October 28, 2007
Junior Team Tennis "Dream Team" Takes 7th in U.S. at National Championships
For the second year in a row, the Austin Tennis Academy 14 and under competition team won the Junior Team Tennis (JTT) Texas Section Championship, qualifying for the Junior Team Tennis National Championships in Tucson, AZ, played Oct. 11-14.
The “Dream Team”, consisting of Brittany Brewster, Allie Carlisle, Josh Hagar, Austin Mayo, Conor O’Meara, Maggie O’Meara, Conor O’Rourke, Charlie Shin and Matthew Sparks along with Coach Brian Notis, defeated eventual JTT National Champion Salt Lake City to place 7th in the U.S.
The format for the JTT National is five matches, one boys singles, one girls singles, boys doubles, girls doubles and one mixed doubles. The scoring is two sets to 6 games, with a tie-breaker at 5 to 5. In the event of splitting sets, a super-breaker is played for the third set. The winner is declared by total games won.
In the first dual, ATA faced off against Southern California. Brittany Brewster played a close first set, losing in a tie-breaker before dropping the second 6-0. Shuhei Shibahara defeated Josh Hagar in straight sets. ATA picked up a win in boys doubles where Austin Mayo and Conor O’Meara defeated their opponents. And, in a very close match, Maggie O’Meara and Allie Carlisle lost their doubles match in the third set super-breaker. Overall, Southern California edged Texas’ ATA 48 to 33 games.
In the second match, ATA met the Midwest Sectional Champion. Every match was close. Josh Hagar dropped two sets in boys singles, while Brittany Brewster barely lost in a super-breaker. ATA got in the win column when Austin Mayo and Conor O’Meara outplayed Johnny McDonald and Cordaro Sheets 6-3, 5-6, and 10-7 in the super-breaker. In mixed doubles, Conor O’Meara and Brittany Brewster teamed up to get another win for ATA. The overall match was extremely close, Midwest narrowly escaped with a 53-46 win in total games. Coach Notis commented that “we really improved from our first match in the second match,” adding that “the kids were becoming comfortable with the format and we expected to continue to improve in our final match.”
The last match did not disappoint, as ATA met the most capable challenge in eventual National Champion Inter-Mountain, hailing from Salt Lake City. Conor O’Rourke dominated in his singles win, while Brittany Brewster cruised through her first set 6-0 and then played smart tennis in the second winning in a tie-break 7-5. Overall, Coach Notis was very pleased: “we played extremely well against the National Champions,” earning a 45-43 win.
With the win over Inter-Mountain, the Texas Section Champion ATA squad brought home 7th place honors. As the JTT sectional season heats up through the winter and into the spring, the ATA coaching will look to create another “Dream Team”, who will build on the legacy of the past two years. Congratulations to players and parents on a very successful JTT National trip!
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