The Texas Excellence tournaments bring together the top 16 ranked players in Texas in each age division to collide head-to-head and see who is standing at the end. The final 4 spots determined through a draw of the next 16 highest ranked players.

As Waco was wet the whole weekend, the tournament was forced to play out entirely on Monday, switching to an abbreviated scoring format to speed things up.

 Brooke Hughes won four matches on Monday to win the girl’s 16s draw and secure her spot as the top 16 and under girl in the state. Brooke opened the day with a win over Mason Strickland, 7-6, 6-4, followed by a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Katya Salas. In the semis, Hughes took down Claire Williams 7-5, 6-3. She finished the tournaments with a win over Liza Fieldsend 3-6, 6-4, (10-6).  

“Brooke earned each win by adjusting to her opponents,” Coach Collins said. “She went down early in the semis and finals and was able to make the correct adjustment to get the wins.

Payton Holden fought his way through the boys’ 12s draw to take the tournament title. He beat Eric Morris in a first round battle, 6-7, 6-2, 10-7.

“Payton got down a set in his first round match to an opponent that was playing extremely well,” Coach Brian Notis said. “I was very impressed with how he handled his nerves and showed maturity bouncing back to take control of the match.”  

In the second round Payton defeated Adrian Castagnola 6-3, 6-3, securing a semifinal spot versus Titus Strom who he also took down 6-3, 6-3. In the final round, Payton out-played Alex Gee 6-4, 7-6.  

"Payton Holden went into the Excellence as one of the favorites to win, this is a much tougher position to compete from than being an underdog,” Coach Jack Newman said. “Payton handled that pressure well and got great experience at winning when he expected himself to."  

In the boys’ 16s, Jacob Herndon won three matches to make the final round. He conquered Juan Moreiras 6-4, 6-2 followed by Lucas Fumagalli 7-5, 6-3. Jacob knocked out Bayo Phillips in the semifinals 6-3, 6-4, before falling to Miguel Aldo in the finals 6-4, 3-6, 1-10.

“Jacob competed with tremendous focus and energy,” Coach Notis said. “He made very few errors throughout the tournament and served extremely well.”

Hunter Goertz won 5 of 6 matches to earn third place in the boys’ 18s draw, grinding his way through qualifying. Hunter began the brutal day by qualifying with a 7-5, 7-6 win over Jorge Salazar and a 6-4, 6-2 thrashing of Jake Rother. He then out-worked Tam Trinh for a 6-4, 6-3 win before locking in on Michael Reichman who he beat 7-6, 6-2. In the semifinals, Hunter went down against top-seeded and eventual champion Andrew Korinek 6-4, 6-3. However, Hunter finished the tournament with a victory over Ashok Narayana 6-2, 6-4.

“Hunter stepped up to a new level,” Coach Notis said.  “He played with heart and with courage, playing 6 quality opponents in one day.  Hunter did a better job of blending offense and defense into his game than I've seen him in previous tournaments.”

  Texas Excellence presents a major opportunity to take on all of the best players in the state in one weekend. These ATA athletes reacted to this with a dialed-in focus to get the most out advantageous tournament.