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Mayor's Cup tennis round-up: Cardozo girls fall short
By Marc Raimondi May 31, 2009
Neil Baskin had been downplaying the Mayor’s Cup championship leading up to, and even during, this weekend’s competition. But Sunday, the Cardozo girls’ tennis coach changed his tune – sort of.
“It didn’t mean anything until I got here,” Baskin said as his team was playing top-seeded and nine-time defending champion St. Francis Prep. “Once I got here, I wanted to win just as much as any other match.”
The second-seeded Judges pushed the Terriers to the limit, but fell, 3-2, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing. It was only the third time in Prep’s now 10-year reign that the final has come down to one match and the last time was seven years ago.
Cardozo wasn’t just motivated to end the streak, which also now includes 161 consecutive match victories, either. The Judges were confident, too, and even St. Francis coach John Brennan admitted this would be Dozo’s best chance yet.
“I really wanted to win,” sophomore first singles Leighann Sahagun said.
She did her part. Sahagun beat Shraddha Prabhu, 6-3, 6-0, and Cardozo second singles Arielle Griffen defeated Ashley Masanto, 6-2, 7-5. But it all came down to second doubles after Prep third singles Pauline Syrnik beat Alexa Cohen, 6-2, 6-4, and Samantha Rosca-Sipot and Kara Uy defeated Kim Holmes and Dexuan Yuan, 6-4, 6-1, at first singles.
With all eyes on them, the Terriers’ second doubles pair of Nicole Rydzewski and Katie Derienzo beat Deva Rashtrawar and Minxuan Yuan, 6-4, 6-3, to close out the victory.
Sahagun thought the Yuan sisters should have played together since they won the PSAL doubles title as a team Tuesday. But Baskin went with the same lineup that won the Judges the PSAL Class A city title.
“They play really well together,” Sahagun said.
This Cardozo group will be together for the foreseeable future. The Judges don’t have a senior in the starting lineup and will lose only Rashtrawar, who is moving to India with her family, next year.
At first glance, Baskin thought his team would be able to dethrone dynastic St. Francis. But it wasn’t to be.
“When I saw both doubles teams hitting, I thought we were better,” he said. “I underestimated them.”
Cramps can’t contain Mo: Sophomore Hugh Mo of the Cardozo boys’ tennis team learned a valuable lesson Sunday: Don’t eat a sausage and peppers sandwich 30 minutes before playing.
“I knew that was going to be a mistake,” he said with a laugh after his Judges fell to Beacon, 3-2, in the Mayor’s Cup final.
Mo had serious trouble with cramps in his third singles match with Beacon’s Hannah Berner starting in the first set and he had to leave the court briefly after winning the second set. Instead of playing a third, though, Berner agreed to a 10-point tiebreaker because the Blue Demons had already secured the title. Mo ended up winning, 4-6, 7-5, (6).
“They got so tight, I almost couldn’t walk,” he said of his legs.
Cardozo coach Howie Arons shuffled his lineup after Berner, who plays on the boys’ team because Beacon doesn’t have a girls’ squad, beat Roland John at third singles in the PSAL Class A city championship match. After Berner knocked off John, the Judges junior broke his racket in half in frustration.
“[Mo] was a lot mentally stronger,” Berner said.
GIRLS’ SEMIFINALS
St. Francis Prep 4, Stuyvesant 1: Veranika Li defeated Prabhu at first singles for No. 4 Stuyvesant, but Prep swept the rest. Masanto beat Bessie Rentzler, 6-1, 6-2, at second singles and Syrnik defeated Tiffany Wan, 6-1, 6-1, at third singles.
Uy and Rosco-Sipot beat Christine Yeoun and Betsy Soukop, 6-0, 6-0, at first doubles and Derienzo and Rydzewski defeated Sofia Pidzyrailo and Emily Quint Hoover, 6-1, 6-0, at second doubles.
Cardozo 4, Leon Goldstein 1: Sahagun retired after splitting two sets with No. 6 Goldstein freshman first singles Becky Shtilkind because she was set to play against Prabhu an hour later in the final.
Griffin beat Jackie Varnyan, 6-2, 6-2, at second singles and Alexa Cohen beat Alina Aleshko, 6-2, 6-2, at third singles. In first doubles, Holmes and Dexuan Yuan beat Maranna Kogan and Marlen Preyger, 6-2, 6-0, and Rashtrawar and Minxuan Yuan defeated Raquel Simetsky and Anna Komar, 6-0, 6-0, at second doubles.
BOYS’ SEMIFINALS
Beacon 3, Horace Mann 2: Quinton Vega beat Brenton Arnaboldi, 6-4, 6-2, at first singles, Jon Franzel defeated Alex Ma, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, at second singles and Berner beat Steven Heffer, 6-3, 6-0, at third singles for No. 1 Beacon.
Conor Coughlin and Kurtis Rhee beat Jeremyah Schur and Christian Waldron, 6-3, 6-3, at first doubles and Evan Low and David Kim defeated Khari Linton and Jake Aronson, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-2, at second doubles for No. 4 Horace Mann.
Cardozo 4, St. Francis Prep 1: Jon Raude beat Alex Derienzo, 6-2, 6-2, at first singles and Wei Cheng Lin defeated Chris Jimenez, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, at second singles for No. 2 Cardozo. David Arroyave beat Hugh Mo, 6-2, 6-2, at third singles for No. 3 St. Francis Prep.
