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Petrone to defend in a tough Men's Open singles field
Published: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 8:18 PM
Danny Colvin
To get an idea of how strong a field tonight’s Staten Island Men’s Open Singles Tournament is, just go down
the list of seeded players to find 12-time champion Ed Perpetua at No. 5.
Now, the 49-year-old Perpetua may have lost a step or so in amassing 55 Island titles dating back to the
summer of 1983, but his rather lukewarm ranking goes to show the boys have decided to come out and
play.
“It’s nice to see new blood, especially good, new blood,” said co-tourney director Jim Barton, who played for
this singles crown in 1973, ‘74, and ‘75. “For awhile the tourney was stuck with the same faces. At least for
this year we have quality throughout and a changing of the guard.”
The Open got a new, younger look last year when Alex Petrone became the youngest male to win at age 16.
A year later and much stronger, maturer and experienced, Petrone will defend against four guys who could
easily win any other year. Maybe even this one.
Playing in his first Island tourney at the S.I. Community Tennis Center indoor courts is second-seeded Greg
Vladimirsky. A sophomore who played second singles at James Madison University, the Coral Springs, Fla.
resident posted a 20-12 singles mark for the Colonial Athletic Association Dukes this spring.
Three-time finalist Konstantin Trofimovich, who led the College of Staten Island to the CUNY final last
month, is third-seeded and 2008 champion Arthur Velnick is ranked fourth.
Even the cast of non-seeds such as ex-champion Tom Carlson, finalist Rob Klein and up-and-coming junior
Joe Motta Jr. carry exemplary resumes.
You might drop a level in the Men’s B but not in intensity.
Don’t expect to see all eight seeds — Erik Manske, Arthur Kapetanakis, Joe Taranto, Pete Oh, Paul Ricciardi,
Anton Vilinskiy, Gregg Hansson, and Mike Roselli — in the quarterfinals as there is plenty of competition in
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