Winners of the 2011 Club Med Academies Tennis Awards

Club Med Tennis Academies recognized standout students at its 2011 Club Med Academies Tennis Awards. The top award, Student-Athlete of the Year (Male or Female), went to Ester Goldfeld, a senior who will be attending Duke University on a full tennis scholarship. The award of male Athlete of the Year went to Roberto Cid, 17, who is the 28th ranked junior in the country and is playing professionally. Female Athlete of the Year went to Di Zhao, 18, of China, who is ranked 822 on the WTA Tour. Kevin Lai, Chinese Taipei and the No. 158 best junior in the world, won the Most Improved Athlete Player of the Year, Male. Lai won both Singles and Doubles titles at Daytona Beach ITF in May and Panama Bowl ITF in March. He also won doubles in March at Costa Rica Bowl ITF. The female Most Improved Athlete Player of the Year went to Flora Amiri, 12, one of four Amiris at Club Med Tennis Academies. Her siblings include Fatya, who will be attending St. Bonaventure on a Tennis/Academic scholarship, Farzin, 16, who won Most Improved Fitness, below, and Ali, 9. The Amiris, whose parents are from Afghanistan, moved across the country from California to train at the CMTA. The Coach's Award was given to Alan Valdez of Mexico, who won a USTA Florida Tournament and made three other finals, playing Boys' 16 Singles. The No Excuses award, for the palyer who gave 100% effort, and got the best out of his/her talent, each and every day, went to Alex Lovera, 17, or Aruba, an upcoming senior who won one USTA Florida tournament in Boys' 16 Singles and two in Boys' 18 Singles. Sohil Singh, 15, of India, received the Good Sport Award. Singh won one USA Florida event in Boys' 14 Singles and one Final in Boys' 16 Singles. The Survival of the FIT-test Award went to Ed Nguyen, Canada, 17, the 142nd best junior in the world, who made the Semifinals of the ITF U10 Canadian World Ranking Event, won two singles maches at ITF 2010 Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final, and made it to Finals once and Semifinals three times in ITF Doubles. For Most Improved FIT-test Athlete of the Year, honors went to Farzin Amiri,16, who recently made his first ITF Singles Quarterfinal at the Copa Cariari. The honor of the Mental Toughness Award was given to Mayuka Aikawa, 13, of Japan, the 81st Best Female 7th Grader in the U.S. and 18th Best in Florida. Aikawa proves that you don't have to be the tallest, the strongest, or the meanest to be mentally tough, because she is one of the smallest, and nicest, players at the Academy. The Most Improved Mental Performer was Joaquin Marquez, of Mexico, who will be playing tennis in the fall at Div-1 Sacramento State.