LITM Thanksgiving Challenge Hits Sportime Syosset

The fourth and final Long Island Tennis Magazine Challenge of 2023 brought together men’s and women’s doubles teams for a fun and competitive Saturday on the courts of Sportime Syosset.

Players were spread out across three different divisions with round-robin play leading into the respective knockout rounds, this allowed for all the teams to play a multitude of matches against a variety of opponents.

Off the court, the event provided breakfast and lunch for all the players, as well as the signature drink of the LITM Thanksgiving Challenge, apple cider sangria, which kept the event fun and socially-oriented in addition to the intense competition on the courts.

“It was a lot of fun, the tournament was very well-organized and the players were challenging but very nice, so it was a great time,” said Marisol Scherr.

Partnering with Nicole Berg, Scherr and Berg captured the title in the Women’s Doubles 7.0-7.5 division, defeating Cari Solomon & Cyndi Leventhal 6-2 in the championship match.

“We’ve been playing together for about 15 years, but never in a tournament like this,” said Berg. “We stayed calm and confident throughout and made sure to trust each other. I think winning the title was definitely our favorite part of the day.”

“When we do these events outside during the summer, we have a lot more courts to work with. With a sold-out draw, it was a bit of a challenge to keep play moving and get all the matches in, but we pride ourselves on the professionalism of the event,” said Michelle Stoerback, co-tournament director. “We have found the right format so that the tournament runs smoothly and adheres to the time frame given to the players ahead of time.”

The Men’s 7.0-7.5 division was the largest draw of the three divisions with 15 teams split into three flights of five teams each for the round-robin portion. After many hard-fought matches, we arrived at a final where Tay Kwak & Hun Lee faced off against Larry Pleener & Gary Simeone in the finals.

Kwak & Lee were victorious, claiming the title with a 6-1 victory in the championship, with the final point finishing at exactly 2:59 p.m., just ahead of the promised finishing time.

“We have played together before, but this is the first time we played in an official tournament, so it’s amazing to be able to win it,” said Lee.

Kwak added:

“It was great competing against some people we didn’t know and meeting new players as well. It was a really fun day overall.”

Samir Singh & Danny Axelrod dialed up their best tennis in the semifinals and finals to come away victorious in the Men’s Doubles 8.0-8.5 division, capping off their run with a 6-3 win over Matt Grossman & Jesse Charnoff.

“We lost to them in the second round of the round-robin matches and made a lot of errors in that match, but I think we gained confidence as the day went on. Especially halfway through our semifinal, something just clicked,” said Singh.

The pairing had played together last summer which helped them develop a chemistry together on-court.

“I can let balls go past me because I know Samir is back there chasing everything down,” Axelrod said.

Regarding the event as a whole, Axelrod added:

“I thought the whole day was great. There were a lot of really good players, and it was nice to have a full draw and play against everyone. Once we got to the playoff rounds, the intensity got really turned up.”

The Long Island Tennis Magazine Thanksgiving Tennis Challenge was the final installment of our 2023 event series, and closed out the series in wonderful fashion.

“There are many options for local players when it comes to racquet sports, and we are appreciative that so many players came out and chose our event. To get a sold-out draw into this tournament on a holiday weekend was a real success. I believe this is an indication that players see the professionalism and quality we bring to the events we host, and that they have a great time on and off the court,” said David Sickmen, co-tournament director of the Long Island Tennis Magazine Challenge. “I certainly want to thank our host facility, Sportime Syosset, for being such gracious hosts and Mike Kossoff for helping us put on this special event, as well as my co-director Michelle Stoerback, whose passion and energy for adult tennis is second to none. We look forward to more community involvement moving into the fall and winter, and are excited to see everyone at our next Challenge when we kick off the 2024 season.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE LITM THANKSGIVING TENNIS CHALLENGE

Scenes from the LITM Thanksgiving Tennis Challenge