In the prestigious 20-year history of the Mayor’s Cup, never has one player won four individual titles in successive years. St. Francis Prep’s Shinann Featherston may very well accomplish that feat.
The junior singles star won her third straight Sunday afternoon at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, besting Cardozo’s Jillian Santos in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
“I’d like to see her get that record if it’s possible,” St. Francis Coach John Brennan said. “She’s just a remarkable athlete.”
Adding to her dominance, Featherston has yet to drop a set in the high-level tournament that consists of the best Catholic, Public, and Private players in the city.
Ranked 15th in the nation by the United States Tennis Association in the girls 18-and-under division and 2nd in the East by the Eastern Tennis Association, Featherston, 17, has broken the mold since she started high school.
The Rockaway Park product became the Terriers’ top singles player as a freshman despite joining the city’s preeminent girls tennis program, a team that has now won 128 straight matches and eight Mayor’s Cup.
“I’m not really surprised,” Brennan said of Featherston’s accomplishments, “because I know her. She just brings a very consistent level of effort in everything she does.”
Cardozo’s top-seeded doubles team of Drew Cohen and Wei-Cheng Lin topped No. 3 Philip Malaric and Maxwell Segan of Hunter College High School, 6-4, 6-4, for the Mayor’s Cup title in the boys bracket.
