“In fact, as I watched this group compete with class and passion and support each other all weekend, I couldn't help but thinking that the future of ATA is bright!” Coach Brian Notis said.

On Saturday, after a brief rain delay, the Ballers started their run to the state title with tremendous determination and energy against a very strong Rio Grande Valley team.  The final score of 30-10 (30 games was the maximum a team could win in any given dual match) does not reflect how tough the match was. 

Max played an epic singles match against a very strong opponent, getting a 6-4 win.  The Ballers then went on to Denton and NETT 2, again winning the maximum 30 games in each dual match to finish first in their round robin group by a sizeable margin.

“Our goal on Sunday was to come out with the same energy and focus as we did on Saturday morning,” Notis said.

Against a determined Houston (King Daddy) team in the state semifinal, the Ballers got off to a quick 6-0 win in Girls Doubles (Brennan and Synclair), but were down 0-5 in Boys Doubles (Jackson and Reese) to a solid team.  The boys rallied to get the doubles match into a tie-break, ultimately losing 5-6.  The momentum shift vaulted the Ballers to a routine 29-10 victory with both singles and the mixed winning easily.  

The state final would prove to be the Ballers toughest test against a very solid NETT 1 (Richland Tennis Center) team.  Again the Ballers got off to a quick start with a 6-0 GD win (Brennan and Synclair again) and played a very tough BD match against a strong team (Reese and Jackson again), losing 4-6. 

Going into singles with a 4 game lead, Loli locked horns with a Cindy Bright for an incredibly hard fought match.  Loli ultimately lost 4-6, but kept the Ballers in the lead by 2 with Max battling in boys singles and the Mixed Doubles (Hannah and Noah) just getting started. 

Max clinched the state championship with a 6-1 win over a very strong player with a determined barrage of drop shots, passing shots and side to side ground strokes that took the legs out from his already tired opponent.  Noah and Hannah finished the dual with a 6-2 victory making the final team score 26-15.  

“Unfortunately, in it's inaugural season, the 12 & Under division does not advance to nationals, but I am confident that this team has many more opportunities to play on the big stage in the years to come!” Coach Notis said.

Team members:
Brennan Foreman, Jackson Foreman, Hannah Harrod, Synclair Larson, Noah Neugebauer, Loli Perim, Max Schmidhauser and Reese Watson.  Look out for their state championship banner!

The 14&U Aces Intermediate team went to JTT State where they finished 6th overall.  They finished 2nd in their group after the first day, only losing to the eventual State Champions from Bay Are Racquet Club in Houston. 

Playing in the 5-8th place bracket on Sunday, the team advanced to the final round losing in the final of their bracket to a strong San Angelo team and finishing 6th overall. 

Players on this team were Jay Spiers, Hugh Cook, Kyler Bender, Brooks Lane, Ela Raczka, Carolina Craus, Jordyn Kanak and Manisha Varma.