By Anthony Swatski, Junior Challenge Ladder Vice President
Every challenge ladder season is a great opportunity for players to develop their skills, make new friends, and inspire others through their sportsmanship and fair play. This past year, nearly 180 players participated in the 2021 ALTA Junior Challenge Ladder season. Each rung earned provides players the ability to expand their pool of potential opponents as they make challenges up the ladder, so they can achieve greater heights. At the same time, those being challenged can defend the heights they have already achieved. It is a unique experience and a competitive environment that inspires players to challenge their personal glass ceiling and break through it. For those who have been in the program for multiple years, they can get a sense of where they stand given all the hard work they have put into improving their game.
We look forward to seeing players from across the metro area take on this challenge. Registration for the 2022 season will begin on May 15 and end on August 15. Play will begin August 23.
As we look toward the next season, we look back and celebrate this one. Finishing this season in the top spot for the boys was John Lasanajak, and for the girls, Michelle Jones topped the chart. Congratulations to them for achieving this honor.
Finally, there are many great players that have come through the program, culminating in their senior season, and this season was no different. Congratulations to our 2021 JCL seniors!
2021 JCL Seniors
Brennan Davenport
Cooper Davis
Macsen Higgins
Reese Hilsen
John Lasanajak
Dean Kingsley
Lauren Khou
Mary Jacoppo
Ayden Mamaghani
Andrew Munn
Andrew Pietkiewicz
Kennedy Talbert
Ryan Thompson
Additionally, awards this season included bag tags for all players, and tennis apparel was given to all players who completed their season. Players who won three matches in a row received a large blue ALTA match towel. Furthermore, the following recognition for other achievements was given in the following categories:
Most Matches Played
JCL Girls:
Manasi Bedi
Shresta Gunda
Bella Lotz
Athithi Ayyappan
JCL Boys:
Moulik Jain
Ashrith Vemireddy
Jack Xu
Lucas Vasilescu
Most Movement (players who moved up the farthest from their original position on the ladder)
JCL Girls:
Manasi Bedi
Jigisha Singh
Isabella Massay
JCL Boys:
Jeffrey Hallett
Moulik Jain
Vivaan Sethi
Special Recognition
JCL Girls:
Ladder Manager Award: Lily Meyers and Myra Wu
VP Award: Manasi Bedi
Sportsmanship: Alexis Taylor
JCL Boys:
Ladder Manager Award: Nicholas Ivchenko and Mathew Mui
VP Award: John Lasanajak
Sportsmanship: Grayson Perlman
We also honored our Top 10 JCL players who were active all season and completed the majority of their matches. These players received a medal, and a gift of cufflinks was presented to the boys, while the girls were awarded an Alex and Ani tennis bracelet. Congratulations to all of these outstanding JCL players!
JCL TOP 10 GIRLS
1 Michelle Jones
2 Mckenzie Shelton
3 Franchesca Brown (Snellville)
4 Mana Fawcett
5 Jensen Diianni
6 Madison Andrews
7 Sasha Dimitrov
8 Jigisha Singh (Johns Creek)
9 Manasi Bedi
10 Myra Wu
JCL TOP 10 BOYS
