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Shtilkind leads Goldstein girls' tennis to first Mayor's Cup victory
By Marc Raimondi May 30, 2009Becky Shtilkind is used to it by now. Whenever her name is said over the Leon Goldstein HS public-address system – usually for one of her many tennis accomplishments – it doesn’t sound anything like it should.
“It’s always pronounced wrong,” she said with a laugh. “It’s been butchered so many times. It’s OK. I know it’s me.”
The latest occurrence came Wednesday. A day earlier, Shtilkind became the first freshman to win the PSAL girls’ tennis individual tennis championship in recent memory. She bested Cardozo freshman Arielle Griffin, 6-0, 6-1, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing.
“[Her classmates] were saying, ‘You’re going to win all four years,’” Goldstein coach Victoria D’Orazio said. “Sure, put more pressure on her.”
Shtilkind, whose last name is actually pronounced phonetically, will surely get some more attention over the loudspeaker Monday when school commences. She led Goldstein to its first Mayor’s Cup victory ever as the sixth-seeded Dolphins bested No. 3 Francis Lewis, 4-1, in the quarterfinals in Flushing. Goldstein, which fell to Lewis in the PSAL Class A quarterfinals, will meet No. 2 Cardozo in the semifinals Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
“This is big,” D’Orazio said.
Shtilkind beat Hikari Miyazawa, 6-2, 6-0, at first singles, sophomore Jackie Varnyan beat Stephanie Rances, 6-2, 6-2, at second singles and Tashrika Sharma beat Alisha Aleshko defeated, 6-2, 6-2, at third singles for Goldstein. Marianna Kogan and Marlen Preyger beat Kim Xiong and Qian Qian Yin, 6-4, 6-4, at first doubles and Raquel Simetsky and Anna Komar beat Anamika Sharma and Vanessa Lee, 6-4, 6-1, in second doubles.
Lewis was missing three starters, including freshman first singles Alexis Tashiro, who has been suffering from the flu. Miyazawa has also been sick.
D’Orazio stressed that Goldstein’s success has been a team effort, though of course Shtilkind’s presence has been a boon.
“She’s only one,” D’Orazio said. “One can’t win. They still need a team to back them up. The whole team has to do it.”
The Dolphins are very young. There isn’t a senior on the roster and Varnyan and Aleshko are both sophomores. They realize that no matter what happens Sunday against Cardozo, the two-time PSAL champion, it doesn’t take anything away from an excellent season.
“It doesn’t matter if we win or lose,” Varnyan said.
Shtilkind, though, has a streak to uphold. She won the Mayor’s Cup middle school individual competition last year as an eighth grader, was the runner-up in seventh grade and a semifinalist in sixth grade.
The ninth grader’s family hails from Ukraine by way of Omaha, Neb. The Shtilkinds moved from overseas to Nebraska in 1994 and moved to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in 1996 to be closer to family that lives in New York.
“I always say me and Andy Roddick are from Nebraska, putting myself first,” she joked.
Shtilkind certainly has a bright future. All she needs now for others to get her last name correct.
“It looks hard [to say],” she said. “People get nervous.”
Nerves don’t seem to be an issue for this freshman, though.
mraimondi@fiveborosports.com
“It’s always pronounced wrong,” she said with a laugh. “It’s been butchered so many times. It’s OK. I know it’s me.”
The latest occurrence came Wednesday. A day earlier, Shtilkind became the first freshman to win the PSAL girls’ tennis individual tennis championship in recent memory. She bested Cardozo freshman Arielle Griffin, 6-0, 6-1, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing.
“[Her classmates] were saying, ‘You’re going to win all four years,’” Goldstein coach Victoria D’Orazio said. “Sure, put more pressure on her.”
Shtilkind, whose last name is actually pronounced phonetically, will surely get some more attention over the loudspeaker Monday when school commences. She led Goldstein to its first Mayor’s Cup victory ever as the sixth-seeded Dolphins bested No. 3 Francis Lewis, 4-1, in the quarterfinals in Flushing. Goldstein, which fell to Lewis in the PSAL Class A quarterfinals, will meet No. 2 Cardozo in the semifinals Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
“This is big,” D’Orazio said.
Shtilkind beat Hikari Miyazawa, 6-2, 6-0, at first singles, sophomore Jackie Varnyan beat Stephanie Rances, 6-2, 6-2, at second singles and Tashrika Sharma beat Alisha Aleshko defeated, 6-2, 6-2, at third singles for Goldstein. Marianna Kogan and Marlen Preyger beat Kim Xiong and Qian Qian Yin, 6-4, 6-4, at first doubles and Raquel Simetsky and Anna Komar beat Anamika Sharma and Vanessa Lee, 6-4, 6-1, in second doubles.
Lewis was missing three starters, including freshman first singles Alexis Tashiro, who has been suffering from the flu. Miyazawa has also been sick.
D’Orazio stressed that Goldstein’s success has been a team effort, though of course Shtilkind’s presence has been a boon.
“She’s only one,” D’Orazio said. “One can’t win. They still need a team to back them up. The whole team has to do it.”
The Dolphins are very young. There isn’t a senior on the roster and Varnyan and Aleshko are both sophomores. They realize that no matter what happens Sunday against Cardozo, the two-time PSAL champion, it doesn’t take anything away from an excellent season.
“It doesn’t matter if we win or lose,” Varnyan said.
Shtilkind, though, has a streak to uphold. She won the Mayor’s Cup middle school individual competition last year as an eighth grader, was the runner-up in seventh grade and a semifinalist in sixth grade.
The ninth grader’s family hails from Ukraine by way of Omaha, Neb. The Shtilkinds moved from overseas to Nebraska in 1994 and moved to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in 1996 to be closer to family that lives in New York.
“I always say me and Andy Roddick are from Nebraska, putting myself first,” she joked.
Shtilkind certainly has a bright future. All she needs now for others to get her last name correct.
“It looks hard [to say],” she said. “People get nervous.”
Nerves don’t seem to be an issue for this freshman, though.
mraimondi@fiveborosports.com