North Shore Towers Hosts Summer Championships

July 28, 2015 | By Jacob Mishkin
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The finals of the L1 USTA Summer Championships took place Monday at the North Shore Towers Country Club. Beginning July 24, the sanctioned USTA Eastern Metro clay court tournament is known to be one of the more competitive summer tournaments, as 65 applicants registered to play at the Floral Park-based facility.

As the finals for the Boys 16 Singles, Boys 18 Singles and Boys 18 Doubles Sections were underway, the sun shined above, again, creating another blistering-hot day at North Shore Towers.

In the Boys 16 Doubles Final, the unseeded duo of Timothy Nacca of Garden City, N.Y. & Gabriel Sifuentes from Flushing, N.Y. defeated the number one overall seeded team of Chikaya Sato from Cresskill, N.J. & Justin Wang from Short Hills, N.J., 8-6. Up 6-3 with only two more games needed to secure the win, Nacca & Sifuentes struggled to hold serve as Sato & Wang rose to the occasion. Nonetheless, Nacca & Sifuentes remained ahead 7-6 and claimed the doubles title.

In the Boys 16 Singles Final, number one seeded Luke Smith from Scarsdale, N.Y. and the unseeded Spencer Brachman from Commack, N.Y. took to the courts to decide the champion. The top-seeded Smith was in the finals, playing well throughout the tournament, including a notable win over Mayor’s Cup winner and John McEnroe Tennis Academy standout Shawn Jackson in the quarterfinals.

As for Brachman, an unseeded player, it was a surprise that he made it to the finals. Getting to the finals wasn’t satisfying enough for him however, defeating Smith 6-3, 6-1 and finishing off the tournament without dropping a set. Brachman’s consistency and defense proved to be too consistent for the number one overall seed.

“I lost to him before,” said Brachman. “The first time I played him, I missed too much. I was going for bad shots, but this time, I was trying to hit more balls and make him play more.”

As for his strategy throughout the match, Brachman noted going high and heavy toward Smith’s backhand.

For the Boys 18 Singles Final, unseeded Peter Lohrbach from North Port, Fla. faced off against fellow unseeded opponent Eric Toub from Greenwich, Conn. Both players had defeated seeded players en route to the finals and the matchup between the two players proved to be a great one.

While Toub won the first set 6-2 and seemed to have the momentum in his court, his game cooled. As Lohrbach noticed Toub’s level dipping, Lohbrbach stole the second set 7-5, playing his best tennis in the conclusion of the second set. Lohrbach used his lefty serve, patience and his offensive forehand to overcome a tight second set and also pull out the match in a closely-contested 10-point tie-breaker to decide the Boys 18s winner.

Lohrbach, who used to train in Naples, Fla., is 16-years-old and is a lefty server, but a player who plays right-handed from the baseline. He was pleased to get the victory.

“I haven’t been playing well for the last three months, and this is the first tournament I have started digging deep and grinding,” said Lohrbach. “I was down a set and a break in the finals, and I started fighting, and then came back. I was more experienced in the big moments and I played a little safer.”

Speaking with North Shore Towers Tennis Professional Rick Bates, who has been with Towers for eight years, he felt this year’s tournament draw was very strong.

“It’s a Level 1 tournament and I am sure most of these kids will go on to play in college,” said bates. “I’m sure they will, especially those in the 18 and Under Section. I have watched them over the years and its fun to watch them develop from the time they were 10 years of age and they keep back so that’s exciting.”

North Shore Towers Tournament Director Annelies Karp did an outstanding job running a smooth tournament, along with Country Club Manager Mary Anne Langone.

As for Langone, you could tell how much the tournament means to her and the North Shore Towers community.

“Not only does the tournament provide great exposure for North Shore Towers, it also give the members an activity to look forward to,” said Langone. “The members love it.”

For eight straight years, North Shore Towers has held USTA tournaments and year after year, each one proves to be a great one.

 

 

 

 


Jacob Mishkin
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