1 John Lasanajak
2 Dean Kingsley
3 Reese Philip Hilsen
4 Andrew Pietkiewicz
5 Stephen Zhu
6 Kellen Simmons
7 London Vasilescu
8 Jackson Brady
9 Parth Mody
10 Jason Eigbedion
Junior Challenge Ladder 2021 Standings
Boys
1 John Lasanajak
2 Dean Kingsley
3 Reese Philip Hilsen
4 Andrew Pietkiewicz
5 Stephen Zhu
6 Kellen Simmons
7 London Vasilescu
8 Jackson Brady
9 Parth Mody
10 Jason Eigbedion
11 Matteo Maddaleni
12 Ethan Swatski
13 Robert Frierson
14 Maddox Iliescu
15 Jack Miller
16 Justin Wilson
17 Asher Negandhi
18 Brandon Kim
19 Vivaan Sethi (Johns Creek)
20 Tom Hughes
21 Chingiz Nadyrshin (Atlanta)
22 Moulik Jain (Alpharetta)
23 Cooper Davis (Johns Creek)
24 Kevin Screws
25 Andrew Munn
26 Ayden Mamaghani
27 Tyler Austin
28 Ryals Earnhardt
29 Bryan Powell
30 Shiv Siju
31 Ashrith Vemireddy
32 Mike Hughes
33 Jacob Dorland (Dunwoody)
34 Harrison Odom (Marietta/East Cobb)
35 Grayson Perlman
36 Alexander Sloan
37 Benjamin Krebs
38 Devesh Venkateswaran (Johns Creek)
39 Connor Mowrey
40 Ayaan Valiani (Gacs)
41 William Hackney
42 Logan Gilleland (Marietta)
43 Nicholas Ivchenko
44 Graham Antin (Johns Creek)
45 Gene Yun
46 Dhruvsai Dhulipudi
47 Jeffrey Hallett
48 Will Grable
49 Matthew Mui
50 Brennan Davenport
51 Lucas Vasilescu
52 Andrew Godbey
53 Raymond Gabler
54 Aditya Bhoti
55 Ryan Thompson (Villages At Huntcrest)
56 William Miller (Marietta)
57 Aaryan Ralkar
58 Landon Marcus (Decatur)
59 Alex Barber
60 Nicholas Pate
61 Jack Xu (Marietta)
62 Macsen Higgins
63 Everett Wenzel
65 Ryan Halligan
66 Gavin Koch-Yip
67 Dale Huertas (Austell)
68 Buddy Cason
69 Karaya Macharia
70 Andrew Halligan
71 Ethan Sanders
72 Trace Wood
73 Jordan Leon (Sugar Hill)
74 Garratt Builder
75 Marc Maldonado
76 Levi Howard
77 Ezra Brooks
78 Michael Muldoon
79 Jackson Bennett (Decatur)
80 Nikesh Patel
81 Sumant Baishya
82 Vihaan Boddula
Girls
1 Michelle Jones
2 Mckenzie Shelton
3 Franchesca Brown (Snellville)
4 Mana Fawcett
5 Jensen Diianni
6 Madison Andrews
7 Sasha Dimitrov
8 Jigisha Singh (Johns Creek)
9 Manasi Bedi
10 Myra Wu
11 Lauren Khou
12 Jaala Screws
13 Amanda Tanaka
14 Ishita Ravi
15 Prisha Mody
16 Alyssa Khou
17 Lauryn Swatski
18 Mary Jacoppo
19 Trinity Porter
20 Kylie Johnson
21 Bernadette Kotscher
22 Kimaya Paranjpe
23 Sydney Wszolek
24 Kennedy Talbert
25 Teri Brantley
26 Manavi Bedi
27 Athithi Ayyappan
28 Alyssa Braude
29 Megan Mckinnon
30 Juliana Diianni
31 Molly Mcwethy
32 Caroline Malcom
33 Stephanie Malcom
34 Lauren Powell (Roswell)
35 Deekshu Devarasetty
36 M’kenzi Pate
37 Grace Hauge
38 Virginia Fisher
39 Samantha Ruder
40 Joiya Middlebrooks
41 Valeria Bazan
42 Isabella Luce
43 Meghna Baishya
44 Ansley King
45 Lily Kate Bell
46 Bella Lotz
47 Lily Meyers
48 Shresta Gunda
49 Diya Khurana
50 Katie Koenning
51 Isabella Massay (McDonough)
52 Jamaya Williams
53 Lillian Lee
54 Lilianna Lavelle
55 Keza Macharia
56 Jaiden Palmer
57 Claire Morris
58 Nyah Ralkar
59 Kaiya Sharp (Alpharetta)
60 Ashleigh Grable
61 Kavya Mistry
62 Marysa Mansfield
63 Audrey Pak
64 Alexis Taylor (Marietta)
65 Mahi Ravi
66 Ava Mckay (Roswell)
67 Brooke Marsden
68 Elliana Cristadoro (Marietta)
69 Natasha Varas
70 Gabrielle Christie
71 Vera Koch-Yip
72 Tanika Saravanan
