PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Miranda Sears, Arlington tennis
Maranda Sears
School: Arlington
Grade: 11
Position: First singles
Vital stats: Reached the quarterfinals of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association singles tournament; 6-0, All-League, All-Section, All-State
Quotable: “Maranda had a goal, it was to go to the (state) tennis tournament,” said Arlington coach Gail Lynch. “That is no easy feat in Section 1. She made that goal come true! Maranda’s matches were never easy. She had to fight very hard against some really tough girls to get to States. I am very proud of her. Maranda is right up there with the best of the best.”
Lourdes’ Timm led pack of Journal girls cross country all-stars
FIRST TEAM
Dayna DiMarco
School: Our Lady of Lourdes
Grade: 12
Position: First singles
Record: 8-1
Quotable: “Dayna is a four-year varsity player and was co-captain this year leading the team both on and off the courts,” said Lourdes coach Anthony Carlini. “She faced extremely tough competition playing mainly Westchester County schools this year and yet had an extremely successful season. She was the only member of our team to advance to the (Section 1) conference tournament.”
Arlington’s Stack paced boys cross country all-star runners
Pia Krishnamurti
School: John Jay
Grade: 12
Position: First singles
Record: 6-4, Finished fourth in the Section 1 Conference 1 tournament
Quotable: “We played a really tough schedule this year and Pia played very well,” said John Jay coach Will Davis. “Her losses came to Yorktown, Arlington, Horace Greeley and Ursuline and those were the sectional winners. Pia played very well all four years and deserves every accolade she receives.”
Cynthia Ma
School: Spackenkill
Grade: 10
Position: Second singles
Record: 10-0, Mid-Hudson Athletic League tournament finalist
Quotable: “Cynthia is a very focused player who works hard to achieve her goals,” said Spackenkill coach Jackie Klein. “She did extremely well in her first year as a singles player and came in second place at our league tournament, an outstanding achievement.”
Jessica Schroedl
School: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Grade: 12
Position: First singles
Record: 10-0, MHAL champion
Quotable: “Jess never thought the road to success required anything less than time and hard work,” said Roosevelt coach Bob Mayerhofer. “She consistently sought out the best training environment that would help her reach her goal of maximizing her potential.”
Martha Topolnitski
School: Pawling
Grade: 10
Position: First singles
Record: 8-0
Quotable: “Martha is the first singles player from Pawling High School to go undefeated,” said Pawling coach Ray Konchalski. “It was easy to see Martha had a superior game by watching her practice, prepare and fight back when down.”
Likitha Kumar and Joelle Grady
School: John Jay
Grades: Kumar, 12; Grady, 12
Position: First doubles
Record: 8-2
Quotable: “(Kumar and Grady) are two returning seniors that had never played together before,” Davis said. “They struggled in the beginning of the season, but kept working and were able to beat defending conference champion Yorktown in the (Section 1 Conference 1) tournament. They are two really great kids that fought hard for everything.”
Emma Messenger and Grace Messenger
School: Marlboro
Grades: Emma, 11; Grace, 9
Position: Wild-card doubles
Doubles accomplishments: MHAL champions for second consecutive year
Quotable: “Emma is a hard hitter and a smart player, while Grace is skilled at a variety of shots,” said Marlboro coach Larry Diulio.
HONORABLE MENTION
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Katrina Ackerman, Kelly Wilson
Haldane: Alii Sharpley, Hali Traina
John Jay: Divya Kumar, Heather Philips
Our Lady of Lourdes: Grace O’Connor, Danielle Ogonowski
Red Hook: Julia Bemis, Dasha Latvis, Clea Schumer
Roy C. Ketcham: Sara Canzone, Eileen Liang, Stephanie Shum
Spackenkill: Charlotte Katz, Kourtney Kowalski, Leona Lau, Rachel Li, Sarah McCall, Madison Myers
COACH OF THE YEAR
Linda Edgar
School: Roy C. Ketcham
Record: 5-2
Quotable: “(Ketcham girls tennis) has not been very strong for a long time and Linda has turned the program around,” said John Jay coach Will Davis. “Her kids play hard and smart and they are getting better each and every year. This year she was able to take a doubles team to the (Section 1 Conference 1) Championship, and I would expect more success coming.”
“Linda has done a tremendous job with the girls,” said Arlington coach Gail Lynch. “She works hard on fundamentals and wants her players to learn, but at the same time have fun. It has been a pleasure working with her and having her become a coach in our area.”