Cardozo’s Petros Georgiou and Roland John beat Joe Laskowski and Kilby Featherston, 6-4, 6-3, at first doubles and Kevin Lee and Christian Georges defeated Chris Zipf and Dillon Hogan, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, at second doubles.
mraimondi@fiveborosports.com
“It didn’t mean anything until I got here,” Baskin said as his team was playing top-seeded and nine-time defending champion St. Francis Prep. “Once I got here, I wanted to win just as much as any other match.”
The second-seeded Judges pushed the Terriers to the limit, but fell, 3-2, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing. It was only the third time in Prep’s now 10-year reign that the final has come down to one match and the last time was seven years ago.
Cardozo wasn’t just motivated to end the streak, which also now includes 161 consecutive match victories, either. The Judges were confident, too, and even St. Francis coach John Brennan admitted this would be Dozo’s best chance yet.
“I really wanted to win,” sophomore first singles Leighann Sahagun said.
She did her part. Sahagun beat Shraddha Prabhu, 6-3, 6-0, and Cardozo second singles Arielle Griffen defeated Ashley Masanto, 6-2, 7-5. But it all came down to second doubles after Prep third singles Pauline Syrnik beat Alexa Cohen, 6-2, 6-4, and Samantha Rosca-Sipot and Kara Uy defeated Kim Holmes and Dexuan Yuan, 6-4, 6-1, at first singles.
With all eyes on them, the Terriers’ second doubles pair of Nicole Rydzewski and Katie Derienzo beat Deva Rashtrawar and Minxuan Yuan, 6-4, 6-3, to close out the victory.
Sahagun thought the Yuan sisters should have played together since they won the PSAL doubles title as a team Tuesday. But Baskin went with the same lineup that won the Judges the PSAL Class A city title.
“They play really well together,” Sahagun said.
This Cardozo group will be together for the foreseeable future. The Judges don’t have a senior in the starting lineup and will lose only Rashtrawar, who is moving to India with her family, next year.
At first glance, Baskin thought his team would be able to dethrone dynastic St. Francis. But it wasn’t to be.
“When I saw both doubles teams hitting, I thought we were better,” he said. “I underestimated them.”
Cramps can’t contain Mo: Sophomore Hugh Mo of the Cardozo boys’ tennis team learned a valuable lesson Sunday: Don’t eat a sausage and peppers sandwich 30 minutes before playing.
“I knew that was going to be a mistake,” he said with a laugh after his Judges fell to Beacon, 3-2, in the Mayor’s Cup final.
Mo had serious trouble with cramps in his third singles match with Beacon’s Hannah Berner starting in the first set and he had to leave the court briefly after winning the second set. Instead of playing a third, though, Berner agreed to a 10-point tiebreaker because the Blue Demons had already secured the title. Mo ended up winning, 4-6, 7-5, (6).
“They got so tight, I almost couldn’t walk,” he said of his legs.
Cardozo coach Howie Arons shuffled his lineup after Berner, who plays on the boys’ team because Beacon doesn’t have a girls’ squad, beat Roland John at third singles in the PSAL Class A city championship match. After Berner knocked off John, the Judges junior broke his racket in half in frustration.
“[Mo] was a lot mentally stronger,” Berner said.
GIRLS’ SEMIFINALS
St. Francis Prep 4, Stuyvesant 1: Veranika Li defeated Prabhu at first singles for No. 4 Stuyvesant, but Prep swept the rest. Masanto beat Bessie Rentzler, 6-1, 6-2, at second singles and Syrnik defeated Tiffany Wan, 6-1, 6-1, at third singles.
Uy and Rosco-Sipot beat Christine Yeoun and Betsy Soukop, 6-0, 6-0, at first doubles and Derienzo and Rydzewski defeated Sofia Pidzyrailo and Emily Quint Hoover, 6-1, 6-0, at second doubles.
Cardozo 4, Leon Goldstein 1: Sahagun retired after splitting two sets with No. 6 Goldstein freshman first singles Becky Shtilkind because she was set to play against Prabhu an hour later in the final.
Griffin beat Jackie Varnyan, 6-2, 6-2, at second singles and Alexa Cohen beat Alina Aleshko, 6-2, 6-2, at third singles. In first doubles, Holmes and Dexuan Yuan beat Maranna Kogan and Marlen Preyger, 6-2, 6-0, and Rashtrawar and Minxuan Yuan defeated Raquel Simetsky and Anna Komar, 6-0, 6-0, at second doubles.
BOYS’ SEMIFINALS
Beacon 3, Horace Mann 2: Quinton Vega beat Brenton Arnaboldi, 6-4, 6-2, at first singles, Jon Franzel defeated Alex Ma, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, at second singles and Berner beat Steven Heffer, 6-3, 6-0, at third singles for No. 1 Beacon.
Conor Coughlin and Kurtis Rhee beat Jeremyah Schur and Christian Waldron, 6-3, 6-3, at first doubles and Evan Low and David Kim defeated Khari Linton and Jake Aronson, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-2, at second doubles for No. 4 Horace Mann.
Cardozo 4, St. Francis Prep 1: Jon Raude beat Alex Derienzo, 6-2, 6-2, at first singles and Wei Cheng Lin defeated Chris Jimenez, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, at second singles for No. 2 Cardozo. David Arroyave beat Hugh Mo, 6-2, 6-2, at third singles for No. 3 St. Francis Prep.
Cardozo’s Petros Georgiou and Roland John beat Joe Laskowski and Kilby Featherston, 6-4, 6-3, at first doubles and Kevin Lee and Christian Georges defeated Chris Zipf and Dillon Hogan, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, at second doubles.
mraimondi@fiveborosports.com