The Pendleton Panther

Melanie is from Cresskill, New Jersey is an outgoing and sociable person who is very easy to get along with.  She is 17 years old, has a shoe obsession and is a frozen yogurt addict.  Melanie is a very good tennis player and has been playing tennis at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy for the past three years.   She will be attending the University of Miami in the fall.   –Georgina Sellyn

Maximilian Bschorer was born on January 18, 1991. He has been in this academy for a very long time! Ever since his first day of school he has been an “A” student. He is playing tennis since he was 7 years old. His hobbies are: video games, golf, chillin’ and of course tennis! Some times we were used to go and play some golf, he is really good at it!  He has a lots of favorite music, like: Böhse Onkelz, Die Aerzte, Bullet for My Valentine, Hollywood Undead, Thousand Foot Krutch, Ramstein, Slipknot, Korn, Coldplay.  He really likes to read books and getting something from them. By the way he got accepted in a very good university! However he is a very interesting person and you will not get tiered with him.  — Nikita Kupshuk

Danil Ovechkin was born in Vladivostok, 31 of may in 1991. He has been in this academy for five years, and has been a very good student in school and on a tennis court. He was making up everything on time and almost an “A” student in The Pendleton School. During these years he has made a lot of progress and a lot of friends who love him for what he is.  He loves his family and every time he speaks to them wants to go back. His hobbies are: tennis, snowboard, hockey,  he loves taking photos and listening to music. He likes comedies because he thinks that comedies make you live longer! His favorite book is ” War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy. I am sure that everybody will remember this great guy!  — Nikita Kupshuk

Guilherme Lima Ciciliati Fagundes was born in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, in August 27, 1992. Guilherme has two sisters, one older than him called Mariana who is 19 years old, and a younger one called Juliana who is 16.  He is a tennis player here at IMG and he started playing when he was 7 years old because he wanted to do some physical activity. He started to take tennis as a serious thing and with 15 year old he started to compete. Two years ago he came to IMG because he wanted to play tennis and try to go to college here in the US.  He hasn’t decided which college he wanst to go because first he wants to return to Brazil for 6 months and then think about it.  He love electronic music and he’s very easy-going.  Everyone loves to be around him.  — Carolina di Paula

Heather was born on May 19th 1992.  Last week she celebrated her 18th Birthday, Happy Birthday Heather!  As many of us know, Heather is an amazing tennis player.  Last September Heather won the US Open Juniors!  She played an amazing tournament and came out on top.  Heather is from Gurnsey in the United Kingdom.  About 5-6 years ago, Heather moved out to IMG to play tennis.  She believed that Bollettieri was the tennis academy that could take her to the next level.  After her win at the US Open Heather decided to turn pro.  She is now a professional tennis player and once she has graudated in a couple of weeks, she will be a full time touring pro.  Heather is not only an amazing tennis player, she is an amazing person.  She has been a good friend to me since I first met her and I hope that everything turns out the way she wants it to.  She has worked hard over the years and sacrificed many things along with her family.  They deserve all that comes their way!  Good luck Heather, I know you are gonna do something amazing!

Frizzi was born on April 16th 1993.  She was originally from Germany but moved out to IMG for the tennis program and Pendleton.  Frizzi is a good tennis player and has gotten herself into Davidson College.  This is a great achievement in itself but Frizzi graduate a year early as she is still only 17!  It is a great acheivement for her and I am sure that she will do very well at College!  Good luck Frizzi!

Christina was born on January 22nd 1992.  She is originally from Surabaya, Indonesia but moved to IMG to play tennis.  Christina has played tennis now at IMG for quite a long time.  She is an extremly friendly person that gets along with everyone.  Next year she will attend Presbyterian College.  She will play on the tennis team.  I think that Christina will be extremly succesful there.  I wish Christina the best of luck for the future!

Julia was born in Warsaw, Poland on January 23rd, 1993.  Even though she was born in Poland, she has lived most of her life in British Columbia, Canada.  Two years ago, Julia started playing tennis.  Last year she moved to IMG so she could attend Pendleton and play tennis at Bollettieri.  Next year, Julia will be attending SCF and working part time.  In the future she may play tennis for her University.  Julia has two brothers, James who is 13 and Sean who is 9.  She also has a baby sister Sophie who is 2 years old.  Good luck in the future Julia!

Nikita was born on the 14th of July 1993.  When he was 12 years old he began playing tennis.  For the last 4 years he has played tennis full time.  In 2008 he moved to IMG so he could play even more tennis and attend Pendleton.  Nikita is actually a year younger than many of the other seniors as he skipped a grade.  So he is going to take one year off then attend University.  Nikita wants to play on the tennis team of the University that he is going to attend in the near future.  Good luck Nikita!

Oliver is 17 years old and was born in London, England; but now lives in Indiana.  He is outgoing and very personable.  Oliver is a tennis player and has been playing at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy for the past year.  In the fall he will be attending Colorado College.

