The Austin Tennis Academy Junior Team Tennis Dream team lost a hard fought battle in the national championships of the USTA Junior Team Tennis 18 & under advanced division. Jeff Offerdahl, Josh Hagar, Taylor Shamshiri, Aaron Chaffee, Brooke Hughes, Morgan Barnhill, Hailee Gopinath and Sydney Young, along with Coach Kendall Brooks traveled to Surprise Arizona for the Nationals. An injured Brooke Hughes was in charge of preparation for the trip and came up with T-shirts, headbands and hats for the team. She was also trip photographer and videographer.

In round robin play, ATA finished with the highest winning percentage of the 15 teams in the tournament. Sydney Young stepped up into the girls’ singles position and was solid in every match. Losing by 1 game to a strong Eastern team in round robin play, the Dream Team advanced as the wildcard to the semifinals for the 3rd straight year. In the semis, Southern was no match for the Dream Team, as ATA advanced to the national finals for the 2nd straight year with strong play from Aaron Chaffee and Sydney Young in the mixed doubles to clinch the win.

A very strong New York team from West Side, Forest Hills defeated the ATA Dream Team in the finals. Josh Hagar and Taylor Shamshiri came out with incredible energy to win the boys doubles 4-2, 4-2 in the JTT shortened format. Hailee Gopinath and Morgan Barnhill won the girls doubles in a third set tiebreak, which counted for an extra game. Sydney Young and Jeff Offerdahl went down in Girls and Boys singles respectively to strong NY singles competitors. After the first four matches, ATA was down 20-25 with only the mixed doubles to play. Aaron Chaffee and Sydney Young started strong by breaking the NY #1 singles player in the first game, but ended up losing the first set in a tiebreak.

The Dream Team has vowed to return to JTT Nationals next year. Players eligible to return include Josh Hagar, Sydney Young and Morgan Barnhill. ATA juniors waiting in the wings to earn a spot on the 2011 Dream team include: Hunter Goertz, Andrew Parks, Austin Mayo, Meredith Parks, Liam Leddy, and many others.

This trip to JTT nationals was special, as our students were given the opportunity to represent ATA at the National Level as a team. One official commented to Coach Brooks that the ATA team was the class of the field. Well done ATA Dream Team.

Answers to the question: What do you like about Team Tennis nationals? “You get to be more rowdy at junior team tennis matches,” said Aaron Chaffee. “The hospitality at the nationals site is really nice, it’s like a pro tournament with the extras,” Josh Hagar said. “[I am] more proud of victories because you win for the team,” Taylor Shamshiri said.