Long Island Tennis Magazine’s 2024 Event Series Wraps Up With Sold-Out Thanksgiving Tennis Challenge
The fourth and final Long Island Tennis Magazine Challenge of 2024 brought together men’s and women’s doubles teams for a fun and competitive Saturday hosted on the courts of Sportime Syosset.
Fresh off Thanksgiving celebrations, it was time for everyone to get back on the tennis court and work off their holiday meal, and the LITM Thanksgiving Challenge provided the perfect opportunity to do so. Featuring good competition on the court and a festive, social atmosphere off it, the Thanksgiving Challenge was the ideal way to wrap up the 2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine event series.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE 2024 THANKSGIVING CHALLENGE
“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.
In the Men’s 7.0 – 7.5 Doubles Division, Ray Omid & Ed Mulhern teamed up for the first time as a doubles pair and came away victorious by earning the title.
Despite never playing together, the two quickly found chemistry on court, and gave credit to one another for their success.
“We usually play against each other, but came together for this,” said Mulhern. “Ray was super consistent and he hit every shot we needed him to.”
Omid added:
“Ed made it really easy…These tournaments are a lot of fun. There is always great competition, the people are chill and all of that makes these events enjoyable.”
For Jieying Mao & Anna Tortorici, the chemistry on the court together has been there for awhile now as the two have played together on USTA Leagues teams for years. That rapport on court proved to be important as the pairing captured the title in the Women’s 7.0 – 7.5 Doubles division.
It was especially integral when they fell behind 0-2 in the championship match, before making the necessary adjustments to make the comeback and win the championship.
“In the beginning I was at the net, but I moved back to the baseline, and she went to the net whenever she had the chance so she could put it away,” said Tortorici. “We got back to our strengths. We tried to send them deep so that Jieying could poach and put it away.”
“Consistency was the key, we played our strengths to their weaknesses,” said Mao. “We play together a lot in different leagues so we know how to play together.”
The holidays are the time for families coming together, and that’s what Albert Cheng & Roger Cheng did when they joined forces in the Men’s 8.0 – 8.5 Doubles division.
The two had not played doubles together prior to this tournament which made for up-and-down results during the round-robin stages, but they found their stride in the knockout rounds, playing great tennis en route to winning the championship.
“I think when we started we were slow to get warm, but once we were able to take advantage of our service games, especially Albert because he has a really big serve, we found ways to play points a little better,” said Roger. “It was a great tournament; the competition was great, everyone was social, and it was just a really fun time especially after Thanksgiving.”
Albert talked about both the positives and negatives of playing together as a doubles team.
“This was our first time playing together so there were definitely times we were laughing, but also times when I was like, ‘Oh, dude, you should have made that shot’,” he said. “We can call each other out when we need to, and that dynamic helps, holding each other accountable. I think we were able to step up when we needed to.”
A couple of former high school standouts from Suffolk County took to the court in the Women’s 8.0 – 8.5 Doubles division as Onalee Batcheller & Gabrielle Vailiant paired up and ultimately won the division’s title.
“Our groundstrokes were very good, and we poached smartly when we needed to, especially in that last match,” said Vailiant. “I felt like there were some really long rallies in the finals and so we had to be strategic with our net game.”
Batcheller added:
“We knew we could trust each other, and our communication was key. This was our first time playing doubles together but we do practice a lot, so we know each other’s styles and we relied on each other…The tournament was great, and we were able to meet a lot of new people. Sometimes it’s easy and convenient to stay in your own little tennis group, so to play against different competition was great. Everyone was welcoming and it was very well-run.”
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE 2024 THANKSGIVING CHALLENGE
The Thanksgiving Challenge was the final installment of the 2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Event Series, putting a bow on another successful year as we prepare to continue to grow our events in the New Year.
“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,” added Sickmen. “We look forward to more community involvement moving into the New Year, and are excited to see everyone on the courts at our events in 2025.”
Paul Stratta, CEO & Co-Founder of iPlayMe2, was on-hand to display the results of the tournament its innovative software so players can track their matches in real-time. For full score results visit the tournament’s brackets courtesy of iPlayMe2 at the link below:
2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Thanksgiving Challenge – iPlayMe2
