Forest Hills Tennis Stars Take National Title

Two Forest Hills teens were part of a city squad that captured the USTA Junior Team Tennis 18s National Championship title in Surprise, Arizona.

Stefan Ilic, 17, and RJ del Nunzio, 16, propelled their team to the title, the first for the  group that has played together for four years.

"This is really exciting. I love my team, I feel like we've grown up together," said del Nunzio.

The group from the West Side Tennis Club defeated a tough Texan squad from the Austin Tennis Academy to earn the win. Del Nunzio won his singles match 4-1, 4-1. He was also part of the mixed doubles team that clinched the title.

Junior Team Tennis is scored differently from traditional tennis. Each team plays five matches – girls and boys singles; girls and boys doubles and mixed doubles. The overall winner is determined by the number of games won, not the number of matches won. Del Nunzio's commanding singles win made a huge difference in the overall match.

"RJ fights so hard, he really grinds. He doesn't give up, leaves it all on the court," said Lauren Leo, who has been coaching the team for three years.

In Arizona, the team had one goal: to take home the championship.

"We [were] keeping the distractions to a minimum," said Leo. "Last year, we came in fifth. This year, we [were] going big."

Del Nunzio was on last year's tournament team, while this was Ilic's first trip to the national championships.

The group was possibly one of the most driven in the tournament. After an afternoon match on Saturday, when asked how the day was going, Ilic said, "Me and my partner did well. We didn't hold back. We were very intimidating."

"We are intense," added del Nunzio. "I guess a lot of us are from New York and we like to show it."

At home, the team trains six days a week, practicing for an hour and a half each night from Monday to Thursday, playing matches on Fridays and Sundays. In Arizona, the teens rose at 5:00 a.m. to train before the matches started at 7:00 a.m.

"Stefan puts a lot out on the court. Training-wise, he has definitely improved over the last three years. He's picked up the level of his game, he's in better shape," Leo said.

Ilic aspires to play at a Division 1 college in the fall, preferably Stony Brook University, but he has even more ambitious goals. He says that post college — or perhaps during — he plans to go pro to try his luck on the ATP tour.

He is currenty captain of the tennis team at

Del Nunzio attended  for his freshman and sophomore years before moving to Florida earlier this year to train at IMG Bolletieri Academy, a premier tennis school.

"It's my first time at Junior Nationals," Ilic said before the final. "If we [didn't] win it, it would be quite disappointing, 'cause I know we had a big shot."

There's no need for disappointment. New York brought home the title.