapequa 5600 Old Sunrise Highway Massapequa, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger BG (10-14)s, SE Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $45 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, March 21 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 799-3550.

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Friday-Sunday, April 9-11 L2R Long Island Regional Sportime Roslyn Championship Sportime Roslyn Landing Road, PO Box 1 Roslyn, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (10-14)s, SE Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, March 26 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 484-9222. Friday-Monday, April 9-12 & FridaySunday, April 16-18 Jericho Amazing April Jericho Westbury Tennis 44 Jericho Turnpike Jericho, N.Y. Divisions: Ranked M (25, 35, 45, 55, 7075)sd, FMLC Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $60 for singles players, $60 for doubles players, late registrations must add $8 (deadline for entries is Monday, April 5 at 10:00 a.m.) For more information, call (516) 997-4060. Friday-Sunday, April 9-11 L3 Deer Park Eastern UPS Championship Deer Park Tennis Center 30 Burt Drive Deer Park, N.Y. Divisions: Novice BG (10-18)s, RR Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, March 26 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 667-3476. Friday-Sunday, April 9-11 L2R Long Island Regional Long Beach Championship Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (16-18)sd, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, March 26 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 432-6060. Friday-Sunday, April 16-18 L1B LBTC Challenger Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger BG (10-12)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, April 2 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 432-6060.

Long Island Tennis Magazine • March/April 2010

Friday-Sunday, April 16-18 L3 Huntington Eastern UPS Championship Huntington Indoor Tennis 100 Broadway Street Huntington Station, N.Y. Divisions: Novice BG (10-18)s, RR Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, April 2 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 421-0040. Friday-Sunday, April 16-18 L2O Sportime Massapequa Sportime Massapequa 5600 Old Sunrise Highway Massapequa, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (10-14)s, SE Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, April 11 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 799-3550. Friday-Sunday, April 23-25 L2R Long Island Regional Sportime Bethpage Championship Sportime Tennis Bethpage 101 Norcross Avenue Bethpage, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (12,18)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, April 9 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 933-8500. Friday-Sunday, April 23-25 & April 30-May 2 L1 Point Set Hard Court Championship Point Set Indoor Racquet Club 3065 New Street Oceanside, N.Y. Divisions: Ranked B(10-18)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, April 9 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 536-2323. Friday-Sunday, April 23-25 L2O LBTC Championship Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (14-16)sd, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player for singles players/$28 for doubles players (deadline for entries is Friday, April 9 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 432-6060.

Friday-Sunday, April 23-25 L2R Long Island Regional Sportime Lynbrook Championship Sportime Tennis Lynbrook 175 Merrick Road Lynbrook, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (16)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, April 9 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 887-1330. Friday-Monday, April 30-May 3 & Friday-Sunday, May 7-9 Marvelous May The Tennis King 25 The Tulips Roslyn, N.Y. Divisions: Ranked: M (30, 40, 50, 60, 70)sd Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $60 per singles player/$60 per doubles player, add $8 additional for late fee (deadline for entries is Monday, April 26 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 621-2009. Friday-Sunday, April 30-May 2 L3 LBTC Eastern UPS Championship Long Beach Tennis Center 899 Monroe Boulevard Long Beach, N.Y. Divisions: Novice BG (10-16)s, RR Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, April 26 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (516) 432-6060. Friday-Sunday, April 30-May 2 & May 7-9 L2R Long Island Regional Huntington Ryan Kelly Memorial Championship Huntington Indoor Tennis 100 Broadway Street Huntington Station, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate BG (10-18)s, SE Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, April 16 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, call (631) 421-0040.




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