Sport: Tennis
Year: Senior
Hometown: Brooklyn
Catherine Zawadzki didn’t have too many spectators watching her Mayor’s Cup final on Sunday against top-seeded junior Polina Zaretser of New Utrecht. Playing next to her on the…
School: Archbishop Molloy
Sport: Tennis
Year: Senior
Hometown: Brooklyn
Catherine Zawadzki didn’t have too many spectators watching her Mayor’s Cup final on Sunday against top-seeded junior Polina Zaretser of New Utrecht. Playing next to her on the adjacent court was Benjamin Cardozo’s wildly popular Alex Dobrin in the boys’ final, and most of the fans were consumed with his match, which he won comfortably 6-2, 6-3 over St. John’s Prep’s Ruslan Chowdhury.
Most people figured that Zaretser, who is ranked No. 3 in the Eastern Sectionals and in the top-ten nationally for her age group, would roll right over Zaretser like she had her other opponents in the tournament, losing a total of three games before the final.
But as the match wore on, the senior from Molloy, seeded second, proved to be a formidable opponent and, although it was still early, seemed to be overpowering her top seeded opponent.
Little by little, more and more fans began to trickle over to watch the girls’ final — the outcome of Dobrin’s match was never in doubt — to see if Zawadzki, who had not played since February, could sustain her on-court brilliance. By the time she was serving for the match leading 5-1, the benches were packed with fans cheering her on as she won the final 7-5, 6-1.
