Cary Leeds Hosts 30th Annual NYJTL Mayor’s Cup

June 11, 2018 | By Brian Coleman
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The country’s largest interscholastic tennis tournament descended on the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the Bronx this past week as hundreds of participants from public, private and parochial schools in New York City competed in the 30th annual Mayor’s Cup.

New York Junior Tennis & Learning ushered in a third decade of the Mayor’s Cup with a fantastic week of tennis featuring players competing in elementary, middle school and varsity divisions and culminated with the finals of each draw and the Awards Ceremony on the event’s final day.  

The finals of the Boys and Girls Varsity Singles divisions were played on the two stadium courts of the Cary Leeds Center, as Ethan Leon of Beacon and Deliala Friedman of Bay Ridge Prep were crowned as Mayor’s Cup Champions.

Leon defeated his Beacon teammate Felix Levine 6-4, 6-1.

“It works both ways,” Leon said of facing your friend and an opponent you know well. “I know his game, he knows my game. So it can be tough. I tried to really neutralize him and not give him many chances to attack. I knew he was going to have his opportunities, but for the most part I think I did a good job of neutralizing him. And I found my opportunities to close out some points.”

 

Friedman battled past Leila Epstein 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 as the bleachers and seats that surrounded the court filled up with spectators awaiting the start of the Awards Ceremony. Those fans witnessed an excellent match between Friedman and Epstein, with Friedman coming out on top in three sets.

“I started pushing a little bit in the second set and I got a little tight,” said Friedman. “But the motivation to win this trophy helped give me the stamina to push through. I have always wanted to win this tournament, and I know I am following in my friend’s footsteps. She [Shawnte Beale] won this last year.”

The Stuyvesant High School duo of Jennifer Yu and Celina Liu captured the Varsity Girls Doubles title, defeating Talia Bank and Fuschia Steward of Bard 6-0, 6-1.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Yu. “I have been playing Mayor’s Cup for a while and to win in my senior year, it’s just a really great experience to finish my high school career with.”

Below is the full list of winners from the 2018 Mayor’s Cup:

►Claire An – Girls Elementary Singles Yellow Ball

►Iliana Dearmas – Girls Elementary Singles Green Ball

►Dominick Mosejczuk – Elementary Boys Singles Yellow Ball

►David Clarke – Elementary Boys Singles Green Ball

►Evan Lee – Middle School Boys Singles

►Arina Oreshchenkova – Girls Middle School Singles

►Patricia Grigoras/Julia Werdiger – Girls Middle School Doubles

►Jake David/Nicholas Vasilescu – Boys Middle School Doubles

►Ethan Leon – Varsity Boys Singles

►Deliala Friedman – Varsity Girls Singles

►Connor Morris/Robbie Werdiger – Boys Varsity Doubles

►Jennifer Yu/Celina Liu – Girls Varsity Doubles

Click Here to see the full and completed draws. Be sure to check out the July/August issue of New York Tennis Magazine for a full recap of the 2018 Mayor’s Cup.

Click Here to see more photos from the 2018 Mayor’s Cup. 

 

 


Brian Coleman

 Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com

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