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September 28, 2007
Super-Champ 16s/18s at Waco Major Zone: Tournament Recap
Across Waco, Temple and south to Belton, the Austin Tennis Academy’s SuperChamp 16s and 18s competed in the September 14th-17th Waco Super-Champ Major Zone. Academy Co-Director Cristina Moros, along with Coaches Loren Collins and John Schoenmakers oversaw ATA play. Deb Cahill also chaperoned and transported players, since the sites were so spread out. Our players were hosted by our sponsor Spenco and ATA friend, Steve Smith.
Girls 16s action featured Kate Cahill winning two close sets in a first round 6-3, 7-6(5) decision over Adriana Gallaga. Though she lost her second round match, Kate took Amanda Sagastegui the distance in a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 contest, coming back from 2-5 and match point behind in the second set. Hailey Posas lost her first round match to Mecklin Ragan 6-1, 6-4 but bounced back to win a 6-2, 6-3 back-draw match. Shannon McLellan played hard in two matches, falling in the first round to top seed Abby Stainback. In girls 18s play, Coach Collins admired Blair Jones “playing with uncommon courage and faith for her entire first round match.” Jones trailed tough baseliner Jessica Wildeberger 3-6, 1-4, before surging back with very smart play. Jones defeated Wildeberger 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. Mary Bain fought hard in a first round loss to Christine Molina 6-3, 6-2. Bain bounced back to beat Charlotte Delvaux 6-1, 6-0 in the back-draw.
In boys 16s action, Matthew Sparks outlasted Ryan Cady 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 before falling to Blake Ransom 7-6(5), 6-1. Este Kaufmann played hard in two matches. Chase Curry won three main draw matches as part of the ATA travel team. Chase defeated (9) Matt Ford 6-3, 6-1 and later (5) Sam Griffin 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the quarter-final round. Jeff Offerdahl lost his first round to Sam Griffin, but found a better level in the back-draw, defeating (9) Matt Ford 6-4, 6-3. After a shaky main-draw start, “Jeff redeemed himself, dominating the back-draw,” observed Coach Moros. Offerdahl defeated Christopher Dale in the back-draw final in two sets. In boys 18s, Jonathan Stockdale played aggressive, attack-minded tennis in two matches.
In doubles action, Chase Curry and Jeff Offerdahl won two matches together. Jonathan Stockdale and Adam Chirhart dominated their first round opponents before losing a hard-fought second round match. Claire Cahill and Hailey Posas teamed up to beat Arianne Goddard and Nicole Murray 9-7, attacking though out the match and breaking serve in the final game. Mary Bain and Julia Wiegand also won a 9-7 contest in the first round.
Austin Tennis Academy will try to build on the Waco results next month at the October 5th Tyler Super-Champ Major Zone. A special thank you to our gracious host and Spenco sponsor Steve Smith for hosting our large group. Congratulations to competitors and family.
Posted by Jim at 6:48 PM | TrackBack
September 16, 2007
Ashley Weinhold Making Headlines for Her Recent Performance
Check out these recent articles on Ashley Weinhold recent USOpen performance.
The first is on the USTA site, American Girls Making a Splash.
The second is in the Austin American-Statesmen, Weinhold is ironwoman at Open.
Posted by Jim at 8:59 PM | TrackBack
September 5, 2007
Ellen Waters Tyler Champ Major Zone Update: Turner and Waite Win Back-Draw
The September 1-2 weekend featured ATA competitors in the Tyler Champ Major Zone. ATA competed hard in several draws, highlights included Zoe Kearl reaching the 16s main-draw semi-finals and Adrian Turner and Jessica Waite winning their respective back-draws. The Tyler coaching staff included Ryan Simme, Estevam Strecker and Simon Boyce.
In the boys 12s draw, Rohan Makhija lost the first set of his first round match 6-0. Rohan fought back, winning the second set in a tie-breaker before being outlasted 6-3 in the third set. Rohan then won two close sets over Brendan Firday in the back-draw. Young Jake Berber fell in the first round to Cannon Jones 6-3, 6-4. Zane Ritter competed with good sportsmanship in two matches. Dylan Ritter picked up a 6-0, 6-1 back-draw win. In boys 14s, Andrew Levitan lost a 3 set match to Timothy Brewer 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, while Greyson Brilliant played hard in two matches. In boys 14s doubles action, Levitan and Brilliant teamed up to win the main-draw.
