Beacon Beats Bronx Science For 10th Consecutive PSAL Title

June 2, 2017 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff

For the 10th straight year, Beacon claimed the title of New York City’s best high school team, winning the PSAL “A” Division championship with a 4-1 victory over Bronx Science at Cunningham Park on Wednesday afternoon.

“Last year was a bit of a surprise just because the kids were so young, and this year has been really rewarding because to watch them grow up and get physically bigger and stronger, better and tougher,” said Beacon head coach Bayard Faithfull. “I really appreciated seeing them grow and work with them. It’s been an honor.”

The Blue Demons of Beacon and the Wolverines of Bronx Science met for the third time on Wednesday, with Beacon winning the first two contests.

While it is tough to beat the same team three times in one season, Beacon made itself the exception to the rule in the championship. It got things started quickly, as Julian Szuper and Noah Edelman won 6-0, 6-0 over Christian Bobko and Paul Elghouayel at first doubles to take the early lead.


Noah Edelman (left) and Julian Szuper (right) won the championship’s first match at first doubles.  

“We did a good job of poaching and being aggressive at the net. We never let them get comfortable,” said Szuper. “Coming off of the last match against them, we said we didn’t want to give them any easy points and I think we did a good job of that.”

To bolster the Beacon lead, Marcos Lee used his blistering forehand to defeat Blake Frank 6-2, 6-1 at second singles.

Bronx Science would get on the board by winning the first singles court. Beacon’s Ethan Leon led Jonah Jurick 6-4, 2-5 before retiring with an injury.


Jonah Jurick won at first singles but it was not enough for Bronx Science on Wednesday. 

But soon after, Beacon would clinch the title, as Donovan Brown and Tyler Kats hung on to defeat Alexander Chiu and Alexander Goldstein 6-2, 6-4 at second doubles to seal the deal.

Knowing that he was serving for not only the match but also the city title at 5-4 in the second set, Goldstein kept his cool and held at love.

“We tried not to put pressure on ourselves,” said Kats. “Even though the 10th title in a row is historic, I just tried to focus and serve it out.”


Donovan Brown (left) and Tyler Kats (right) celebrate after clinching Beacon’s 10th straight NYC championship. 

Brown and Kats were playing together for the first time this season, and the duo said that it took some time early on to develop some chemistry.

“In the beginning of the first set communication was the only problem,” Kats added. “But as the set went on we were able to figure it out and it made things a lot easier. Even though this is our first match I think we’re compatible together as a team.”

In the day’s final match, Felix Levine outlasted Rob Rofougaran 6-2, 2-6, 11-9 to round out the scoring.

“I think the key to this season was that our two sophomores, Ethan Leon and Marcos Lee, just both developed their games and got much bigger and stronger,” added Faithfull. “We also have two freshman, Donovan Brown and Noah Edelman, who play doubles, and they just brought a level of depth to our team and crafted their games very well. It was a special season.”

CLICK HERE to see more photos from the “A” Division championship. 


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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