Cruz Advances at Sportime Randall’s Island Championships

She’s not even a freshman yet, but New Rochelle tennis player Jessie Cruz is already beating some of the best high school players in the state.

Competing this weekend in the Girls 16-and-under division of the Sportime Randall’s Island Championships in Manhattan, Cruz has been dominant in reaching the semifinals. After a 6-1, 6-2 victory on Friday in the opening round against Alexa Goldberg of Scarsdale, Cruz took the court again yesterday evening and easily dispatched No. 3 seed Rebecca Fakas of Little Neck with a 6-3, 6-1 win.

“I found that hitting to her (Fakas’) backhand worked really well,” said Cruz, who is about to enter her freshman year at New Rochelle High School. “I just tried to run around my shots more and attack that side, and eventually it started to break down.”

Tennis runs in the family for Cruz. Her mother, Carolyn, is the director of the junior program at Rye Racquet Club, while her older sister, Cassidy, currently plays No. 1 on the Girls Varsity tennis team at New Rochelle High School as a rising junior.

Perhaps the biggest threat to Cassidy Cruz’s No. 1 spot on the team is her younger sister. Cruz played No. 2 singles on the team last year as an eighth grader, but the sisters never played a challenge match for the No. 1 spot.

“We’re pretty much at the same level now, but I practice a lot more than she does,” said Cruz. “It was a big help having her on the team last year though because all the girls already knew her, and they wanted to talk to me because I was her younger sister.”

The dedication it takes to make it at this level of junior tennis would intimidate even the most seasoned of workaholics. Cruz said she practices twice a day, three days per week at Rye Racquet Club, working with a private coach before attending a clinic with some of the top junior players in Westchester. 

When the school week ends, Cruz said she spends up to 20 weekends per year traveling around the region for junior tournaments, competing against some of the best players on the east coast. In addition, she has also traveled around the country for national tournaments, competing across the midwest and southern U.S.

Even more impressively, all of this is combined with a rigorous academic course load and other outside interests. Cruz received accolades at Albert Leonard Middle School last year as the top performing student in both Mandarin and algebra. In addition, she also competes on a travel soccer team.

“Once the soccer season starts, I’m going to have to start practicing before school, which means I’ll be on the tennis court at 6:30 a.m.,” said Cruz.

Cruz said she hopes to ultimately compete on the Women’s tennis team at Princeton University and graduate with a degree in law. 

The semis and finals of the Sportime Randall’s Island Championships are scheduled for Sunday afternoon.