First of all, I bet no one would ever guess what John’s favorite animal are: Whales!  John was born on December 3rd 1991.  He was originally from State College, Pennsylvania but move to IMG five years ago to play tennis.  John has played tennis for 8 years and has now got himself a place in Drexel University on the tennis team.  He will be in the top 3 on the tennis team which is a great achievement.  Good luck John!

Gonzalo was born on May 7th 1992 in Madrid, Spain.  About two years ago in August of 2008, Gonzalo moved out here to attted Bollettieri tennis academy.  He has played tennis since he was 4 (for about 14 years) and he wanted to give himself the best possible opportunity to improve his tennis.  In August, Gonzalo is going to attend Presbyterian College in South Carloina.  He is going to be on the tennis team and play in the top 4.  A lot of people are going to miss Gonzalo!  He is a great person and a very trustworthy friend.  I am positive that he is going to have a great time and make many new friends in South Carolina.  Good Luck Gonzalo, were gonna miss you!

Joanna Zarur was born on the 15th November 1991.  At the age of five, she started to play tennis.  Because she enjoyed tennis so much and wanted to pursue her career in tennis further, she moved to IMG from Mexico City, Mexico at the age of 11.  In total she has been at IMG for 5 years now on and off.  Next year she will be attending the University of San Fransisco where she will play on the tennis team.  It is a division 1 school and Joanna will play in the top 5!  It is a great oppertunity for Joanna to improve her tennis even further.  On behalf of myself and I’m sure the rest of Pendleton, we wish her the best of luck!  Good luck Joanna!

One of the seniors to graduate as a part of the 2009 class is Lauren Golino. Lauren is a tennis player here at IMG Academies. She has been a student at the academy for four years, however she only attended Pendleton for her senior year. Lauren was born in Caserta, Italy, later moved to Houston, Texas and then to Bradenton where she began attending the academy shortly after. Lauren is unsure about her college plans as of this point. She will be taking a year off in which she may take a few classes in Bradenton. She will then go to University at a school that is still yet to be decided. Lauren is a very hard worker in both tennis and school and is known for this by her peers. She is very gifted and has attained a class rank of 2 amongst her fellow graduates. Lauren does not plan on playing tennis so that she can focus more on her academic and career goals of becoming a plastic surgeon. Lauren is a very good person and a very hard worker. I am sure she will be able to do anything she sets her mind to in life.

One of the seniors here at Pendleton who will be a part of the graduating class in a few weeks is Megan Fabry. Megan has been a student at IMG and Pendleton since her sophomore year and she has been a close friend of mine ever since. Megan is from Saudi Arabia even though this is very hard to believe for the majority of people she tells this to. She lives there because her father works for an oil company. Her family is American which is why people find it hard to believe that she is from Saudi. Megan plays tennis at IMG. She will be taking a year off in which she will be taking a few classes in Bradenton and will then go off to college. Megan is a very loved person around campus and every friend of hers knows why. She is a very nice person who always makes the people around her laugh and smile. Megan does not intend to play tennis in college but rather focus on school more. She still works very hard at tennis nonetheless which is a quality that will serve her well for the rest of her life.

Janshaaz Khan, more commonly known as Shaaz, hails from India. He came to IMG at the start of his junior year. He is a tennis player and will be a part of this years graduating class on June 5th. Shaaz plays tennis here at IMG and his head coach is Jorge. Shaaz is a very hard worker on the court and is known for this. He is also very gifted in the classroom. He will be attending the Stern School of Business at New York University this fall.

In his spare time, Shaaz is very ardent soccer fan. He enjoys playing and watching the sport. His favorite team is the red devils, Manchester United. I have a lot of admiration and respect for Shaaz because he will always be a true fan at heart just like myself. Even in the worst of defeats, he still wears the crest proudly on his heart and bleeds red.

Abby Wright is a senior at the Pendleton school and is graduating this June 2009. She has played tennis for pretty much her entire life; she has played since she was 3 years old. Abby was born in Clearwater, Florida. She has moved a couple of times and lived two years in New York and two years in Kentucky. After that she moved down to Bradenton and started attending middle school at Pendleton and has stayed here for six years. She said that “IMG and the tennis program have helped me both in the mental part of the game but also in the technical side”.  After she graduates she is going to spend her summer having fun and training hard, because she is going to be one of the top players if not the best player at Florida Atlantic University were she got a 100% scholarship.

“Life is too short to be anything but happy, so love deeply, forgive quickly, take chances, give everything with no regrets, & always remember that everything happens for a reason”. This is one of Stephanie Ritchey’s favorite quotes. Stephie is originally from Costa Rica. She has attended the Pendleton School for two years while also playing tennis for IMG. She is going to West Chester University next year and plans on majoring in communications. Stephie loves tennis and has the fortunate opportunity of playing on the college team. I consider Stephie an extremely close friend and know that tennis is not her only love in life, she also enjoys going to the beach, shopping and of course sleeping. Stephie is a very sweet and kindhearted person who you can easily spill all of your feelings too. I have no doubt that she will go on to do great things in the world. Love you lots Steph!