The St. Francis Prep girls were once again the big story during the New York City Mayor's Cup All Scholastic Championships held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
In the varsity team event, St. Francis Prepatory School of Queens broke the city high school record for the most consecutive wins -- previously 141 -- and finished at 144 victories without a loss. They also captured their 9th straight championship after defeating the Benjamin Cardozo team, 5-0. Leading the St. Francis team was Shinann Featherson, who took her fourth straight varsity singles title with a win over Hannah Berner of The Beacon School. Shinann, who will be attending the University of North Carolina in the fall, was recently named the National High School Girls Tennis Senior Athlete of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association.
The boys varsity winners were more divided as the Horace Mann team beat Beacon High School in a close 3-2 for the team title. In the boys singles it was The Beacon's Milo Hauk
over Asiko Isoh of Queens Gateway to Health Sciences School.The New York Junior Tennis League (NYJT) began the Mayor's Cup in 1988. It has become the largest scholastic tennis tournament in the nation. This year 600 of New York City's top middle school and varsity players participated in the nine day competition.
Becky Shtilkind and RJ Del Nunzio (far right)
