Yelizaveta A. Patenko

Yelizaveta's dream is to one day turn professional and compete on the pro tour. Naturally, Liza trains at the Sports Club of South Jersey with tennis coach, Chris Hill, and with her strength and conditioning trainer, Andrey Patenko.

Yelizaveta Patenko was born in Perm, Russia. Because she was born into a family of two former professional athletes, she became involved in many sport-based activities. Tennis was the first sport that she ever participated in. The first time Liza picked up a tennis racquet was at age four at the School of Olympic Reserve in Russia.

After moving to the United States in the year 2000, she continued to show an interest to sports. Liza enjoyed many sports including karate, swimming, gymnastics, dance, ice-skating, and ballet. When she turned ten, she decided to commit all of her time to one main sport, tennis.

By the end of 2008, her rank in the USTA 12 and under ranking system reached a peak of number three in the Middle states and the top fifty’s in nationals. Now she has a good start in the Middle States in the girls 14’s by winning Sectionals in the Middle States. So far, she has won 11 singles titles, three doubles titles, and she represented the Middle States team in the girls 12 (2008) and girls 14( 2009) Zonal Championships.

Now Liza trains at the Sports Club of South Jersey with tennis coach, Chris Hill, and with her strength and conditioning trainer, Andrey Patenko. Her dream is to turn professional someday and compete on the pro tour. Because she is trained by a great team of professionals, she achieves many goals and each leading her closer to her dreams.

Cole Tecci

Cole Tecce (age 10) recently finished fourth in the Boys’ 10s division at the “Little Mo” North Regionals in Homewood, Illinois. His semi-final finish qualified him for the prestigious “Little Mo” Nationals tournament at the Austin Tennis Academy in Austin, Texas in October.

The “Little Mo” tournament is the premier tennis event for junior players age 8 to 11 years old. It is the only tournament of its kind that offers young players the opportunity to compete against other players the same age (born the same year) at the Sectional, Regional and National level.

The “Road to Little Mo Nationals” begins at the Sectional level. Each USTA section offers a qualifying tournament, and the eight quarterfinalists are invited to one of the four Regional tournaments (North, South, East and West). Cole won the Middle States tournament for his age group for the second year in a row.

The North Regional tournament, held in Illinois, includes the quarterfinalists from Middle States, Eastern, New England and Midwest sections. The semifinalists from the four Regional tournaments qualify for the National tournament, which has a draw of 16 in each age division.

The winner of each age division in Texas is the National “Little Mo” Champion. The “Little Mo” tournament was named after Maureen (“Little Mo”) Connelly, who was the first woman to win the Grand Slam (all four major tennis championships in one calendar year) in 1953. She is still the youngest winner and the only American to have accomplished this feat. This is Cole’s third year playing the “Little Mo” and his first time qualifying for Nationals.

Congratulations to Cole, and good luck in Texas!