In girls 16s, Coach Boyce looked on as Zoe Kearl reached the main-draw semi-finals despite “struggling in her first two matches.” From the tournament experience Zoe “knows what she needs to work on and will get it done in the next tournament”. Also in 16s, Adrian Turner lost a close 3 setter in the first round, then beat Kathleen Wong 6-2, 6-1 to take the back-draw title. Adrian fought hard, “playing through a painful wrist injury”, according to Coach Simme. And, Jessi Waite won the 18s back-draw, “not playing her best tennis, but showing courage”, said Coach Boyce. Waite thumped Margaret Edwards 6-1, 6-0 to seal the back-draw title.
Congratulations to players, coaches and parents who participated in the Ellen Waters Tyler Champ Major Zone. The ATA staff is excited for more great results at the October Champ Major Zone in Laredo. Register now.
Posted by Jim at 7:05 PM | TrackBack
Round Rock ZAT Highlights: Entry Level Success, Competitive Education and a Great Time!
Round Rock ZAT action kicked off Saturday, Sept 1st with competition across the north Austin suburb. ATA’s future stars played in the boys and girls 12s and 14s, with many great results and an educational experience for players and parents. ATA Coaches Brian Notis, Kendall Brooks, Anthony Martinez and Loren Collins caught the action firsthand.
In her first USTA tournament, Ali Burak fell in the first round to Chuyang Guan in two close sets. In her next three matches, Coach Brooks saw “Ali play great consistent tennis,” defeating two-match winner and ATA teammate Savannah Brilliant 6-4, 6-1 in the back-draw semi-finals. In the final, Ali met another ATA teammate in Carli Knezevich. In a razor close contest, Coach Brooks watched as “Carli’s ‘refuse to lose’ mentality and all around consistency” sealed a 7-6, 7-6 win over Burak. Young Meghan O’Malley also competed in Round Rock, “fighting hard in two matches,” said Coach Brooks. On the boys 12s side, Seung Min Kim won three matches, including a quarter-final 6-0, 6-3 win over Tanner Rowley. Payton Holden won an amazing four matches in the third set super-breaker advancing to the final with a 6-4, 5-7, 10-3 win over Alex Minca. In his final, Coach Brian Notis looked on as “Payton served out the tournament with an ace up the ‘T”, winning the 12s title. Breck Spencer competed hard in two matches, nearly overwhelming Holden in a 5-7, 7-5, 10-6 first round battle.
In the girls 14s draws, Smrithi Hariharan advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Nicole Johnson. Jessica Clouse also made the quarters, defeating top seed Meredyth Wiegand 3-6, 6-4, 10-7. In boys 14s, Ryan Burak advanced to the final with a reported score of 6-3, 7-5. Burak actually led 5-2 in the second set when a scoring dispute was resolved to show the score as 3-2. Ryan actually won his quarter-final match over Lutz 6-3, 9-5. Through out the tournament, “Ryan varied his forehand effectively, moving his opponent or stepping in and attacking”, noted Coach Collins. Will Douglass also employed an improving forehand and sharp net skills effectively. A confident Douglass won three matches to advance to the semi-finals where he faced off with Burak. The match did not disappoint as Burak edged out Douglass in a fantastic 12-10 super-breaker contest. Burak finally fell to Joe Reedholm 6-4, 6-3. Garrett Callen battled his opponent and a back injury, competing hard in a 3 set loss. Pierce Kelley won two matches in one-sided fashion before losing to James Banner 3-6, 6-4, 10-7. Walker Jezek played with more consistency in his second match, while Weston Jezek had good footwork in two matches. Neel Kumar picked up a back-draw win, playing well from the baseline.
Congratulations to players and parents who competed in the Round Rock ZAT. As important as results, ATA players and parents became more familiar and comfortable with competitive tennis this weekend. Sign up now for the October 6-7 ZAT in San Antonio.