FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com JULY 3, 2014 • THE QUEENS COURIER 65 sports BY LIAM LA GUERRE • lguerre@queenscourier.com • @liamlaguerre Local tennis pro competing for US Open spot Photo courtesy USTA Middle States Jennifer Elie of Fresh Meadows has a shot to make it in the US Open this year. A Fresh Meadows tennis player is closing in on a spot in the US Open later this year, but she’ll have to fi ght her way in. Jennifer Elie, 27, won the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Middle States sectional national playoffs tournament on June 24, which slots her in as a wild card in the US Open qualifying tournament held a week prior to the national Grand Slam in August. Should Elie win that draw, she’ll advance to the US Open. Elie, who played for Francis Lewis High School, has been a consistent player on the USTA Pro Circuit and in International Tennis Federation (ITF) events. She won two ITF singles titles in 2012 in Caracas, Venezuela, and has also won four USTA Pro Circuit and ITF-level doubles events. Elie, who peaked at No. 286 in the world in April 2013, has a win over current world No. 18 Sloane Stephens at a $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Kentucky in 2011. Teen skater lands local sponsor DREAMS OF MAKING IT BIG Eddie Woychowski’s daily requirements include breathing, eating, sleeping and skateboarding. And besides his beloved hobby, “I don’t do anything else really,” said Woychowski, who dreams of being a professional skateboarder. The 14-year-old Whitestone native picked up a local sponsor in Logan’s Café on June 22, adding to his expanding list of supporters. The eatery donated a new board and a hat, and it plans to name a sandwich after the young skater. “The reason we decided to sponsor him is that he’s a good kid, but he’s an amazing skateboarder,” said Logan O’Connor, owner of the café. “He skates in all types of weather and wherever he can. There are no signs of him slowing down.” During the school year, after the bell rings, Woychowski heads directly to local parks where he usually practices tricks until it gets dark. Another testament to his love of the sport is the 30 or 40 worn boards (there hasn’t been an offi cial count yet) that can be found in his room. His obsession with skateboarding started about four and a half years ago. After he touched a board, he couldn’t put it down, and now what keeps him going is learning new tricks. “When I learn a new trick, it’s the best feeling,” he said. Woychowski, who attends the World Journalism Preparatory School in Flushing, has won four skating tournaments and has several other sponsors that provide equipment and promote his name, including Blind Skateboards, DVS shoe company, Mass Exodus and LICKNYC, a clothing store and skate shop in LIC. Although it’ll be some time before Woychowski will appear in the X Games, he is undoubtedly excited about the thought of skating as a career. “To get paid money and stuff just for skateboarding like it’s a regular day job,” he said, “that would be the craziest thing, when it fi nally happens.” (Above) Photo courtesy Logan O’Connor Logan’s Café in Whitestone announced sponsorship of local teen skater Eddie Woychowski. Photo courtesy Stephen Teodoru Eddie Woychowski
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